Epicurean eating pleasure may not help weight management: A cross-sectional survey on Japanese-speaking adults.

ABSTRACT Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector in Europe have largely been unsuccessful to date, highlighting the need for new approaches. Drawing on Social Practice Theory, recent research has called for cross-domain analyses of mobility practices to identify more effective leverage points for policy intervention. Responding to these calls, this study analyzes 24 week-long mobility diaries and 26 in-depth interviews with university students in Germany to examine university-related travel as part of broader constellations of commuting, studying, and dwelling practices. It develops a typology of these practices and identifies specific mechanisms through which elements of studying and dwelling – such as campus facilities, vibrant campus life, and the symbolic value of student independence – intersect with commuting. By tracing these links, the study shows how systems of interlocking practices emerge that shape travel demand in higher education and vary significantly in their openness to sustainability transitions. While the interdependence of mobility, studying, and dwelling is well known, this study is among the first to offer a systematic, empirically grounded analysis of practice systems through a Social Practice Theory lens. Crucially, it argues that by leveraging linking elements at the intersections of practices, targeted policy measures could generate ripple effects across systems of practices that extend across different sectors and domains of everyday life – rather than addressing commuting practices in isolation. This integrated framework advances practice-theoretical mobility research and can inform future efforts to foster sustainable commuting and broader sustainability transitions.

The development of contemporary fashion has transformed clothing from a functional necessity into a medium of visual expression that embodies both aesthetic and symbolic values. This study aims to analyze the design characteristics of Jacob Wil as reflected in the evening gown “Viraadhya” through the visualization of corset transparency techniques and velvet fabric texture as key elements in shaping the garment’s aesthetic value. The research employs a qualitative approach using a descriptive-analytical method. Data were collected through visual observation, documentation studies, and literature reviews. The analysis focuses on design aesthetics, garment construction, material texture, and fashion semiotics. The findings indicate that “Viraadhya” successfully represents Jacob Wil’s distinctive design characteristics through the application of a structured mermaid silhouette, the exploration of transparent corset construction, and the combination of velvet and transparent materials that create a visual contrast between strength and softness. The corset transparency technique functions not only as a constructive element but also as an aesthetic strategy that reinforces the garment’s visual identity. Meanwhile, the use of velvet fabric contributes a sense of luxury, drama, and visual depth that supports the overall design narrative. This study demonstrates that the exploration of garment construction and material innovation can serve as an important strategy in establishing visual identity within contemporary evening gown design. Keywords: Corset transparency, velvet fabric, evening gown, Jacob Wil, fashion Design.

Abstract The Toraja cultural landscape represents a living system that unites people, land, and ancestors within an ecological and spiritual continuum transmitted across generations. Tongkonan Sa’pang, one of the traditional settlements within Tondok Lepongan Bulan Tana Matarik Allo , exemplifies this unity through a spatial order grounded in kinship, cosmology, and customary ecological management. In recent decades, however, modernisation, economic pressures, land-use changes, heritage codification, and tourism have begun to disrupt this balance, threatening the continuity of both physical structures and intangible cultural meanings. This condition reflects a broader global trend of heritage commodification, where living traditions risk being reframed as performative heritage products. These challenges highlight the need for preservation strategies that protect not only material integrity but also the symbolic and spiritual values sustaining indigenous life systems. To address this need, the study applies a modified Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) framework designed to capture both tangible and intangible dimensions of the Toraja landscape. This modification is essential because conventional LCA methods, developed within European contexts, focus mainly on visual and morphological aspects, often failing to represent ritual symbolism, kinship-based spatial logic, and cosmological order that underpin indigenous landscapes. The research demonstrates how the LCA method can be reinterpreted and locally adapted to support preservation strategies that respond to ongoing socio-ecological change. The study integrates physical and symbolic data through GIS-based spatial mapping, ethnographic fieldwork, and participatory validation with customary leaders. The findings identify seven landscape character units (LCU(s)) structured into three main zones, reflecting the interconnection between ecological, spiritual, and social systems in the Toraja cultural landscape. The research advances a decolonial perspective that redefines LCA from a technocratic tool into an interpretative framework grounded in indigenous knowledge. Its main contribution lies in developing a community-based, value-driven preservation model that can be contextually applied to other indigenous territories across Southeast Asia.

ABSTRACT This study explores how Norwegian adolescents assign symbolic value to media preferences and practices, and how distinctions and cultural hierarchies contribute to inequality by reinforcing group boundaries. Findings show that adolescents categorized as cultural upper middle and elite classes draw symbolic boundaries within their own social group (in-group) by portraying an unnamed out-group as lazy, unintelligent and less productive. These boundaries are expressed through distinctions that frame certain media as ‘intelligent’, ‘stupefying’, or ‘easily attainable’ and media practices as either ‘productive’ or ‘healthy’ and therefore preferable. Aligned with neoliberal ideals of self-optimization and productivity, the study argues that managing media use and restricting screen time have become markers of class belonging among the cultural upper middle and elite classes. Drawing on interviews and fieldwork in both physical and digital spaces, the study provides insight into digital inequalities in a Norwegian context and how adolescents aged 16–19 use and experience media. It highlights the importance of moving beyond access, skills and user habits in digital inequality studies and considers how media preferences and practices hold symbolic value, which can reveal hidden divides between social groups.

The increasing use of Jakartan slang among Generation Z has become a visible feature of youth communication in Indonesian university settings. While previous studies have examined the forms, meanings, and social functions of slang, less attention has been given to how slang shapes generational identity and affects the use of local languages in campus peer interaction. This study examines Jakartan slang as a generational identity marker among Generation Z students at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Negeri Semarang, and explores its implications for the reduced use of Javanese in selected peer interactions. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with 10 students, qualitative questionnaire responses from 10 Javanese-speaking students, and unstructured observation in campus-related settings. The data were analyzed thematically and interpreted through Social Identity Theory, particularly the concepts of social categorization, social identification, and social comparison. The findings show that Jakartan slang functions not only as an informal communicative style but also as a social resource through which students construct peer belonging, align themselves with modern youth culture, and distinguish their generation from older or more local linguistic repertoires. Among Javanese-speaking participants, Jakartan slang is used because it is perceived as practical, inclusive, socially current, and widely understood in multilingual peer groups. This practice may reduce the space for Javanese in certain informal campus interactions, although the findings do not indicate a general decline of Javanese at UNNES or in broader Javanese society. The study contributes to sociolinguistic discussions by showing that slang, local language use, and generational identity are closely connected through peer-group dynamics, digital culture, and the symbolic value attached to language in multilingual university contexts.

Urban blue spaces provide important ecosystem services (ES), that support health and well-being of city residents. This study examined residents' perceptions of ES provided by managed, semi-managed and low-managed blue spaces and their surroundings in Warsaw, a city dominated by the River Vistula which flows through its centre and is partially unregulated. We conducted a geo-questionnaire, asking respondents to mark their favourite blue spaces and evaluate them for different ES benefits. The data were analysed using cluster, correlation and spatial analysis to identify patterns and synergies among perceived ES. The results revealed five distinct ES clusters, showing synergies among aesthetic, recreational and nature appreciation related values. Managed blue spaces, such as urban parks or promenades, were primarily associated with social bonding, while historical and neighbourhood parks are valued for providing an everyday connection to nature and biodiversity. Low- and semi-managed areas, including vast informal riversides, play an important role in recreation, relaxation, connection to nature, and social bonding. These areas provide similar benefits with minimal interventions, highlighting their potential as Informal Blue Spaces, integral part of urban blue-green infrastructure. The results add to the increasing evidence of the social value of blue spaces and demonstrate how diverse management and investment approaches can support complementary socio-cultural benefits in cities. • Cultural ecosystem services are most valued in Warsaw's blue spaces. • Synergy clusters highlight ecological, recreational, aesthetic and symbolic values. • Blue space types and management intensity shapes perceived benefits. • Informal Blue Spaces provide diverse benefits with low-cost management input. • Findings support integrating diverse blue spaces into urban planning and policy.

Fire has long been recognized as holding a wealth of symbolism across disciplinary contexts. However, its symbolic role in political violence has yet to be evaluated. This theoretical contribution explores a range of contexts in which fire is employed as a figurative or literal device in acts and threats of political violence. Through an evaluation of nine instances across a variety of extremist ideologies, we identify six thematic messages conveyed with and through invocations of fire: fire as threat; fire as destruction; fire as protest; fire as sacrifice; fire as restoration; and fire as performance. We argue that evaluating the ubiquity of fire symbolism across extremist ideologies has the potential to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of extremist messaging. By considering the symbolic value in the means as well as the ends of political violence, we can better understand how such acts constitute “bloody theater”.

Contours of a culture: How Brazilian Playboy reflected and reinforced gluteal ideals over four decades (1975-2018).

Novel food technologies, such as genetic editing, cell-cultured foods, and controlled environment agriculture, offer potential solutions to global challenges like climate change and resource scarcity, yet their success depends on consumer readiness to adopt them. This research examines how cultural uncertainty avoidance and religiosity jointly shape adoption readiness for these technologies. Two studies were conducted with participants from Japan (a high uncertainty avoidance culture; n = 1214) and Singapore (a low uncertainty avoidance culture; n = 1189). Study 1 showed that in Japan, highly religious consumers were more willing to pay for and support novel food technologies than their secular counterparts, whereas in Singapore, secular consumers expressed greater support than more religious consumers. Study 2 demonstrated that symbolic value mediates these cross-cultural patterns, revealing how consumers interpret novel food technologies through identity- and value-based meanings that vary by cultural and religious context. These findings offer theoretical insight into the sociocultural predictors of technology adoption and provide practical guidance for tailoring strategies for adoption readiness across diverse markets. • Religiosity and cultural uncertainty avoidance shape consumer readiness for novel food technologies. • Consumers in Japan and Singapore display contrasting adoption patterns based on religiosity. • Symbolic value mediates the relationship between religiosity and technological acceptance. • High religiosity groups in high uncertainty cultures show greater willingness to adopt novel foods. • Low religiosity groups in low uncertainty cultures are more receptive to novel foods.

• Walk-along interviews uncover hidden accessibility barriers in rural areas • Social context shapes the experience and perception of accessibility • Facility closures hit elderly hard—loss of shops means loss of social life • Safety and time budget over distance shape families' perceived active mode accessibility • Prams face same route barriers as wheelchairs: curbs, uneven paths, traffic • Some rural residents trade facility access for quiet and spacious neighbourhood • Social taxis valued by elderly for being accessible and affordable This paper examines the mechanisms shaping accessibility perceptions among older adults and young families living in Dutch rural areas, using the innovative walk-along interview method. The findings indicate that accessibility perceptions of these vulnerable groups are partly shaped by their residential preferences, with some participants deliberately choosing to live in areas with fewer facilities. Moreover, the walk-along method effectively identified barriers to accessing desired activity locations, revealing not only physical challenges related to micro-scale built-environment features such as uneven sidewalks, street furniture, or barriers on the paths but also a significant role of one’s social context in enabling as well as constraining accessibility. Additionally, the interviews highlighted social and symbolic values attached to facilities, often overlooked in traditional accessibility metrics. These insights emphasize the value of complementing spatial accessibility assessments with an understanding of accessibility perceptions using qualitative methods and can be instrumental in tailoring local policies to the accessibility-related challenges for vulnerable groups.

ABSTRACT This study examines how audiences and creators co-produce value in YouTube English-learning communities. Drawing on Bourdieu's capitals and the linguistic marketplace, and Bakhtin's dialogism, engagement metrics are analysed alongside audience sentiment for three online language influencers on YouTube. The cases illustrate how YouTube can operate as a participatory linguistic marketplace in which prestige, authority, and legitimacy are continually negotiated through audience uptake and platform-visible metrics. Combining metrics with qualitative analysis of comment discourse traces how symbolic value is created, recognised, and positioned as potentially convertible into economic gain. Audiences were not passive but active co-constructors of linguistic value. They reinforced dominant hierarchies via praise for nativeness, authority, and prescriptive norms, yet also challenged them through multilingual comparisons, peer correction, and solidarity around ‘common mistakes’. Pronunciation content attracts the largest reach, while smaller channels often achieved denser interaction, signalling concentrated recognition. These dynamics illuminate capital conversion pathways and underscore audiences’ central role in shaping legitimacy in digital English language teaching today.

Purpose This study aims to examine how organizational legitimacy operates as a mechanism shaping customer experience during digital platform integration, focusing on the transition from Cornershop to Uber Eats in Chile. It analyzes how pragmatic, moral and cognitive legitimacy influence users’ evaluations of value, trust and attachment. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative abductive research design was used, drawing on 20 semistructured interviews with former Cornershop users who experienced the migration to Uber Eats. Thematic analysis was conducted using institutional theory as the interpretive lens, enabling the identification of legitimacy-based mechanisms underlying service experience evaluations. Findings The findings show that the transition generated a progressive erosion of organizational legitimacy. While pragmatic legitimacy (efficiency and convenience) initially sustained continued platform use, the erosion of moral legitimacy (relational care and fairness) and cognitive legitimacy (cultural identity and familiarity) led to emotional detachment, reduced trust and diminished symbolic value. Even when functional performance was maintained, the loss of ethical and cultural alignment weakened customer attachment and belonging. Research limitations/implications This study is based on a single case within a Latin American context, which may limit generalizability. Future research could extend these findings through cross-national comparisons and by examining legitimacy–value relationships using mixed-method or longitudinal designs. Practical implications Organizations undergoing mergers, rebranding or platform integration should preserve symbolic and cultural elements, ensure transparent communication and maintain relational proximity to prevent the erosion of legitimacy. Social implications The findings highlight that digital platform transformations can disrupt not only service performance but also social trust and community belonging. In Latin American contexts, maintaining cultural identity, ethical sensitivity and relational practices is critical to sustaining platform legitimacy and fostering socially embedded service relationships. Originality/value This study conceptualizes organizational legitimacy as a mechanism shaping customer experience during digital platform transformations. It demonstrates how pragmatic, moral and cognitive legitimacy interact, showing that functional performance alone cannot compensate for the erosion of relational and symbolic legitimacy.

This study proposes a theoretical model that integrates important mediating and moderating effects to explain whether and how homeownership is potentially linked to health in today's Canadian society. This integrative model examines (1) whether the link between homeownership and health is moderated by housing cost (especially housing unaffordability) and (2) whether the homeownership-health link can be explained by the three mechanisms represented by three satisfaction perceptions-housing satisfaction, community satisfaction and life satisfaction-that stress homeownership's material, social and symbolic values, respectively. Guided by the theoretical model, the analyses of the 2021 Canadian Housing Survey data generate important insights. First, there is clear evidence that homeownership is significantly related to better health in Canada and that this link is not diminished by unaffordability. Second, homeownership is not directly linked with health, and the revealed link can be attributed to the three mechanisms. These underlying mechanisms, supported by empirical evidence, can explain how homeownership is related to better health and shed light on how housing inequality may translate into health disparity.

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of pigs in Mesopotamian cultures from the Uruk to Old Babylonian periods through a synthesis of zooarchaeological, textual and iconographic data. Pigs constituted a major component of Mesopotamian foodways, particularly in cities, and this paper synthesises the different and complementary lines of evidence for suid–human relations written in bones, clay tablets and artistic representations. It summarises regional and temporal variations in pig husbandry, including potentially different husbandry practices in northern and southern Mesopotamia. I also examine a seemingly paradoxical situation: despite their dietary significance, pigs were underrepresented in administrative texts and iconography, suggesting they held a different symbolic value than other livestock. Indeed, across time and space, pigs held little significance to institutional economies recorded in administrative documents. Pigs therefore reveal important differences between the subsistence and political economies of ancient Mesopotamia.

The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Indonesia remains relatively low despite strong market potential and increasing environmental concerns. This study aims to examine the influence of esteem needs, cost savings, infrastructure, and ease of operation on consumer attitudes toward EVs and their subsequent behavioral intentions. A quantitative approach was employed using a survey of 100 EV users in Central Java and Jakarta, with data analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that ease of operation (β = 0.332, p < 0.05) is the strongest predictor of attitude, followed by esteem needs (β = 0.280, p < 0.05) and cost savings (β = 0.248, p < 0.05), while infrastructure has no significant effect (β = 0.070, p > 0.05). Attitude significantly influences behavioral intention (β = 0.760, p < 0.001) and mediates the effects of the significant predictors. These findings indicate that EV adoption in Indonesia is driven more by psychological and economic factors than by infrastructure readiness. The study extends the TAM by integrating these factors within a sustainable consumption context. Practically, policymakers and marketers should emphasize ease of use, cost benefits, and symbolic value to accelerate adoption.

This article makes a novel contribution to the literature on the impacts of intimate partner violence (IPV) through a qualitative study across specific spaces in Ghana and Pakistan, namely home, work, religious institutions, and marketplaces. We argue that women's ability to capitalize on the symbolic and material value of place is crucially mediated by violence. We further argue that the impacts of IPV in relation to use of space are intensified by the threat of re-perpetration and the stigma associated with IPV. The article thus contributes a spatial analysis to the understanding of the costs of IPV, including the complex dynamics of IPV beyond the domestic space.

The concept of public bike-sharing in China has been on the rise since 2015. However, the concept‘s acceptance, adoption and implementation remain limited. This is as a result of some underlying issues such as trust and technological infrastructural requirements. This study evaluated the sustainability of bike transportation through an assessment of two perceived green value (PGV) dimensions; collaborative consumption (CCV) and symbolic value (SV). The study was guided by the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and value-belief-norm (VBN) theory. The specific objectives were to establish the effect of CCV and SV on TPB’s constructs; attitude (ATT), subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC), and to establish the mediating role of biospheric attributes on the relationship between CCV, SV and ATT. The altruism effect on intention to engage in bike sharing was also established. The research adopted a cross-sectional survey design. An online platform was used in data collection targeting Chinese respondents. Data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The key findings from a survey of 452 respondents indicated positive relationship between CCV, SV and three TPB factors apart from a slight discordant between CCV and PBC. Further, ATT, SN and PBC had positive effects on intention to consume green services. The study adds to green marketing and consumer behavior literature and provides relevant results to service providers and policy makers. The scholars acknowledge the study‘s limitations and offer research directions for future studies.

Teachers' cultural identities in educational practice often do not fully reflect their original ideologies, but rather merge with local identities through complex social interactions. This study aims to examine how teachers with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) backgrounds negotiate their cultural identities in the context of Muhammadiyah schools through a process of blurring boundaries. This study aims to understand the representation of teachers' identities within the work culture of schools with mismatched beliefs. This study used a qualitative approach with a case study approach. Data were collected through interviews, observation, and documentation. The collected data were analyzed using Miles and Huberman's data analysis techniques, which consist of data reduction, data display, and verification. The results indicate that the representation of teachers' identities within the work culture of NU teachers in Muhammadiyah schools involves the negotiation of teachers' cultural identities in religious practices, the flexibility of language and symbols in learning communication, and the teachers' spiritual professionalism and social intelligence in a pluralistic environment. Thus, identity negotiation occurs harmoniously without conflict, as teachers adapt their worship practices, symbols, and communication styles to Muhammadiyah institutional standards while maintaining their personal identities in the private sphere. This negates the notion that teacher identity within the teacher work culture is a form of religious identity negotiation, a form of harmoniously negotiated religious identity within a pluralistic Islamic institution through symbolic practices, communication, and value development.

The researchers sought to systematically examine the values of clothing for wheelchair users and to analyze the current offerings of adaptive apparel brands through Rosenblad-Wallin's user-centered framework to address these gaps in the literature. Through interviews with seven male wheelchair users and a qualitative content analysis of 14 adaptive apparel brands, findings were synthesized into four themes: (a) functional designs addressing key user needs; (b) clothing as a symbolic value linked to identity and independence; (c) disconnects between adaptive apparel offerings and user expectations; and (d) proposed design criteria to create accessible fashion. While functional designs have improved, symbolic values of clothing such as style and social acceptance remain underserved, leaving many users reliant on mainstream ready-towear apparel that lacks adequate adaptations. Bridging these gaps requires user-centered design principles to create functional, fashionable, and inclusive clothing.