Today's Multicultural Society Research Articles

Implementing Blended Learning Approach for Enhancement of Scientific Attitude of Undergraduate Students

COVID-19 has changed the teaching-learning scenario all around the globe as educational institutions are functioning in a hybrid mode. Blended Learning or Hybrid Learning approach has been a great boon during the pandemic. The blended learning approach mixes online teaching with traditional offline teaching methods to get the best of both approaches. Scientific attitude is a requirement of today's multicultural society for a peaceful and meaningful living. The present research determines the scientific attitude of undergraduate students in blended learning situations. A module of one week duration for the course 'Assessment of Learning' was prepared and implemented for the students of Integrated BA-B.Ed. programme using the Blended Learning approach. The findings indicate a significant enhancement in the scientific attitude of undergraduate students after implementing the blended learning approach. The present research recommends the blended learning approach in the classroom to maximize learning outcomes. The results also provide an idea to implement flexible teaching methods to cater to the diverse learning needs of learners.

The Semiotic Analysis of film Pinjar in Relation to Multiculturalism in Indian Subcontinent's Society as Depicted in Films

A real portrayal of any society or geographic location at any point in time is what is meant when we talk about "culture." The Indo-Pakistani Subcontinent is home to a diverse collection of religious sects, linguistic subgroups, cultural practices, and ethnic communities. As a result of this, the Indo-Pak region is often referred to as having a multicultural society and the entire Indian Subcontinent is founded on the principle that diversity should be celebrated. The film Pinjar serves as a representation of today's multicultural society because it shows people from a number of different ethnic groups and demonstrates their various cultures. This film or book has served as the primary source for the fundamental material that was compiled for this research article. The researcher came to the conclusion that the best way to do this data analysis was to make use of the Pierce model of semiotics. This was done in order to acquire credible results and locate the multiculturalism-related components that were present in the specific text and film in question. The appendix of the research report, which can be found at the very end, will direct you to the precise remnants of this particular term that can be found in the film that was picked and will provide them to you in the form of pictures.

Improvement of automatic speech recognition skills of linguistics students through using ukrainian-english and ukrainian-german subtitles in publicistic movies

The increased world's attention to foreign language studies facilitates the development and improvement of its study system in higher education institutions. Such a system takes into account and promptly responds to the demands of today's multicultural society. All should start with the transformation and modernization of the higher education system. This system includes the introduction of innovative technologies in the study of English and German, which should be focused on the modern demands of the world labor market. All this has determined the relevance of the research. This article aims to establish ways for students to gain automatic recognition skills through subtitling Ukrainian-English and Ukrainian-German publicistic movies and series. The first assessment of new language audio and video corpus was developed at the Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, using an automatic subtitling mechanism to improve linguistics students' recognition and understanding of oral speech. The skills and abilities that improved during the work with the educational movie corpus have been identified.

THE EXPRESSION FORM OF ARTISTIC LANGUAGE IN OIL PAINTING CREATION

The expression of artistic language is one of the most important conditions in the creation of oil paintings. Good works are not limited to subject matter, technique and composition, but more importantly, the artist's conversion of artistic language in his works. Only through the art logic summed up through practice and the unique art language system established by ourselves can we create excellent works of art. Today, with rapid changes, oil paintings are not only presented in museums and art galleries, but also gradually appear in people's lives. The unique charm of oil paintings is deeply loved by people. In today's multicultural society, fast-paced and diverse cultural life has also promoted the further development of oil painting language. In this paper, the comprehensive display of artistic language in oil painting creation and the in-depth exploration of the potential power of expression forms are used for research, hoping to provide some reference for oil painting career and artistic creation language expression.

Editorial Comment from Jane Meijlink to Gynecological associated disorders and management

This practical approach from a world expert will help guide the clinician through the complexities of diagnosing and treating chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in all its forms. In recent years, we have often seen all individual types of CPP bundled under one name: chronic pelvic pain. This may have misled many clinicians into thinking they were dealing with a single condition. As we can see from Dr Whitmore's article, this is not the case. CPP is simply an umbrella term embracing many quite different disorders which may occur individually or together. Dyspareunia has long been neglected in women and still tends to be a taboo issue. Since patients themselves may be too embarrassed to raise the topic with their doctor, clinicians (and primary care) should be trained to treat sexual intimacy as a perfectly normal aspect of health, thereby creating an environment in which the patient feels confident and less embarrassed to discuss the problem. In today's multicultural society, more female clinicians are needed in this field to overcome any reluctance by women and girls to discuss sexual health and intimacy issues with male clinicians. None declared.

Razvijanje interkulturalne kompetencije u ranom i predškolskom odgoju i obrazovanju

Susreti različitih kultura u današnjem globalnom multikulturalnom društvu događaju se gotovo svakog trena u najraznovrsnijim oblicima komuniciranja. Interkulturalna komunikacija zbog sve izraženije međuovisnosti među ljudima različitih kultura, religija, jezika i svjetonazora postala je realnost svakodnevnog života, pri čemu susreti kultura podrazumijevaju nužnost kvalitetnog međusobnog suodnosa temeljenog na ideji interkulturalizma. S obzirom na to da se djetinjstvo smatra izuzetno važnim razdobljem ljudskoga života, ustanove ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja predstavljaju mjesta prve formalne izvanobiteljske socijalizacije i najranijeg institucionalnog prenošenja društveno prihvaćenih normi i vrijednosti, kao i mjesta u kojima se ostvaruju obrasci interkulturalnog odnosa primjenjivi u društvu. U radu je dan prikaz rezultata empirijskog istraživanja koje je imalo za cilj utvrditi razinu osnovnih znanja u području interkulturalizma i ispitati poželjne interkulturalne kompetencije odgajatelja te učinkovitost interkulturalnog djelovanja u procesu ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja.

Theoretical foundations of intercultural business communication and their practical consequences

Intercultural business communication is well researched regarding theoretical foundations; however, we still lack practical consequences of this theoretical enquiry. The aim of the paper is to bring crucial practical implications which could be efficiently used in everyday business activity (such as negotiations, advertising and meetings) in the current global business environment. The current reality of business communication is based purely on interaction with people from other cultures, backgrounds, nations and continents. To communicate successfully we make surface adaptation so that we are able to cross cultural boundaries and transcendent culture, and not only survive in today multicultural society but we manage to prosper, and even economically. When being aware of the differences in rhetoric style and conversational style in various cultures, we can become better communicators and negotiators and therefore be more successful in the global market.

Freedom of Expression, Laïcité and Islam in France: The Tension between Two Different (Universal) Perspectives

ABSTRACTIn France, freedom of expression is perceived as a sort of liberté matricielle, a matrix of other fundamental freedoms. As such, it is reflected in many constitutional provisions, including those referring to religion. In addition, the practical exercise of freedom of expression remains strictly linked with the principle of laïcité, which is part of the institutional, legal and intellectual history of the French Republic and has even become the basis of its founding “values.” All this, however, also implies an accentuation of individual freedom of expression, which normally takes precedence over the protection of religions, sometimes justifying caricature of divinities, rules, rites and symbols. The legal cases related to the right to satirical expression are examples of this. The article underlines the role of freedom of expression in the light of the principle of laïcité, which normally rejects the communitarian dimension of religious rights, which may explain some important aspects of, on the one hand, the evolution of legislation regarding both hate speech and blasphemy within French liberal constitutionalism and, on the other, the relationship between freedom of expression and the secular state. This approach offers a possibility of better evaluating existing French law in relation to some religious nomoi groups, specifically, Islamic organizations. These issues are particularly analysed from two perspectives: the right to criticize or challenge religions and the right to satirize. This analysis makes it possible to identify the legal limits of freedom of expression before and after the 2015 Charlie Hebdo tragedy and highlights the difficulties faced by the so-called laïcité à la française in dealing with today's multicultural societies. The need emerges for a proper balance to be struck between religious diversity and protection of human rights – not only the rights of groups to be different, but also the rights of persons within these groups, which also involves the efforts of religious denominations to articulate their claims in order to make them more compatible with constitutional rights, including those referring to freedom of expression.

The limitations of multiculturalism in Norwegian early childhood education

In Norway, 9 out of 10 children between the ages of one and five participate in an educational formation programme which, despite around half of the kindergartens being privately owned, is regulated by a common law and relatively detailed regulations describing what the content of kindergartens should be. Norwegian kindergartens therefore represent a central institution for integration and transfer of values and morals in today's multicultural Norwegian society. The relatively new situation of multicultural diversity is challenging earlier cultural hegemonies where Christian heritage and tradition combined with a strong social democratic movement were important components. The issue discussed in this paper is how this cultural diversity is dealt with in the early childhood education documents, with emphasis on understanding where the limits of multiculturalism are set. I argue, in dialogue with three standpoints of multiculturalism, that while Norwegian early childhood education embraces cultural diversity, it is unclear about the limits to its political implications.

Cross-Cultural Caregiving and the Temporal Dimension

The caregiving research literature has explored and documented findings from psychological, clinical, and policy/program perspectives, but little is known regarding the contextual perspectives of caregiving. Temporal factors influence the structure and functioning of the caregiving family. The proposed paradigm adaptation extends a contextual perspective that addresses the exploration of the caregiving process as a temporal, dynamic, progressive process over time, in which decisions made by caregivers may not always be based on observable tasks but, nevertheless, may have important consequences. When cultures cross, attitudes and behaviors are modified, resulting from contact with a different set of values and beliefs. Cross-cultural research aims to explore these changes that take place over time. Future research should consider the inclusion of measures that assess the temporal aspect of caregiving and the acculturation considerations of family caregivers. These measures are especially needed because of the increased influence of international migration, economic globalization, and political conflicts in today's multicultural societies.

The impact of cultural symbols and spokesperson identity on attitudes and intentions

In today's multicultural societies, ethnic targeting is an increasingly important marketing strategy. Two main approaches to target ethnic minorities have emerged in recent years: messaging consumers when their ethnic identity is most salient, and doing so with spokespeople or models with the same heritage as the targeted minority. In this paper, we conduct conceptual replications of two influential articles representative of these research streams: Forehand and Deshpandé (2001) and Deshpandé and Stayman (1994). Our studies show that the effects of such practices on minority consumers are not homogeneous. The findings identify generational status (first vs. second generation) as an important boundary condition for these ethnic targeting strategies. This has important conceptual and practical implications for choosing an effective ethnic targeting strategy.

SYNCRETISM OF THE SEASONAL RITUALS IN THE LATGALIAN BORDERLAND

<p>German written sources are representing information on masquerade traditions in Latvia already in the 17th century - Latvian mask parades in 1636 are described by the Kurzeme and Zemgale Superintendent, P. Einhorn. (Jansons 2010: 49). Information about the Latvian masquerade traditions from the Christian Church sources in the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century have been negative, which is analyzed in 30-ties of the 20th century by ethnologist Jānis Alberts Jansons in his work "The Latvian mask parades”, but through a field study at the beginning of 21st century conclusion can be drawn that these traditions have been explicitly significant within the rural cultural environment up to 60-70-ies of the 20th century. Research of traditions does not lose its importance also in today's multicultural society, as it helps to understand the human philosophy of life and relationship with nature of the rural cultural environment.</p><p>This article aims to describe the two Christmas masquerade traditions ‘īšonu gradzēs’ and ‘идти коледовать’ (‘īt kaladnīkūs’– to go mummery), where in Latvia, as elsewhere in the world, "mask parades are associated with celebrations and public holidays” (Rancāne 2008: 217). The paper is also dealing with two Easter traditions – ‘ходить по алелуя’ (walk alelujah), and ‘īt laluoti’ in several aspects related to the Christian church traditions, but inheritance of them has been performed in family, by transfer of the knowledge and skills from generation to generation. In course of the research attention focuses on origin, rites and social sense of the tradition: ‘īšona gradzēs, идти коледовать, ходить по алелуя’ and ‘īt laluoti’. Similarities and dissimilarities are revealed in ritual processes of the said traditions.</p><p>Research hypothesis: upon analysis of winter and spring cycle anniversary celebration rituals of the ethnic groups residing in Latgale, it is possible to discover features of syncretism of these traditions. Features of syncretism of the traditions become apparent in two ways. First, through interaction between the Christian church and folk traditions, which is characterized by: adjustment of the ritual traditions to calendar of the Christian Church holidays, not the natural cycle of solstice; music repertoire, where the narrators do not distinguish between folk songs and the chants, calling then God's songs, and functionality, where the performers of rituals, as narrators indicate, are the first carriers of Christ's message.</p><p>Second, syncretism emerges in traditions of various ethnic groups, affected both by ethnic groups living in the Latgale borderland, the cultural environment developed by them and usage of languages. as well as interaction between the lyrics and musical repertoire and personal experience, grounded on the tradition inherited in the family.</p><p>The study is based on materials of the Latvian Folklore Depository and field research interviews conducted by author of the article in Ludza 2005-2008 (currently Ludza, Kārsava, Cibla, Krāslava and Zilupe municipalities), which covers informatively dense time period: 30-70-ties of the 20th century. The comparative method is used for analysis, where information derived in the field studies is compared to materials from published sources and literature with regard to the rituals of Christmas masquerade tradition and Easter tradition. Theoretical basis of research comprises publications of Latvian (Jānis Alberts Jansons, Aīda Rancāne, Anda Beitāne, etc.) and Polish ethnomusicologist (Gustav Juzala) and other folklore specialists.</p><p>Expressions of syncretism in seasonal rituals in the Latgale borderland are not specifically studied, therefore the author's research is considered to be innovative, but it is not completed and represents only early stages of more serious study.</p>

The Child's Father, an Important Person for the Mother's Well-Being During the Childbirth: A Hermeneutic Study

We describe Swedish mothers’ experiences of having the child's father present during childbirth. A hermeneutic approach was used to collect data in various districts in southwestern Sweden. Analysis of the data acquired from 67 first-time mothers revealed one main category—The child's father becomes an important person for the mother's well-being during the childbirth. Five subcategories were also identified. While the findings refer to the experiences of Swedish women, in today's multicultural societies the findings may be relevant to health care professionals and women from other cultures. The father's role during childbirth is also described in detail.

Ignoranza della legge ed educazione alla legalitŕ in una societŕ complessa

- The aim of this article is to detect the opinions that people hold about the law, using the finely-tuned tools available from public opinion surveys. The problem of familiarity with the law, i.e. of laws that not only target the legal experts, but can also be under- stood by everyone, is becoming increasingly pressing in today's multicultural society, which features a far greater social heterogeneity than in a well-ordered, homogeneous society, such as might have been the case of Italy in the sixties. Combating ignorance of the law and facilitating a gradual but constant education for legality is the only way to guarantee that conflicts will be reduced and the rights of all members of society safeguarded.

'Now Our History is Your History': The Challenge of Relevance for Open-Air Museums

Open-air museums were radical and highly relevant institutions when they first emerged, approximately a century ago: radical because they looked at the everyday lives of ordinary people rather than the cultural concerns of an intellectual elite; relevant because they were the product of a mass popular demand generated by an upsurge of nationalist sentiment and fears over the disappearance of cherished ways of life. In the intervening decades the reputation of open-air museums has waned, especially in academic circles. Whilst they remain hugely popular with the mass of the population, many academics now perceive the concept as intellectually redundant, essentially conservative institutions peddling a romanticised view of an idyllic rural past which probably never existed and totally unequipped to interpret the complex realities of today's diverse and multi-cultural society. This paper challenges that view, exploring the way that open-air museums have consistently re-invented themselves in the face of changing circumstances and providing clues to the future direction of European open-air museums.

Re-centering: culture and knowledge in conflict resolution practice

At its core, the field of conflict resolution is about relationships and ways of approaching methods for problem solving. These relationships and approaches vary greatly depending on the individual, society, and historical background. Cultural perspective is thus fundamental to any dispute intervention. Re-Centering Culture and Knowledge in Conflict Resolution Practice is a collection of essays by scholars and practitioners of conflict resolution and grassroots members of communities whose contributions are not commonly recognized.The volume offers a sampling of the cultural voices essential to effective practice yet often considered marginal in the discourse of conflict resolution. The authors explore the role of culture, race, and oppression in resolving disputes. Drawing on firsthand experience and sound research, the authors address such issues as culturally sensitive mediation practices, the diversity of perspectives in conflict resolution literature, and power dynamics. The first anthology of its kind, this book combines personal narratives with formal scholarship. By melding these varied approaches, the authors seek to inspire activism for social justice in today's multicultural society.

Religious Rights for Minorities in a Policy of Recognition

AbstractReligion plays an important role in today's multicultural society, especially when it comes to religious rights for minorities. Granting these rights stems from an endeavour to transcend a politics of tolerance, even a politics of respect, and to treat them in terms of a politics of recognition. Assigning these rights implies that some principles need to be critically reflected upon: the individualistic interpretation of minority rights, the separationist interpretation of the separation between church and state, the secularist interpretation of religious freedom, and the uniformistic interpretation of the state's legal unity. In granting minorities religious rights, one comes across the importance of their personal law, including marriage law and family law. To incorporate such personal law into the legal systems of Western society, one could apply the distinction between the domains of status demarcation, that refers to entering and belonging to a community, and property distribution, that relates to the rights and duties implicit in these social bonds. The former may be provided for by religious law, the later, by secular law. However, the question is whether marriage under religious law, and rights and duties under secular law can solve the problems women suffer from, especially in the case of polygyny.

A Consideration for the Participation in Collective Memory

From a sociological standpoint of view, memory, history and myths play a great role in group formation and the problem of identification of the subject. But for the analysis of today's multicultural and multi-ethnical society, we also need comparative sociological studies of the formation of collective memory.This study investigates the ethno-psychotherapeutic clinical practice of Tobie Nathan in France and discusses the structural difference between ethno-psychotherapy and European psychotherapy, particularly the manipulation of the mythic and historical materials of the subject.This paper explains the nature of memory in ethno-therapeutic practice as generative memory, which is regenerated and maintained by continual practice in a group. The psychological disorders of group members are cured through a total regeneration of social myths themselves.On the other hand, from a psychoanalytical point of view, the modern subject is structured by scission from the “Other” as the place where collective generative memory is developed. To compensate for this scission, the modern subject changes the collective generation of memory by repeating its own myth.By this argument, the author concludes that these two types of clinical practice reveal historical and environmental transformation of the subjective dispositif. With this argument, we can better appreciate clinical psychotherapeutic practices in other cultures.

New understandings of parental grief: literature review.

Health professionals have a critical role in supporting bereaved parents and rely on models of grief to inform and guide their practice. However, different models, based on fundamentally different theoretical perspectives and research paradigms, do not necessarily reflect the experiences, or particular needs, of bereaved parents. The aim of this paper is to report a literature review exploring changing theoretical perspectives in relation to parental grief in the United Kingdom and United States of America. A literature search was conducted of nursing, medical and social science data bases using the key words bereaved parents, models of grief and theories of grief. This revealed 266 publications, of which 32 were relevant. Contemporary literature has formed the focus of this review but older material has been included to trace how theoretical perspectives on parental grief have evolved over time. Theoretical perspectives, on which models of grief are based, have evolved continuously over the last century. Also, traditional and new models differ because in that they are rooted in positivistic and non-positivistic research paradigms respectively. The main implications for health professionals are that new models can be applied in practice to support parents in their grief. The literature reflects an Anglo-American cultural perspective and further research is needed to reflect the multicultural diversity of today's multicultural societies. This review highlights fundamental differences between traditional and new models of grief. Traditional models, place emphasis on bereaved people letting go of their emotional relationships with those who have died. In contrast, new models, place emphasis on parents holding on to their relationship with their dead children, and identify therapeutic interventions that support parents in their grief.

Developing Intercultural Competence: An Action Plan for Health Educators

In today's multicultural society, intercultural competence has become a critical component of the health educator's skill portfolio. This competency is required for understanding ourselves and others from different cultures, managing relationships, developing and implementing programs that match the needs of target audiences, and integrating our insights as educators into larger political and economic institutions. Intercultural competence requires knowledge of culture theory; awareness of the impact of culture on health beliefs, health behaviors, and learning styles; and a willingness to change behavior in ways that promote cultural synergy. Health educators can improve their intercultural competence by studying culture theory; participating in cross-cultural simulations; developing insights into the behavior of individuals and groups experiencing cross-cultural tensions; developing personal strategies for responding to cross-cultural conflicts; expanding opportunities to interact with individuals from other cultures; and keeping an intercultural journal and clipping file. These actions can help health educators develop the type of intercultural skills needed for effective health education within today's multicultural society.