Search Results (143)

The Western genre has traditionally been associated with American identity and male-dominated narratives. However, recent decades have seen increasing attention to female protagonists, particularly the European woman as a cultural mediator within the frontier context. This study aims to identify the archetypes of the European woman in the Western genre through a diachronic and comparative analysis of the visual language found in European painting from the late 17th to early 19th centuries and in 20th–21st century cinema. The research methodology combines narrative, visual, and semiotic analysis, with a focus on intermedial and intertextual parallels between visual art and film. The study identifies nine archetypal models corresponding to goddesses of the Greek pantheon and traces their transformation across different aesthetic systems. These archetypes, rooted in artistic traditions such as Baroque, Classicism, Romanticism, and others, reappear in Western films through compositional, symbolic, and iconographic strategies, demonstrating their persistence and ability to transcend temporal, medial, and geographical boundaries. The findings suggest that the woman in the Western genre is not merely a central character, but a visual sign that activates cultural memory and engages with deep archetypal structures embedded in the collective unconscious. Full article

This article analyzes the role of parish churches, erected after 1945, in shaping the urban and social structures of the Szczecin housing estates, examining their importance and impact on the surrounding space. This research focused on three groups of churches as spatial landmarks and symbols of young heritage, analyzing their location, form, and social significance. The objective of the present research was to determine how contemporary churches perform a dominant function in space and how they affect the social identity of residents, to determine whether these churches can be considered objects of young cultural heritage. This work used field research, spatial and photographic analysis, and typological classification. Six selected churches were subjected to comparative analysis. The results indicate a clear impact of sacred architecture on public spaces and the need to formulate new monument protection strategies for contemporary sacred objects as elements of urban cultural heritage. This article fits into the current discussions on the creation of criteria for evaluating post-war architecture and its place in the structure of a developing city. We noticed the lack of tools and directions for the protection of young heritage, and suggested directions for the sustainable protection of contemporary buildings. Full article

Ancient temple complexes in China’s mountainous landscapes exemplify a profound synthesis of environmental adaptation and cultural expression. This research investigates the spatial logic underlying the Wudang Mountain temple complex—a UNESCO World Heritage site—through integrated geospatial analysis of environmental factors. Using GIS-based modeling, GeoDetector, and regression analysis, we systematically assess how terrain, hydrology, climate, vegetation, and soil conditions collectively influenced site selection. The results reveal a clear hierarchical clustering pattern, with dense temple cores in the southwestern highlands, ridge-aligned belts, and a dominant southwest–northeast orientation that reflects intentional alignment with mountain ridgelines. Temples consistently occupy zones with moderate thermal, hydrological, and vegetative stability while avoiding geotechnical extremes such as lowland humidity or unstable slopes. Regression analysis confirms that site preferences vary across temple types, with soil pH, porosity, and bulk density emerging as significant influencing factors, particularly for cliffside temples. These findings suggest that ancient temple planning was not merely a passive response to sacred geography but a deliberate process that actively considered terrain, climate, soil, and other environmental factors. While environmental constraints strongly shaped spatial decisions, cultural and symbolic considerations also played an important role. This research deepens our understanding of how environmental factors influenced the formation of historical landscapes and offers theoretical insights and ecologically informed guidance for the conservation of mountain cultural heritage sites. Full article

Forecasting multivariate time series is a pivotal task in controlling multi-sensor systems. The joint forecasting of all channels may be too complex, whereas forecasting the channels independently may cause important spatial inter-dependencies to be overlooked. In this paper, we improve the performance of single-channel forecasting algorithms by designing an interpretable front-end that extracts the spatial–temporal components from the input multivariate time series. Specifically, the multivariate samples are first segmented into equal-sized matrix symbols. The symbols are decomposed into the frequency-separated Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) using a 2D Empirical-Mode Decomposition (EMD). The IMF components in each channel are then forecasted independently using relatively simple univariate predictors (UPs) such as DLinear, FITS, and TCN. The symbol size is determined to maximize the temporal stationarity of the EMD residual trend using Bayesian optimization. In addition, since the overall performance is usually dominated by a few of the weakest predictors, it is shown that the forecasting accuracy can be further improved by reordering the corresponding channels to make more correlated channels more adjacent. However, channel reordering requires retraining the affected predictors. The main advantage of the proposed forecasting framework for multivariate time series is that it retains the interpretability and simplicity of single-channel forecasting methods while improving their accuracy by capturing information about the spatial-channel dependencies. This has been demonstrated numerically assuming a 64-channel EEG dataset. Full article

School has been identified as a suitable arena for targeting improvements in the health of children and young people. Teachers are highlighted as crucial contributors to student health which has resulted in changes in the teaching profession. The aim of this study is to examine the students’ perspective on the role of the teacher in working with student health. Interviews with 34 students aged 16–19 years were carried out. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis with theoretical underpinnings from pragmatism and symbolic interactionism. This approach identified four dominating roles for teachers: (1) a creator of joyful learning, (2) a creator of a sense of control, (3) a spreader of happiness, and (4) a creator of feeling valued. This study shows that the role of the teacher in working with student health is in acting, not in being, and that this role is constantly (re)created through interaction. The student perspective on the role of the teacher in student health work has close similarities to the role of the teacher in inclusive teaching, merging relational competence with didactic skill. In conclusion, we argue that developing teachers’ didactic as well as relational competency, along with understanding competence within a pragmatic and symbolic interactionist theoretical framework, could improve student health practices. Full article

This article examines the intersecting forces of gender, class, and education in early twentieth-century Britain through a feminist reading of Pip Williams’ historical novel The Bookbinder of Jericho. Centering on the fictional character Peggy Jones—a working-class young woman employed in the Oxford University Press bindery—the study explores how women’s intellectual ambitions were constrained by economic hardship, institutional gatekeeping, and patriarchal social norms. By integrating close literary analysis with historical research on women bookbinders, educational reform, and the impact of World War I, the paper reveals how the novel functions as both a narrative of personal development and a broader critique of systemic exclusion. Drawing on the genre of the female Bildungsroman, the article argues that Peggy’s journey—from bindery worker to aspiring scholar—mirrors the real struggles of working-class women who sought education and recognition in a male-dominated society. It also highlights the significance of female solidarity, especially among those who served as volunteers, caregivers, and community organizers during wartime. Through the symbolic geography of Oxford and its working-class district of Jericho, the novel foregrounds the spatial and social divides that shaped women’s lives and labor. Ultimately, this study shows how The Bookbinder of Jericho offers not only a fictional portrait of one woman’s aspirations but also a feminist intervention that recovers and reinterprets the overlooked histories of British women workers. The novel becomes a literary space for reclaiming agency, articulating resistance, and criticizing the gendered boundaries of knowledge, work, and belonging. Full article

This study explores the provenance of white marble architectural elements from Roman Philippopolis, with a particular focus on the Eastern Gate complex. By determining the origin of the marble, we aim to elucidate economic, social, and urban dynamics related to material selection and trade networks. The investigation examines the symbolic significance of prestigious marble in elite representation and highlights the role of quarry exploitation in the region’s economic and technological development. The Eastern Gate, a monumental ensemble integrated into the city’s urban fabric, was primarily constructed with local Rhodope marble, alongside imported materials such as Prokonnesian marble. Analytical methods included petrographic examination, chemical analysis of trace elements (Mn, Mg, Fe, Sr, Y, V, Cd, La, Ce, Yb, and U), and stable isotope analysis (δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C). Statistical evaluations were performed for each sample (37 in total) and compared with a comprehensive database of ancient quarry sources. The results underscore the dominance of local materials while also indicating selective use of imports, potentially linked to symbolic or functional criteria. The findings support the hypothesis of local workshop activity in the Asenovgrad/Philippopolis area and shed light on regional and long-distance marble trade during the Roman Imperial period, reflecting broader economic and cultural interconnections. Full article

As urbanization has accelerated, rail transit has evolved from being a mere means of transportation to a public area that houses the city’s cultural memory and serves as a crucial portal for the public to understand the culture of the city. As an urban public space with huge passenger flow, the metro (or subway) cultural space has also become a public cultural space, serving communal welfare and representing the image of the city. It is currently attracting more and more attention from the academic community. Wuhan, located in central China, has many subway lines and its engineering construction has set several national firsts, which is a typical sample of urban subway development in China. In this study, we use Python 3.13.0 crawler technology to capture the public’s comments on cultural space of Wuhan metro in social media and adopt SnowNLP sentiment score and LDA thematic clustering analysis to explore the overall quality, distinct characteristics, and deficiencies of Wuhan metro cultural space construction, and propose targeted design optimization strategies based on this study. The main findings are as follows: (1) The metro cultural space is an important window for the public to perceive the city culture, and the public in general shows positive perception of emotions: among the 16,316 data samples, 47.7% are positive comments, 17.8% are neutral comments, and 34.5% are negative comments. (2) Based on the frequency of content in the sample data for metro station exit and entrance space, metro train space, metro concourse and platform space, they are ranked as weak cultural spaces (18%), medium cultural spaces (33%), and strong cultural spaces (49%) in terms of the public’s perception of urban culture. (3) At present, there are certain deficiencies in Wuhan metro cultural space: the circulation paths in concourses and platforms are overly dominant, leaving little space for rest or interaction; the cultural symbols of metro train space are fragmented; the way of articulation between cultural and functional space in the metro station exit and entrance space is weak, and the space is single in form. (4) Wuhan metro cultural space needs to be based on locality landscape expression, functional zoning reorganization, innovative scene creation to optimize the visual symbol system and behavioral symbol system in the space, to establish a good image of the space, and to strengthen the public’s cultural identity and emotional resonance. Full article

The sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) literature increasingly promotes certifications as effective tools for diffusing sustainability practices across global production networks. However, this instrumental view underestimates the complex, contested, and often politicized nature of learning in supply chains. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice and Deetz’s classification of research discourses, this paper contrasts the dominant normative view of certifications with a critical sociological approach. We argue that certifications are not merely technical tools but are embedded in power-laden fields that structure which forms of knowledge are valued, transmitted, and resisted. Through a review of the existing literature and theoretical synthesis, this conceptual paper shows how dominant discourses obscure conflicts, exclude peripheral actors, and perpetuate symbolic domination. This paper calls for greater engagement with critical theory to enrich the understanding of sustainability learning and highlights the need to pluralize perspectives in SSCM research. Full article

The present study explores residents’ perceptions of Stintino (Sardinia, Italy) as a tourist destination. The municipality is predominantly known for La Pelosa beach, widely regarded as one of the most attractive coastal sites in Europe. However, its popularity has raised critical issues related to carrying capacity and seasonal overcrowding, contributing to a tourism model centered almost exclusively on beach-related activities. This study aims to investigate how locals conceptualize their place beyond the dominant seaside narrative, particularly considering Stintino’s identity as a former fishing village with a strong maritime tradition. As part of Italy’s designated inner areas, Stintino also embodies a deep-rooted connection to cultural heritage, further reinforcing the need for its preservation. Adopting a photovoice-based participatory visual methodology, this study engaged 15 local stakeholders from key sectors (hospitality, fishing tourism, retail, gastronomy, and cultural institutions) who produced and discussed photographic representations of their lived experience of the territory. The visual material was thematically analyzed using a conceptual framework informed by theories of place perception and social representations. The findings suggested a multifaceted territorial storytelling rooted in local heritage, symbolic spaces, and everyday practices. Tourism governance strategies could incorporate community-based approaches, such as participatory mapping and inclusive narrative development, to foster more sustainable and place-sensitive promotion models. Full article

This study aimed to uncover how harm is normalised in migrant communities using rationalisations, power imbalances, and emotional distancing. This research counters the dominant discourse that migrant communities are cohesive, altruistic, and protective by critically analysing the psychological and moral mechanisms of intra-community harm. Migration scholarship has long extolled the contribution of migrant networks to settlement, employment, and integration. Using a qualitative ethnographic approach, data were gathered using participant observation and semi-structured interviews with twelve purposively sampled migrants. The aim of applying a primary qualitative study was to capture a detailed, first-hand understanding of participants’ lived experiences and social relations. It permitted the in-depth examination of how people rationalise and navigate intra-community harm in the actual contexts of their lives. Thematic analysis yielded four significant findings: one, injustices in the community are frequently met with silence and inaction due to fear and moral disengagement; two, assistance is extraordinarily situational and gendered, often falling disproportionately on women or being mediated by institutions; three, internal exploitation—like rent gouging and manipulation of aid—is justified through community narratives; and four, people increasingly feel isolation, emotional burnout, and only symbolic unity at communal events. The research suggests that, although migrant networks can offer critical resources, they are not invulnerable to internal hierarchies and moral collapses. To create effectively inclusive and nurturing settings, future interventions must account for more than mere structural barriers, intra-group processes, and psychological rationalisations allowing intra-community injury. Full article

Urban color represents the visual skin of a city, embodying regional culture, historical memory, and the contemporary spirit. However, while the existing studies focus on pedestrian-level facade colors, the “fifth facade” from a bird’s-eye view has been largely overlooked. Moreover, color distortions in traditional remote sensing imagery hinder precise analysis. This study targeted 56 Chinese coastal cities, decoding the spatiotemporal patterns of their fifth facade color (FFC). Through developing an innovative natural color optimization algorithm, the oversaturation and color bias of Sentinel-2 imageries were addressed. Several color indicators, including dominant colors, hue–saturation–value, color richness, and color harmony, were developed to analyze the spatial variations of FFC. Results revealed that FFC in Chinese coastal cities is dominated by gray, black, and brown, reflecting the commonality of cement jungles. Among them, northern warm grays exude solidity, as in Weifang, while southern cool grays convey modern elegance, as in Shenzhen. Blue PVC rooftops (e.g., Tianjin) and red-brick villages (e.g., Quanzhou) serve as symbols of industrial function and cultural heritage. Economically advanced cities (e.g., Shanghai) lead in color richness, linking vitality to visual diversity, while high-harmony cities (e.g., Lianyungang) foster livability through coordinated colors. The study also warns of color pollution risks. Cities like Qingdao exposed planning imbalances through color clashes. This research pioneers a systematic and large-scale decoding of urban fifth facade color from a remote sensing perspective, quantitatively revealing the dilemma of “identical cities” in modernization development. The findings inject color rationality into urban planning and create readable and warm city images. Full article

This study explores the ethnobotanical significance of plant species used in the Heet Sip Song (Twelve Monthly Merit-Making) ceremonies in Roi Et Province, Northeastern Thailand. A total of 80 plant species across 73 genera and 42 families were documented. The findings reveal that plants play multifaceted roles in ceremonial life, serving both symbolic and practical purposes rooted in spiritual belief systems and seasonal agricultural cycles. Quantitative analyses using Cultural Significance Index (CSI), Species Use Value (SUV), Genera Use Value (GUV), and Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) highlighted the prominence of key species such as Oryza sativa, Musa acuminata, and Saccharum officinarum in ritual contexts. While staple crops dominate in frequency and cultural value, less commonly cited wild species fulfill specialized functions, reflecting deep local ecological knowledge. The integration of ritual and plant use promotes biodiversity conservation by maintaining plant populations and reinforcing sustainable harvesting practices. These results emphasize the vital role of traditional knowledge in conserving both biological and cultural diversity. As environmental pressures increase, this study underscores the importance of supporting community-led conservation efforts that honor indigenous practices and their contributions to ecological resilience. Full article

In African patriarchal contexts, women have borne the dual responsibilities of mental and physical caregiving for their households and communities. These responsibilities often contribute to significant emotional, social, and economic burdens imposed by deeply entrenched gender and power structures. Alternative psychological coping mechanisms emerge to navigate these challenges, some deeply rooted in cultural and historical practices. One such practice is soil eating, which has been observed in various African communities. Historically linked to cultural and spiritual beliefs, soil eating has been largely unexplored from a psychological perspective. This paper examined soil eating as a coping strategy among women in Africa, investigating its role as a means of emotional relief, resistance, or a symbolic reclamation of agency in the face of oppression. Drawing on the indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) of eZiko siPheka siSophula as a psychological framework, this study engaged sixteen women aged 20 to 89 in Ha Makintane Lesotho to participate in focus group discussions and reveal their personal narratives, cultural traditions, and the intersections of gender, race, and class to understand how this practice helps them manage their mental and emotional toll of patriarchal dominance. This research contributes to discussions on resilience, survival, and the psychological strategies developed by marginalized communities, shedding light on the complex interplay between cultural practices, mental health, and gendered experiences of power. Full article

Historic and cultural heritage districts, as physical carriers of a city’s cultural identity, have become key issues in urban development. Architectural color, as a core visual element of district character, is an important symbol of regional identity recognition. However, further exploration is needed regarding how to integrate architectural color quantification metrics and evaluation techniques into the urban characteristics management framework. In this paper, taking Tianjin’s historic cultural heritage districts as a case study, street view data were utilized, and deep learning along with clustering analysis methods were employed to extract architectural colors. Based on the “point-line-surface” protection strategy, a multi-scale architectural color identification and evaluation method spanning “buildings-streets-districts” was established. This methodology enables the recognition of dominant building colors in heritage zones at the district scale and the assessment of street color harmony and richness at the street scale. By analyzing these two levels, this research interprets the role of architectural color as a visual attribute in defining urban character and enhancing urban distinctiveness. It provides technical support for refining urban characteristics management systems and achieving precise control over the preservation and development of distinctive urban features. Full article