Search Results (1,328)

Widely associated with third- and fourth-wave feminism, Ani DiFranco’s artistic practice creates and curates queer and feminist musical experiences through the tools of songwriting and spoken-word poetry. Since the release of her eponymous debut album in 1990, DiFranco has carved out a distinctive voice within American folk and popular music and has cultivated communities of affiliation across feminist and queer communities. Drawing on Judith Butler’s theory of performativity and David Halperin’s conception of queerness as a form of non-normative identity, this article offers close, textual readings of a selection of DiFranco’s earlier songs and spoken-word poems, including “The Whole Night”, “In or Out”, “Lost Woman Song”, and “Self Evident”. In doing so, the article demonstrates how DiFranco’s performances extend beyond musical expression to function as sites of queer and feminist cultural production, where audiences are invited to participate in broader conversations about identity, community, and social change. Full article

Concerns about digital determinism loom large in popular culture, where advanced predictive systems are frequently portrayed as capable of forecasting, shaping, and controlling individual and societal futures. From Foundation and Minority Report to Black Mirror and Westworld, the assumption that human trajectories can be reduced to data points and scores has become a recurring cultural narrative. Similar concerns have recently gained momentum in the academic literature on artificial intelligence in education, employment, healthcare, and talent identification, where algorithmic systems are increasingly used to evaluate individuals, predict future performance, and allocate opportunities. While such systems may influence developmental pathways and create self-fulfilling loops through early classification and differential access to resources, the assumption that human behavior and societal trajectories can be predicted and controlled with sufficient precision remains open to challenge. This perspective article examines whether contemporary visions of digital determinism are compatible with complexity science by drawing upon motor variability, an inherent source of randomness in human movement, and emergence, whereby interactions among individuals give rise to unpredictable system-level properties that cannot be reduced to the behavior of individual agents. We argue that these inherent properties impose fundamental constraints on algorithmic prediction and control. At the same time, we emphasize that algorithms in educational, occupational, and healthcare systems may substantially shape developmental trajectories and life opportunities insofar as individuals and institutions choose to delegate such power to them. Full article

Tourism is an activity that contributes positively to economic growth. Although tourism should be supported because of its benefits for a region’s development, it can place a strain on the environment. Integrating the principles of sustainable development into tourism is essential to ensuring its long-term viability while protecting natural and cultural resources. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of tourism pressure, its trends, and its impact on sustainable development in three major rural tourist regions of Romania, namely Humor, Câmpulung Moldovenesc, and Dorna, located in the historical province of Bucovina, Suceava County. An analysis of the trends in the three evaluation indicators (density, duration, and pressure level) at the rural region level (Humor Region, Câmpulung Moldovenesc Region, and Dorna Region) is warranted, as these regions are the main centers of attraction and development for rural tourism in Suceava County. Between 2001 and 2023, the density indicator (arrivals/km²) showed significant increases in all three rural regions analyzed—over 6000% in Humor, 2200% in Dorna, and 2000% in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, significantly amplifying the pressure on these three areas; the duration indicator (overnight stays/km²) recorded considerable increases of over 7400% in Humor, 2400% in Dorna, and 2250% in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, proving to be a much more severe pressure indicator than the density indicator; and the pressure level indicator (arrivals/resident population) increased substantially, by over 8000% in Humor, 2100% in Dorna, and 2000% in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, indicating profound sociocultural pressure on the rural communities analyzed. The importance of this research and the originality of this study are closely linked to an understanding of the evolution and intensity of tourism pressure in the three regions analyzed, with a view to informing future strategies for sustainable rural development. An analysis of the environmental pressure caused by tourism in the three regions of Bucovina for the period 2001–2023 reflects a shift from a localized and negligible impact to an increasingly significant pressure. Currently, the regions face the challenge of balancing rapid economic development with the critical need to preserve their unique heritage. Identifying increases in tourist pressure can facilitate the implementation of effective mitigation measures, which are essential for ensuring the sustainability of tourism-related activities in the most popular tourist regions of Bucovina. Full article

The following article investigates the way in which popular media in Western culture reinforces a shared imagination linked to the treatment and care of people experiencing mental health conditions that are often associated with horror, violence, and crime. These representations haunt our vision of what it means to receive a mental health diagnosis, instilling fear and negative perceptions of mental illness in our psyche. The violent and disturbing imagery that is often used to portray mental illness, and made for entertainment purposes, reinforces a shared subconscious fear that haunts our imagination. These portrayals of mental illness fail to bridge the gap between human trauma, a medical diagnosis and a positive return to the community. This article uses examples of popular media from the twenty-first century to demonstrate how imagery linked to the age of asylums persists in today’s representations of mental health experiences. These images are reinforced by mainstream news stories, which draw on the most sensational and frightening incidents of mental health episodes. In summary, this article will highlight the way that popular media is influenced by society and has the power to reshape our understandings of mental health experiences for the better. To do this, there is a need for positive change within the mental health system, and more balance within news stories about mental health conditions. Full article

The relationship between science and values is a classic and important issue in the philosophy of science. Ernan McMullin, a philosopher of science, believes that as science matures, the pursuit of epistemic values leads to the gradual exclusion of non-epistemic values. Michael Ruse, a philosopher of biology, emphasizes the uniqueness of this issue in evolutionary biology: the expulsion of progressivist cultural values actually stems from the influence of another cultural value, rather than purely from the pursuit of epistemic values. Therefore, the concept of evolutionary progress cannot completely escape the entanglement of cultural values. Even today, biologists still use other concepts to discuss a metaphor sympathetic to progressivist cultural values. By sorting out the discussions on evolutionary progress among evolutionists in different periods, this paper aims to show that Ruse’s view that “the concept of evolutionary progress is necessarily bound to cultural values” is wrong. Although Ruse correctly points out the uniqueness of this topic in evolutionary biology, his argument hinges on Thomas Huxley’s distinction between professional science and popular science. Huxley confined evolutionary progress to the latter—an area with looser academic norms—which complicates the process of expelling cultural values. More importantly, this paper argues that Ruse’s central mistake is his failure to distinguish between two fundamentally different kinds of value: the cultural values imported by human beings into the concept of evolutionary progress, and the survival values that arise from the functional performance of organisms themselves. The former can, in principle, be excluded from mature scientific discourse; the latter cannot, because they are constitutive of what evolutionary progress describes. By conflating these two categories, Ruse wrongly concludes that even today, the concept of evolutionary progress still cannot be separated from the influence of cultural values. Full article

Plant-based cream cheese alternatives are gaining popularity, yet replicating the sensory and nutritional attributes of dairy cream cheese remains challenging. Plant proteins often impart undesirable flavors and differ structurally from dairy proteins, resulting in weaker emulsifying and gelling properties, as well as compromised product structure and texture. Hydrocolloids are commonly used to improve organoleptic properties and/or spreadability but may introduce gummy textures and conflict with clean-label expectations. Fermentation represents a promising strategy to address these challenges. Exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing starter cultures can naturally enhance texture. Depending on EPS type, concentration, molecular structure, and interactions with the food matrix, fermentation can improve creaminess, viscosity, and water-holding capacity while supporting cleaner-label formulations. In addition, fermentation may improve flavor, protein digestibility, and amino acid bioavailability and reduce antinutritional factors, while EPS may confer health-related benefits. This review examines how fermentation, particularly EPS biosynthesis, can improve the overall quality and texture of plant-based cream cheese alternatives, considering current market formulations. The reviewed literature indicates that fermentation and in situ-formed EPS offer potential, although their effects depend on strain selection, matrix composition, and processing conditions. Pulsed electric fields and ultrasound may enhance EPS production, representing an underexplored field of research. Future studies should assess these strategies in complex plant-based matrices to clarify matrix-specific effects. Full article

This study investigated the microbiological quality of “aguas frescas” (fresh fruit drinks) by using fecal coliform and E. coli as microbiological indicators of food safety culture in three types of markets: those with reputable established quality systems (RMQSs), those of reputable brands governed solely by NOM-251 (RMNs), and popular markets (PMs). Additionally, other hygiene aspects outlined in the Mexican regulation NOM-251 were evaluated. Results showed that 100% of samples from RMQS met the permissible limits for both parameters. In contrast, 53% of RMN samples and 75% of PM samples were non-compliant for fecal coliforms. Similarly, non-compliance with E. coli was observed in 40% of RMN and 51% of PM samples. These findings highlight a clear disparity in “aguas frescas” quality across different market types. Moreover, a lack of food hygiene practices was detected in those RMN and PM establishments. Lower compliance rates were observed for the use of face masks (60%), hairnets (43%), and gloves (30%). Certain aspects of the study demonstrated deficiencies in food handling, encompassing both preparation and preservation methods. The data highlight a need for improved training and enforcement of hygiene practices. Full article

This essay discusses feminist ideas in connection to the occulture—Christopher Partridge’s term for the re-enchantment of art, popular culture, and everyday life through esoteric and spiritual currents—present in opera, musical theater, and film, focusing on femmes fatales, tricksters and ‘wicked women’ in a transcultural approach to religion, (Western) esotericism, and the performing arts. The spiritual–scientific embodiment of Afro-Brazilian traditions is explored through the figure of Pombagira—a Brazilian occultural creation of a female enchantress with mystical powers connected to healing and sex, often placed in patriarchal opposition to her male counterpart, Exu. Drawing on Partridge’s notions of occulture and Walter Mignolo’s understanding of decoloniality, the Western gendering imposed on Pombagira as a purveyor of evil is discussed as both mythology and potential epistemicide. The thesis statement presented here is that the Pombagira episteme is an underlying emblem throughout art and scholarship invested in queering essential binary categories of womanhood, as seen in staged adaptations of Verdi’s La forza del destino (1862), Bizet’s Carmen (1875), and numerous cinematic Lola incarnations—Marlene Dietrich’s in Der blaue Engel (1930), Gwen Verdon’s in Damn Yankees (1958), and Almodóvar’s in Todo sobre mi madre (1999). This indisciplinary reading connects Gloria Anzaldúa’s queer feminist practice of spiritual mestizaje with the Pombagira as an occultural anti-patriarchal force. Full article

Current approaches to urban greenery often led to a certain uniformity of vegetation. The desire of residents to be able to grow plants according to their own preferences and to co-create the appearance of the surroundings of their houses therefore leads to the emergence of spontaneous initiatives. One of these phenomena is the narrow strips at the interface between the foundations of houses and the sidewalks of streets in continuous urban development, which are used for growing plants and are referred to as “Jardin de la Rue”. The assessment of street vegetation with “Jardin de la Rue” elements took place in the urban district of Saint-Genès, which is part of the city of Bordeaux in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. The description of the street vegetation with the “Jardin de la Rue” represents an important first step towards understanding the causes of their creation and the subsequent ecological and social interactions. The creation of these small green spaces is the result of the initiative of residents, and these areas are not part of the planned urban green space. Field surveys in selected streets took place in August–September in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Based on the analysis of the species composition, a total of 107 plant taxa were recorded in the streets. The most frequently recorded ornamental taxa include Lonicera japonica Thunb., Alcea rosea L. and Passiflora caerulea L. The most popular group of cultivated plants consists mainly of lianas, e.g., Akebia quinata (Thunb. ex Houtt.) Decne., Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth, Lonicera japonica Thunb., Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch., Passiflora amethystina J.C.Mikan, Solanum laxum Spreng., Trachelospermum asiaticum (Siebold & Zucc.) Nakai, Trachelospermum jasminoides (Lindl.) Lem. and Wisteria sinensis (Sims) Sweet. The most frequently represented taxa belong mainly to the weed group, e.g., Amaranthus deflexus L., Taraxacum sect. Taraxacum F.H.Wigg., Paspalum dilatatum Poir. The vegetation of the “Jardin de la Rue” elements is a manifestation of the cultural function of plants. The free choice of cultivated taxa allows residents to express their preferences and relationship to the place. Respect for these spontaneous green spaces and their vegetation composition by the city administration is a manifestation of mutual cooperation and at the same time a means of strengthening the ties of residents to their place of residence. These elements may deserve greater consideration within contemporary approaches to construction, architecture and urban planning. Full article

The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is a quintessential symbol of the Mediterranean basin, representing a profound intersection of ecological adaptation, agricultural evolution, and cultural identity. Italy, where the olive has shaped dietary habits, traditional medicine, folklore, and landscape from prehistory to the present, serves as a primary macro-region for studying the co-evolution of human societies and this iconic plant. In this vein, this paper examines the ethnobotanical trajectory of O. europaea on the Italian peninsula through an analysis of traditional knowledge concerning its medicinal and ritual uses, reported in ethnographic literature dating from the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century. In addition, we conducted a review of Italian ethnobotanical fieldwork published between 2000 and 2025. Accordingly, olive leaves (used as antihypertensives, febrifuges, hypoglycemic and apotropaic agents), bark and roots (to treat various pathologies) and oil (in rituals for spiritual healing and against evil eye, as an emollient for dermatological pathological and cosmetical conditions and as a vehicle for infusing other therapeutic herbs) have found a central place in the Italian popular pharmacopeia and magic-religious practices. The roots of these traditions have been contextualized within a wider Mediterranean oleo-culture rising from the second millennium BCE. By identifying knowledge gaps, documenting regional ethnobotanical diversity, and connecting historical and contemporary evidence, this work provides a novel framework for future comparative ethnobotanical research. Eventually, a discussion on how contemporary Italy is reframing this botanical legacy through the lenses of agrobiodiversity conservation and the safeguarding of historical rural landscapes against modern threats such as climate change and phytosanitary crises is presented. Full article

This study investigates the mechanism of “reverse spatial production” in contemporary urban China by examining the transformation of the Hangou Dawang Temple in Yangzhou. Utilizing a multidimensional framework that integrates Henri Lefebvre’s spatial triad with Michel de Certeau’s theory of everyday practice, the research explores how a state-constructed, secular “cultural landscape” was reclaimed as a living field of popular belief. Data were collected through intensive fieldwork (2025–2026), including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and digital ethnography. The findings reveal that following the temple’s entrustment to the Taoist Association in 2017, grassroots actors—centered around a Taoist cleric and the local congregation—successfully resacralized the site through the introduction of material media, ritual performances, and social networking. This process dissolved the official spatial discipline of the “landscape island,” transforming it into a substantive religious hub. The study identifies a “Non-Antagonistic Symbiotic Model” of spatial production, characterized by a cycle of top-down construction, bottom-up reconstruction, and mutual negotiation. It argues that the state’s heritagization strategy inadvertently provides a legitimate vessel for religious resilience, while grassroots tactical appropriations allow for the survival of popular religion within modern urban landscapes. This research offers a prototypical case for understanding the resilience of popular belief and the reconstruction of heritage authenticity in the post-secular urban context of China. Full article

Eye cosmetics, including eyeliners, mascaras, eyeshadows, and eyebrow products, are widely used to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the eyes. While generally considered safe, their application to the delicate periocular region can pose significant risks to ocular surface health. Growing clinical and experimental evidence links the use of eye cosmetics to ocular surface disorders, including blepharitis, conjunctivitis, dry eye syndrome, and meibomian gland dysfunction. These adverse effects may result from mechanical irritation, chemical exposure, microbial contamination, or allergic reactions associated with cosmetic ingredients such as pigments, preservatives, emulsifiers, and fragrances. In addition, emerging periocular aesthetic procedures and novel formulations containing nanoparticles and complex additives may further contribute to ocular surface instability and inflammation. The growing popularity of eye cosmetics, influenced by social media, cultural trends, and the global beauty industry, underscores the importance of understanding their impact on ocular health. Thus, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the composition, types, ocular migration, and potential adverse effects of eye cosmetics and periocular aesthetic practices. By highlighting the clinical implications of cosmetic use on the ocular surface, this study emphasizes the need for evidence-based guidance, safe cosmetic practices, and further research to mitigate lifestyle-related ocular risks. Full article

This article presents a sociohistorical analysis of Assamese popular science writing (bigyan sahitya) over nearly two centuries (1846–2018), arguing that what has often been described as a regional literary tradition is more usefully understood as a durable vernacular knowledge ecosystem—a sustained institutional, periodical, and discursive infrastructure through which scientific modernity has been linguistically mediated, socially circulated, and culturally embedded in Assamese-speaking publics. Drawing on Assamese-language archival sources and engaging international scholarship on the public understanding of science, vernacular modernity, and postcolonial knowledge circulation, the article reconstructs three interlocking structures through which the ecosystem has operated: the print public sphere consolidated by the missionary newspaper Arunodoy from 1846; the civic-scientific institutional architecture of Pashupalan (1925), the Asom Bigyan Samiti and Bigyan Jeuti (launched in 1961), and the Asom Bigyan Lekhak Sangstha (1999); and the literary-scientific mediation that produced the science-fiction tradition (kalpabijnan). The ecosystem has reproduced itself through workshops, handbooks, and terminology projects, navigating four political–economic ruptures without institutional collapse. The case offers a productive empirical basis for theorising how societies vernacularise scientific knowledge over the long term. Full article

Genealogy is about the things that are transmitted from one generation to the next: blood, name, property but also grief, guilt, belief and dread. A genealogical reading of Stephen King’s fiction suggests that this is the last category of inheritance that preoccupies the writer’s imagination and that the entire oeuvre is more concerned with the transmission of fear and supernatural power through kinship, community and place than with the terror of the haunted subject alone. In King’s fiction, fear is inherited rather than merely experienced, supernatural power is transmitted rather than acquired and horror is reproduced through families, communities and social institutions. This study, which uses King’s novels as evidence rather than as objects of close reading and draws on genealogy studies, cultural and collective memory theory, trauma studies and family-systems thinking, traces four recurrent genealogical structures: the family lineage of fear; the inheritance of supernatural capacity as a form of cultural transmission; the ancestral burden carried by communities and reproduced through their memory; and the consolidation of these into durable genealogies of identity, power and trauma. King’s fiction thus provides an underutilized archive for genealogy studies: a popular genre in which cultural fears of lineage, descent and social reproduction are performed at the interface of the affective and the supernatural. In all these novels, the struggle to break free from what one has inherited is hard and it is this struggle that the present study examines. Full article

In recent decades, kombucha, a beverage produced through the fermentation of tea leaves by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts (SCOBY), has gained considerable popularity and attracted increasing scientific interest. However, the influence of SCOBY composition on kombucha characteristics remains insufficiently explored. In the present study, green tea kombuchas fermented with four different SCOBYs (SCs) were monitored over 21 days through physicochemical (pH), biochemical (total soluble solids (TSS), ethanol, proteins, and phenolic compounds), and microbiological (yeasts, acetic acid bacteria, and lactic acid bacteria) analyses. Based on these parameters, the most suitable bottling time was established for each kombucha (7 days for SC3 and SC4; 10 days for SC1 and SC2), considering acceptable and safe pH values, reduced TSS levels (4.3–4.6 °Brix), ethanol concentrations below 1.2%, and increased protein and phenolic compound contents, all of them differently affected by the SC used. At the selected bottling stages, the kombuchas exhibited DPPH^● and ABTS^●+ radical scavenging capacities (TEAC values up to 7.7 and 36.7 µmol/mL, respectively) and inhibitory activity against an Escherichia coli strain. These preliminary findings suggest the impact of SC composition and support further studies involving advanced phenolic, microbiological, and functional characterization approaches. Full article