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Mauli ola, optimal health and wellbeing from a Hawaiian perspective, is achieved by being pono, or morally just and upright, and maintaining an intricate balance physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally through one’s relations. Cultural practices, including practices that foster a connection to the water, land, ocean, and natural environment, may serve as protective and resilience factors, thereby promoting health and wellbeing. This paper starts by sharing the genealogical foundations of cultural practices in Hawai‘i as the foundations of Native Hawaiian lifestyles and ways of knowing. The paper proceeds with data analyses that aim to better understand the role of cultural practices in relation to connectedness to ‘Āina (the land, nature, and the environment, which nourish our bodies) and Native Hawaiian health based on cross-sectional correlations and qualitative data. The findings demonstrate the importance of cultural practices, specifically ‘Āina practices, and identify ‘Āina protection, restoration, and conservation as major health priorities. The correlations demonstrate statistically significant relationships between cultural practices; a physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional connection to ‘Āina; and health outcomes. These findings continue to support literature and other declarations that support healthcare and medicine that are culturally grounded in Indigenous values and traditional systems of medicine.

Deuteronomy 23:3, says: “No … Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord”. This verse is motivated by a discriminatory tendency embedded in the ontology of the Deuteronomist. Interestingly, Deuteronomy 23:3 was used by Ezra-Nehemiah to discriminate against the “Moabites” during the Second Temple. Such ontology is countered by the author of Ruth in the narrative of Ruth during the Second Temple. This demonstrates an ontological “war” within the Bible itself. The primary contestation lies in whether God is exclusive or inclusive. This development necessitates a hermeneutics of suspicion. In the course of history, the “theology” of Deuteronomy has been used to grossly violate the human dignity of many God-fearing African people and many other people of the South for colonial purposes. To exacerbate the situation, there were persistent attempts from some quarters to universalise such a discriminatory biblical perspective. This would feed into the centre–periphery arrangement, with the centre feeding the periphery with such hermeneutics. For this reason, African scholars are implored to be very vigilant against ardent pressures put on the biblical texts by ontological, epistemological, and contextual biases of interpretations. Accordingly, Andrew Mbuvi identifies African Biblical Hermeneutics perfectly when he says it seeks to undo “the very construct of the ‘centre-periphery’ binary by allowing the possibility of multiple centres”). Kenneth Ngwa, thus, rightly asserts that African Biblical Hermeneutics considers African epistemologies and conditions “to be invaluable and legitimate contexts and resources in biblical interpretation”), drinking from our own wells). In consequence, this paper intends to set a dialogue between Deuteronomy 23:3 and Ruth 4:18–22. This paper aims to examine the understanding of God behind these verses. This paper will then compare the two theologies with the African philosophical concept of God. Harnessing the African concept of Ubuntu, this paper will de-ideologise the two texts and thus will provide a recommendation concerning the two texts.

The engagement of UNESCO with indigenous peoples and their heritage provides insights into global norms that affect collective cultural rights, religion, and education of indigenous peoples. It also enables insights into structural and organizational challenges and opportunities indigenous peoples experience in the current world. Against this background, this paper analyzes exemplary UNESCO standard-setting documents that explicitly approach indigenous peoples. In doing so, the paper asks first, how these documents situate indigenous peoples in the context of cultural/religious diversity and education. Second, we reconstruct how UNESCO addresses the holistic education of indigenous peoples, and how does it relate to the notion of the holistic approach itself. Methodologically, the paper applies qualitative content analysis with close reading and situates UNESCO’s developments in the theoretical framework of the study of religion. From this perspective, the results address ambiguities around the term “religion”, when concentrated to ritual, and the possibility of convergences between universalist and holistic knowledge.

The relationship between executive functions (EF) and bilingualism has dominated debate in the field. This debate was characterised by optimism for a bilingual advantage until the last decade, when a steady stream of articles reported failure to find a consistently positive effect for bilingualism. In addition to addressing concerns about study quality, this turn of events has spurred research into other variables that may explain the conflicting findings. While recent studies have focused on sociodemographic variables and interactional contexts such as age, code-switching frequency, and socioeconomic class to account for various group and individual differences, the impact of culture is seldom scrutinised. This paper examines the possible effect of culture among bilingual studies on EF by first contextualising how bilingual EF are studied and outlining the absence of culture as a macro variable, followed by a discussion on how culture and language are often conflated. This paper directs attention to the small but emerging research that tracks the importance of culture as a separate variable from language. This review discusses why macro culture and individual monoculturalism or biculturalism need to be carefully elucidated as a factor that can interact with the bilingual experience in shaping EF.

The focus of this paper is the impact of parental cultural capital on offspring’s occupational choice in relation to entrepreneurship. Despite growing interest to cultural motives for entrepreneurship on an individual level, few studies link these two domains empirically. This study follows the Culture Based Development research paradigm (CBD) developed by Tubadji and explores how culture influences occupational choices of school graduates during school-to-work transition. The main hypothesis of this paper is that sons of entrepreneurs are more likely to choose transitions into entrepreneurship after graduating school. I test three hypotheses on a unique historic dataset from Wales, UK, employing Probit analysis. I found a significant correlation between entrepreneurial background of father and son’s entrepreneurial entry. Poor socio-economic status of a father is also a predictor of entry into entrepreneurship of their son, motivated by necessity. The findings of this research contributed to the applicability of CBD to a historic dataset of earlier periods to capture a significant cultural impact on entrepreneurship development in Wales, UK.

As the application of colored designs on cloth using wax in certain areas in decorating items of clothing, Batik is made through several steps that come from drawing the pattern on the paper followed by imitating the pattern on fabric, which is called ngeblat. The next phase is followed by drawing the pattern using wax, which is called mencanting. The subsequent step is the process of coloring the pattern of Batik, called pencoletan, and then subsequently followed by color-locking on Batik through covering the Batik with wax, namely basic color dyeing. This process is called menembok. The final step is making the panting process through washing, called nglorod. This process should attempt to maintain Batik with cultural sustainability, as its process contains several values, such as discipline, creativity, independence, patriotism, responsibility, cooperation, and environmental care. Based on this background, this paper attempts to examine the Batik’s cultural design and to explore its sustainability through co-curricular school program activities. This study focuses on examining the potential in the process of the application of colored design through elaborating the supporting and interfering factors in a co-curricular learning program of Batik. The analysis was made through several points, namely a co-curricular learning program of Batik for enhancing cultural sustainability, a co-curricular learning program of Batik for enhancing national culture and community responsibility, and co-curricular learning of Batik for sustainability and environmental accountability.

Architecture is an evolutionary field. Through time, it changes and adapts itself according to two things: the environment and the user, which are the touchstones of the concept of culture. Culture changes in long time intervals because of its cumulative structure, so its effects can be observed on a large scale. A nation displays itself with its culture and uses architecture as a tool to convey its cultural identity. This dual relationship between architecture and culture can be observed at various times and in various lands, most notably in Latin American designers. The geographical positions of Latin American nations and their political situations in the twentieth century leads to the occurrence of a recognizable cultural identity, and it influenced the architectural design language of that region. The nonlinear forms in architecture were once experienced commonly around Latin America, and this design expression shows itself in the designers’ other works through time and around the world. The cultural background of Latin American architecture investigated within this study, in terms of their design approach based upon the form and effect of Latin American culture on this architectural design language, is examined with the explanation of the concept of culture by two leading scholars: Geert Hofstede and Richard Dawkins. This paper nevertheless puts together architecture and semiology by considering key twentieth century philosophers and cultural theorist methodologies. Cultural theorist and analyst Roland Barthes was the first person to ask architects to examine the possibility of bringing semiology and architectural theory together. Following an overview of existing semiological conditions, this paper analyzed Roland Barthes and Umberto Eco’s hypothesis of the semiological language of architectural designs of Latin American designers by examining their cultural origin. The work’s findings express the historical conditions that enabled the contemporary architecture and culture study of Latin America between 1945 and 1975 to address the “Latin American model” of architectural modernism.

It remains unclear whether the decision to cook with both polluting and cleaner-burning fuels (‘fuel stacking’) serves as a transition phase towards the full adoption of clean-cooking practices, or whether stacking allows households to enhance fuel security and choose from a variety of cooking technologies and processes. This paper offers a unique contribution to the debate by positioning fuel stacking as the central research question in the exploration of existing household survey data. This research analyses the World Bank’s Multi-Tier Framework survey data concerning energy access and cooking practices in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Zambia. Its novel approach uses fuel expenditure data to group urban households according to the intensity of biomass consumption (wood, charcoal) relative to modern fuel consumption (electricity, gas). The research explores how different fuel-stacking contexts are associated with factors related to household finances, composition, experiences of electricity, and attitudes towards modern fuels. This study shows the diversity of characteristics and behaviours associated with fuel stacking in urban contexts, thus demonstrating the need for fuel stacking to feature prominently in future data collection activities. The paper ends with five key recommendations for further research into fuel stacking and its role in clean-cooking transitions.

The emergence of Industry 5.0 has revolutionized technology by integrating physical systems with digital networks. These advancements have also led to an increase in cyber threats, posing significant risks, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This research investigates the resistance of SMEs in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom (UK) to cyber security measures within the context of Industry 5.0, with a specific focus on governance and policy. It explores the cultural and economic factors contributing to this resistance, such as limited awareness of cyber security risks, financial constraints, and competing business priorities. Additionally, the study examines the role of government policies and regulations in promoting cyber security practices among SMEs and compares the approaches adopted by Saudi Arabia and the UK. By employing a mixed methods analysis, including interviews with SME owners and experts, the research highlights challenges and opportunities for improving cyber security governance and policy in both countries. The findings emphasize the need for tailored solutions due to the differing cultural and economic contexts between Saudi Arabia and the UK. Specifically, the study delves into the awareness and implementation of cyber security measures, focusing on SMEs in Saudi Arabia and their adherence to the Essential Cyber Security Controls (ECC-1:2018) guidelines. Furthermore, it examines the existing cyber security awareness practices and compliance in the UK, while also comparing official guidance documents aimed at supporting SMEs in achieving better cyber security practices. Based on the analysis, greater engagement with these documents is recommended in both countries to foster awareness, confidence, and compliance among SMEs, ultimately enhancing their cyber security posture. This paper offers a comparative research study on governance and policy between Saudi Arabia and the UK, presenting a set of recommendations to strengthen cyber security awareness and education, fortify regulatory frameworks, and foster public–private partnerships to combat cyber security threats in the Industry 5.0 landscape.

Education and culture are seen as key components of the learning process. In this context, discussions about the quality of education and approaches to strengthening educational values, as well as the importance of culture in the transmission of these values, are becoming increasingly relevant. However, in Latvia, studies regarding people who attend various cultural events do not focus on strengthening educational values or linking them to the cultural context. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore how educational values are linked to current trends in cultural offerings and how they are reflected in teacher education. The research methodology followed a qualitative and quantitative research paradigm and the specifics of interdisciplinary research. The data were obtained using surveys and focus group discussions. The overall strategy of the study is based on a holistic, multidisciplinary approach that takes the regional discourse in Latvia into account. The research results prove that cultural experiences have contributed to the development of most respondents’ personalities and emphasize the role of teachers in the transmission of educational values. The qualitative and educational content of cultural offerings promotes a culture of discussion, strengthens community consciousness, and shapes cultural taste.

Females and people belonging to ethnic minorities tend to be underrepresented in science occupations. The goal of this paper was to investigate the needs of students of different gender and ethnicity in terms of vocational orientation in order to tailor future interventions to their needs. This paper finds that students of different gender and cultural background differ in their preferences in terms of vocational orientation in science. Two studies were conducted: (1) secondary school students (N = 450) were asked about their current activities and needs in terms of vocational orientation; (2) university students’ (N = 342) retrospective views on their vocational orientation were investigated. Among the secondary school students (1), we found no significant differences in science aspirations, when differentiating between students’ culture and their gender. However, females with migration background tended to wish for information from different sources than other students (contacts with university, teacher feedback, i.e., more formal/professional sources). Male participants without migration background tended to rely more strongly on informal sources such as online video platforms. This study (2) confirmed the finding that more professional feedback would be beneficial. These findings suggest that vocational orientation in science should be more specific to the target group in order to reach those who are currently underrepresented in science.

Japan is often surrounded by the myth of featuring a unique “love for nature”, and its traditional culture and lifestyle as having been “in harmony with nature” before it was corrupted by modernization and Westernization. In this paper, I employ three examples to delineate images of nature in different times of Japanese history and point out the discrepancy between discourse on nature and physical engagement with nature. I argue that the environmental destruction that peaked in the Meiji period (1868–1912) is not primarily derived from a new, dualistic Euro-American understanding of nature. Rather, I demonstrate that environmental harm was already inherent in premodern Japan and was reconcilable with the respective concepts of nature. Therefore, industrialization and the adoption of Western technology solely released the potential for large-scale environmental impact.

Over recent years, social commerce has evolved into a powerful segment of e-commerce, creating new opportunities for brands of all types and sizes. However, if social commerce is to continue to grow and deliver the many benefits it promises, it must address a number of key challenges, including privacy, trust, and ethical concerns. This paper explores the extent to which privacy issues affect the attitudes and behaviours of social media platform (SMP) users towards social commerce, and investigates whether these attitudes and behaviours are a function of cultural context. The approach adopted for the research is a two-stage method, which initially uses semi-structured interviews of social-commerce users to identify their key privacy concerns. These concerns are then used to develop, using the theory of reasoned action (TRA), a structural model that facilitates the formation of hypotheses which relate users’ attitudes to privacy to subsequent behaviour. This model is assessed by analysing the responses to a questionnaire from a large sample of participants. This allows us to evaluate the general accuracy of the model and to compare culturally distinct subgroups (Saudi vs. Chinese) using partial least-squares analysis. Results show good support for all of our hypotheses and indicate that there are clear cultural effects. One of these effects is the inadequacy of privacy policies implemented by SMP providers, regarding culturally specific ethical concerns.

As the number and types of Islamic schools in a Western context have increased, so too have the questions on their purpose and impact in pluralistic Western societies. Amid this increasingly complex environment, questions are raised, both internally and externally, to determine the nature of Islamic educational goals, schools’ knowledge and pedagogical practices. Analysis in this paper draws on multiple sources of data: classical and contemporary literature on education in Islam; the Department for Education (DfE) school census and the Office for Standards in Education; Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted); and empirical case-study data extracted from the author’s PhD thesis on diversity in Islamic schools in Britain conducted during 2008–2012 and subsequently revised during 2018–2019 by following up emergent themes. This paper argues for a need to develop an “Islamic wisdom-based culture” promoting action (‘amal) which nurtures the holistic growth of learners in ethical areas (akhlāq), aesthetics (dhawq/jamāl) and develops a sense of freedom (huriyyah). By doing so, the paper draws primarily on Bennabi’s analysis of the role of culture (thaqāfah) in the civilisation cycle, Ibn-Khaldūn’s analysis of freedom and dignity in educational practice embedded in his discussion of the meanings of humanity) Al-insāniyyah) and Gadamer’s analysis of “practical wisdom”. Firstly, it contextualises Islamic schooling in Britain into a neoliberal pluralistic context. The wisdom inherent in Islamic education is explored through critical dialogue during the process of learning and action. The discussion then considers three key elements of “wisdom-based cultural environment” for Islamic education.

This paper will chronicle the unique stories that have come to exemplify the larger experience of Fifth Ward as a historically African American district in a rapidly changing city, Houston. Fifth Ward is a district submerged in the Southern memory of a sprawling port city. Its 19th century inception comprised of residents from Eastern Europe, Russia, and other religious groups who were fleeing persecution. Another way to describe Fifth Ward is much closer to the Fifth Ward that I knew as a child—an African American Fifth Ward and, more personally, my grandparents’ neighborhood. The growing prosperity of an early 20th century oil-booming Houston had soon turned the neighborhood into an economic haven, attracting African Americans from rural Louisiana and east Texas. Within the past two decades, Latino communities have populated the area, transforming the previously majority African American ward. Through a qualitative familial research review of historic documents, this paper contains a cultural and economic analysis that will illustrate the unique legacies and challenges of its past and present residents. I will center my personal genealogical roots to connect with larger patterns of change over time for African Americans in this distinct cultural ward.

The gradual or rapid deterioration of cultural heritage buildings can be a source of the loss of heritage assets over time. Cultural heritage encompasses tangible and intangible aspects of a society’s heritage, including historical buildings, archaeological sites, artworks, artifacts, traditions, customs, and ethnic customs. This research paper investigated the causes and effects of the deterioration of the heritage system from the Madhyapur Thimi in Nepal. A case study of tangible heritage (Thimi settlement) and intangible heritage (Bisket Jatra—community celebrations—and Ritual Guthi—a local group formed to conduct cultural activities) helped to achieve the objectives of this study. The existing unique cultures from the Madhyapur Thimi, including the built culture, Guthi, Bisket Jatra, and Ritual Guthi area support the sustainable development of heritage structures to some extent. The cultural heritage is now at risk due to institutional inadequacies, economic and social issues, resource depletion, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Policy should be modified, and heritage should be conserved and maintained well for future generations to own it as an identity and pride of the Thimi community.

The rural construction community embodies a confluence of social dynamics within rural areas, constituting an organic self-organization with hierarchical relationships. Over a specific period, the amalgamation of various roles and relationships within the rural construction community shapes the prevalent culture, distinctive image, and production techniques within villages. This study examines the structural composition of village communities and endeavors to establish a linkage mechanism among different elements within the construction framework. Focusing on villages and their inhabitants, this research traces the temporal evolution along the following axes: (1) Traditional Agricultural Civilization Age; (2) Collective Economy Age; (3) Rural Industrialization Age; (4) Rural Differentiation Age; and (5) Rural Revitalization Age. This paper primarily observes the evolution through the cultural foundation and manifestation of rural communities, emphasizing that the communities represent cooperative, autonomous, and transformative constructs. From the perspective of cultural landscapes, this article elucidates the interconnected trajectory of ecology–institution–livelihood in the creation of rural communities. It interprets the interplay among the resource patterns, social structure, and economic forms of villages across five distinct periods, fostering a comprehensive understanding of rural community development amidst changing circumstances. Recent years have seen a concerning decline in rural areas, where rural community culture faces a significant impact from modern industrial civilization, resulting in the disintegration of the social fabric within community construction. Nevertheless, the resilient common sense and self-organization capabilities of villagers persist. This study seeks to offer theoretical guidance and decision-making support to advance innovative social governance in rural locales. Moving forward, China’s rural revitalization demands a more adaptive sustainable assessment within rural construction communities.

SMEs are one of the leading solutions for reducing unemployment and poverty and boosting economic growth. Due to this, the determinants of the survival and success of SMEs have received increasing scrutiny in recent years. Empirical evidence has been uncovered in different countries. Enriching this growing body of evidence, this paper explores the internal and external factors that affect the survival and success of SMEs in the middle eastern country of Oman. We used a quantitative approach to collect the data by distributing a survey questionnaire among SME owners and prospective entrepreneurs. The survey was distributed in different industries throughout Oman. The findings, based on 344 responses, show that for SME survival and success, the education system needs intervention. Other areas of intervention include transforming Omani business culture, focusing on managerial skills, and improving the procedures required for establishing a business. These findings offer vital implications for Oman’s economy and for SME owners. The findings of this study can help policymakers make the appropriate interventions at various levels to enhance SME survival and success in Oman. The study also provides insights for existing and prospective entrepreneurs to bridge the skillset gaps to keep pace with ever-changing market demands.

In this paper, the authors propose extending the construct of non-profit leadership to accommodate collaborative and transformational themes. The suggestion is that the resultant broader definition accords with the modern context within which non-profits now operate and feeds into a more resilient model of non-profit leadership. The paper begins with a review of emergent trends in leadership theory and the changing context of the non-profit sector. The argument is made that the extraordinary challenges facing the sector signal the need for fresh new perspectives in leadership. The authors then proceed to examine the significance of a nascent non-profit culture point to a re-alignment of the sector that is informed by transformational principles and a values-orientation. The result is said to be a new model of non-profit and public sector leadership that raises important methodological questions which the authors maintain can inform future analyses of the structure, role, and responsibilities of non-profit leadership. Finally, a world of new possibilities is envisioned, one in which non-profit organizations are strategically repositioned to take advantage of a new values-based ethic that is rooted in principles of integrity, increased self-awareness, a collaborative agenda, intentionality, emphasis of followership, cultural competence, and orientation toward the future.

This case report explores the town of Siatista (located in the Western Macedonia Region—Greece), which is designated as a “traditional settlement”. The paper argues that, despite the relevant legislation that designated 400 settlements in Greece as “traditional settlements” and put them under protection, Siatista has no delimited traditional section. Through the years, new house typologies, demolitions, and alterations of its urban form have appeared, and Siatista has lost its identity. Having as an ultimate goal to identify proper planning guidelines and regulations for the preservation of Siatista’s built heritage, the methodology used in the paper includes the following steps: (a) recording and codification of the key legislation for the protection of Siatista, including the official urban plans (and their revisions); (b) identification and mapping of the urban form and spatial characteristics of Siatista (existing land uses, house typology, etc.); (c) identification of the alterations of the urban form and the demolitions, mainly with the use of aerial photos (1960−2014); and (d) creation of a map presenting the remaining built heritage per degree of evaluation. Following the analysis of the existing situation and the identification of the key challenges, the paper ends by defining and delimitating the well-preserved section of the town (proposing stricter rules and regulations for its preservation).

This paper analyzes the state of cultural expertise in Italy and then focuses on how it can be improved through a kind of cultural expertise that Italian academics, judges, and lawyers are currently debating: the so-called “cultural test”. This is a legal test for dealing with culture, which originally emerged as judicial tool in Northern American courts: It consists of a set of pre-established questions that a judge has to answer in order to decide whether or not to accept a cultural claim made by a migrant or by a person that belongs to minority communities. Whereas some questions of the cultural test refer to typical legal balancing between rights, other questions incorporate anthropological knowledge within the trial, requiring the judge to analyze the cultural practice at issue, its historical origin, the importance it has within the community, and other information about which the judge would not be sufficiently knowledgeable without resorting to anthropology. In this sense, the “cultural test” is a form of standardized cultural expertise that helps both the judge and the cultural expert in their tasks. The paper reveals both the arguments against and those in favor of the adoption of the “cultural test” and how they are currently unfolding in the Italian debate.

The research paper investigates the diverse understandings of “landscape”, along with demonstrating the modes of contribution of the European Landscape Convention (ELC) of the Council of Europe (CE) in influencing national spatial planning systems. The paper, interested in considering the efficiency of landscape policy from a territorial perspective, briefly outlines the perception and understanding of landscape as connecting link of nature and culture and conducts a literature review with the aim to support the prospect of a «European model of landscape planning». Lastly, it critically examines the approach to landscape planning and management by the Greek state, revealing the catalytic role of the Council of Europe (CE) in activating the dimension of landscape in Greece, in a mutualistic perspective between environmental policy and spatial planning, mainly through strategic spatial planning tools (i.e., the Regional Spatial Plans, RSPs). The results point out that (a) the ELC gave new impetus to spatial planning in Greece, providing the tool to manage and coordinate landscape policy, positively influencing the evolving spatial planning paradigm; (b) the decentralized approach adopted, identified landscapes of particular value at a regional level, so as to be given priority in terms of the implementation of coordinated governance arrangements and management actions. However, the implementation of landscape policy continues to rely on the underlying spatial planning level (Local Spatial Plans, Special Spatial Plans) and a general conclusion is that both on land and on sea, it depends on the incorporation of evolutionary trends in planning including an evolutionary perspective for landscape itself, viewed as a complex social-ecological system.

While the topic of climate change is of global importance and has global consequences, the context is far more dangerous for emerging economies, including small island developing states (SIDS) and their coastal cities. The literature supports the need for robustness in infrastructural dimensions of such economies. However, the preparatory economic aspects have been overlooked in favour of post-impact disaster management studies by many countries. The latter studies have also focused upon the need for heavy financial investments without investigating solutions for economic strengthening of those economies including climate change mitigation and affordability. As such, emerging SIDS economies have struggled to meet these obligations from their internal finances that draw predominantly from tax revenue sources and foreign aid thereby often leading to increased debts contributing to economic austerity and decreasing liveability levels when repayment commitments fail. Public-private partnerships (PPP), another sought-after loan strategy, which often attracts foreign direct investment (FDI), can work if PPPs are carefully designed within strict public monitoring criteria. However, their applicability needs to be expanded to include the wider social strata of a city to ensure inclusivity and cohesiveness, and formulated to contribute to a wider urban regeneration agenda. This paper proposes a more inclusive framework bridging governance with drivers for sustainable development, using urban heritage and culture as a strategic thread for debt repayment and economic empowerment through PPP. This paper seeks to inform policymakers on sustainable pathways as it relates to SIDS cultural heritage conservation policies and practices towards better economic resilience in the wake of climate change.

This paper examines the connection between naming and oral tradition, specifically àló and ìtàn, by discussing Bosede Ademilua-Afolayan’s Once Upon an Elephant (2015), and demonstrates the ways in which contemporary Nigerian playwrights appropriate the same to engage their political realities. The Yoruba are aware that names are not mere signs but the material nodes of the social network, hence the rites associated with naming underscore the people’s belief in birth, life, and living, as well as the totality of existence. The paper is in three parts: a background to the analysis, a discussion of Yoruba belief about naming that is linked with a discussion of oral tradition, and an analysis of the play with materials that are drawn from the previous discussion in order to show how the playwright has used the strategy of naming to engage a broader socio-political reality of her society.

This study explores the evolving interest in names. Until now, the little research conducted has focused on surnames and place names. This paper examines the influence of origin and self-identity on reactions to forenames and pet forms by employing a comparative approach across English and Spanish languages. With 425 participants from Murcia, Spain, and Leeds, United Kingdom, this study employed a self-designed semi-structured questionnaire in both languages. The questionnaire addresses demographic information and name preferences and liking based on the participant and name origins. Using quota non-probability sampling and personal interviews, the research applied qualitative and quantitative analyses utilising SPSS 28.0.0 and thematic analysis. The findings highlight participants’ connections between names and origins, echoing the linguistic–cultural interplay. Divergences emerge in discussing fashion trends and self-identity expressions between Spanish and English participants, potentially tied to historical and linguistic factors. The study underscores varying name significance in the two districts, revealing insights into cultural and identity associations. Future research is recommended to explore sociodemographic factors and gender differences.

The need to experience life as meaningful is fundamental to human nature. Recent years have witnessed a growing sophistication in assessing meaning in life (MIL) and new conceptualizations regarding its place within general models of well-being and coping. As part of this surge in research, increased attention has been given to the understanding, assessment, and practice of MIL in numerous arenas and contexts. However, despite these advancements, further knowledge is needed to explore the application of meaning interventions across more diverse contexts and non-clinical populations in the general community. The purpose of the present paper is to expand the existing knowledge on meaning-oriented interventions by introducing a community-based initiative that is directly responsive to this need. This includes describing its approach to meaning-making on multiple fronts: (1) Socratic Questions in the Public Sphere; (2) the Tribe Intergenerational Life Stories Project; (3) Literature, Arts, and Museums as Meaning-Making Sites; and (4) Education for Meaning. Each of these initiatives is described to propose more context-sensitive interventions that are applicable to everyday life in general society.

In this paper, the authors seek to discuss some of the complexities involved in cross-cultural working in relation to the communication and management of pain in older people. Specifically, the paper addresses the culture construction of ageing and how pain is often constructed as a natural part of ageing. The authors also suggest that with the rise of the ideology of active-ageing, many older people who are disabled or living in chronic pain, may feel a moral imperative to hide pain and ill-health. The discussion extends into looking at the impact of culture and the communication of pain, including specific idioms of distress, somaticize and the lay-management of pain through stoicism. The literature utilised in this paper was based on a thematic review, exploring the cultural dimensions of health, illness and pain in old age. The review also drew on the authors’ previous publications, as well as their extensive community research experience working with ethnic minority communities.

Thomas Laqueur argues that the work of the dead is carried out through the living and through those who remember, honour, and mourn. Further, he maintains that the brutal or careless disposal of the corpse “is an attack of extreme violence”. To treat the dead body as if it does not matter or as if it were ordinary organic matter would be to deny its humanity. From Laqueur’s point of view, it is inferred that the dead are believed to have rights and dignities that are upheld through the rituals, practices, and beliefs of the living. The dead have always held a place in the space of the living, whether that space has been material and visible, or intangible and out of sight. This paper considers ossuaries as a key site for investigating the relationships between the living and dead. Holding the bones of hundreds or even thousands of bodies, ossuaries represent an important tradition in the cultural history of the dead. Ossuaries are culturally constituted and have taken many forms across the globe, although this research focuses predominantly on Western European ossuary practices and North American Indigenous ossuaries. This paper will examine two case studies, the Sedlec Ossuary (Kutna Hora, Czech Republic) and Taber Hill Ossuary (Toronto, ON, Canada), to think through the rights of the dead at heritage sites.

In the face of ongoing school budget cuts, increasing student numbers and national educational policy environments that demand more from schools, like it or not, school leaders are being forced to be much more market-oriented in their thinking and ways of being than at any other time before. A school is an important site for social development, and in some communities in some countries, there may be only one school in an entire community. Nevertheless, as countries continue to grapple with reduced government funding on education, many schools risk the threat of closure. And, as education consumers (parents) and users (students) demand more and better value and results from schools, competition between schools have simultaneously increased. Thus, the environment in which school leaders’ work is requiring and fostering entrepreneurial leadership. The findings reported in this paper, derive from a larger sixteen country, five continent study of 61 school leaders on the “Nature of School Leadership”. The main conclusions presented in this paper are that, male and female school leaders approach entrepreneurial in very different ways; “national culture” and “national context” significantly influences and shape the work, and thus the attitudes and behaviours of school leaders, who must embrace entrepreneurialism as an essential skill, and a response to changes in school funding arrangements, and the changing role of education in national educational policy agendas.

This paper is an examination of Djanet Sears’s Afrika Solo (1990) as a unique example of how Blacks in the global diaspora trace their genealogical roots back to Africa. Drawing from research in anthropology, cultural studies, and performance, the paper purports that Sears’s African-Canadian identity is underlined by her recuperation of a heritage, epistemes and performative aesthetics, and, real or imagined, practices that are not just Afrocentric but specifically Yoruba. Essentially, the paper examines Afrika Solo in the context of Black Aesthetic and more significantly as “text” in a Yoruba sense, which constitutes her own way of “going back to get it.” The paper is divided into two parts: the first part presents a general argument about Sears’s journey back to Africa and the culturally-rooted nature of the performance as opposed to feminist/gender readings of same, while the second part explores ways of understanding the play through the lens of Yoruba ritual and its aesthetics.

At present, incorrect or aggressive conservation efforts harm not only the building heritage, but also its cultural significance and authenticity. There is an urgent need to investigate existing studies that utilise proper methods and processes of the digital economy and technology to promote sustainable architecture and building heritage conservation and heritage tourism development and management to achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). Hence, this paper aims to explore the role of digital economy technology, i.e., building information modelling (BIM), in promoting the harmonious development of cultural architectural and building heritage conservation and sustainable cultural heritage tourism, as well as to reveal the current state of the research and hotspots in BIM-driven cultural heritage conservation for sustainable cultural heritage tourism. A mix of a macro-quantitative bibliometric method and a follow-up micro-qualitative content analysis method has been employed to highlight the significance and promise of the interdisciplinary domains of BIM, cultural heritage conservation, and sustainable cultural heritage tourism to the attainment of SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) focused on three specific goals, i.e., enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanisation (SDG 11.3), strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage (SDG 11.4), and reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities (SDG 11.6); and SDG 17 (partnerships) regarding four issues, i.e., stakeholder relationships, public participation, heritage conservation experts, and management. Additionally, three categories of research themes have been identified: cultural heritage conservation, heritage and tourism management, and support of emerging technology. Furthermore, the relationships between BIM and sustainable cultural heritage tourism from the last 26 years (1997 to 2022) have been revealed with visualisations of future research trends in BIM, cultural heritage conservation, and sustainable cultural heritage tourism.

This paper aims to explore Youth’s attitudes towards digital marketing utility perception and its effect on behavioral patterns in a cross-cultural perspective. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT 2) model was adopted together with three new variables from the reasoned action theory and the 5S Internet marketing model to propose a theoretical model on Youth’s digital marketing adoption. A survey was conducted in Italy (N = 165) and Lebanon (N = 150), and PLS analysis was implemented for the empirical testing of the proposed research model. In the Italian sample, Hedonic motivation, social influence, facilitating conditions, and efficiency significantly predicted the behavioral intention of digital marketing which, in turn, was significantly related to use behavior. Subsequently, in the Lebanese sample, the subjective norms of hedonic motivation, social influence, experience and habit predicted behavioral intention, which was positively related with use behavior. The results led to the conclusion that national cultures still play an important role in affecting digital marketing adoption among younger generations, especially in less industrialized and technologically developed countries. Therefore, companies should keep this aspect in mind when innovating and developing digital marketing strategies targeting this generation.

The creation of a Centre for Cultural Witness at Lambeth Palace, to serve the Church of England within an ecumenical partnership that already stretches across Europe, offers an opportune time to reflect upon the place—even the meaning—of “culture” in witness of the church. The analysis presented here identifies three senses in which that term might be applied to witness: as that from which the witness comes, that through which it comes, and that to which it comes. At least in theory, a strong cultural emphasis might (or might not) be placed on each of these dimensions independently. However, while this may prove to be a useful distinction, it risks perpetuating an assumption that churches, and Christians, stand outside the culture of those they address, speaking as if from beyond it. In the second half of this paper, I work, instead, from the recognition that the Christian speaks from a position of a shared creaturehood, shared humanity, and—in myriad ways—a shared culture. Approached that way, the mission of the church can fruitfully be seen as witness to a theologically specific understanding of that which is shared. I conclude with the suggestion that this can be ably resourced from the broad tradition of a Platonic “Christian humanism”.

This paper, aligned with contemporary thinking in terms of patient-centered care and co-creation of patient care, highlights the limitations of the reductionist approaches to psychiatry, offering an alternative, “emergent” perspective and approach. Assuming that psychopathological phenomena are essentially relational, what kind of epistemological framework and ‘logic of discovery’ should be adopted? I review two standard methods I call ‘ticking boxes’ and ‘drafting arrows’. Within the ticking boxes framework, the clinician’s main goal is to discover whether a patient showing psychopathological phenomena meets pre-given diagnostic criteria. The process of discovery can be compared to two people assembling a puzzle where the patient has the pieces and the interviewer has the image of the completed design. Drafting arrows consists in constructing pathogenetic diagrams that display linear causative relationships between variables connected by an arrow to other nodes. These explanatory narratives include psychodynamic (motivational) and biological (causal) diagrams. I argue for a third approach called ‘linking dots’, a method of discovery based on the emergent properties of psychopathological phenomena. I build on and develop the approach to images and discovery devised by art historian Aby Warburg in his atlas of images Bilderatlas Mnemosyne. The visual constellations created by Warburg in the panels of the Bilderatlas can be understood as a method to reveal the layers of memory and the web of relationships manifested in them, inviting the viewer to participate in the production of meanings, forging ever new connections between the images. It is the viewer’s acts of perception that draw relationships between singularities. I suggest that this method is of enormous significance in the context of today’s socio-cultural transformation processes and related forms of psychopathological conditions, which can no longer be comprehended using the categories of existing knowledge systems.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) as a form of gender-related violence continues to thrive within communities and across borders, with (under)reported prevalence among communities in the diaspora. Reports of FGM/C among communities in the diaspora speak to the socio-cultural and religious factors which promote its prevalence. Successful interventions offer alternatives such as rites of passage to the socio-cultural-religious prospects offered by FGM/C to practicing communities. This suggests the need for a critical approach to research methods that engage intimately with the worldview of communities practicing FGM/C while inferring implications for designing health-promotion interventions in specific contexts. This paper draws on the insider and outsider approach to positionality to assess the factors accounting for the prevalence of FGM/C in Pusiga (3.8% nationally and 27.8% in Pusiga) in the Upper East Region of Ghana while inferring lessons for designing health promotion interventions. Applying a phenomenological qualitative design guided by focus groups and interviews, we draw on the insider approach to present a contextually and culturally sensitive report of five survivors, five non-survivors, and ten religious leaders on factors that account for the prevalence of FGM/C. Next, we assume an outsider approach to infer implications based on participants’ perspectives for designing health promotion interventions to curb FGM/C. The findings suggest shifting from socio-cultural-religious factors to economic undertones underpinning FGM/C. Inter-generational differences also vary attitudes toward FGM/C. We recommend a systematic approach to health promotion that addresses FGM/C’s deep socio-cultural and economic, religious underpinnings of FGM/C in Pusiga. The insider–outsider continuum in feminist research provides a powerful approach to producing knowledge on contextual factors that account for FGM/C in particular settings.

Many believe religion has no place in modern medical and professional fields. Nevertheless, recent studies show that religion remains integral to many people’s lives and professional practices, such as physicians. This study addresses the significance that American Muslim physicians (AMPs) attribute to their religious values in shaping their identity; and examines how the values held by self-identified Muslim physicians affect their medical practice, specialization, public roles, and civic engagement. This paper also discusses how complex lives may not be adequately addressed by theories of value derived from modernization theory and more normatively conceived Muslim ethical principles. Individual interviews were conducted with 62 AMPs. Grounded thematic analysis guided the processing of qualitative interview data. The results suggest that many of the AMPs’ religious values converge with shared cultural and professional values in the United States and elsewhere. The authors suggest that focusing on how AMPs articulate their values will lead to more humane professional, community, and healthcare settings. Regardless of the religious beliefs of professional providers, they should not ignore the impact of religion on their medical practice, especially since religion is still a vital part of many patients’ lives.

This paper aims to understand better the religious beliefs and cultural practices of Cordilleran Christian youth in the Philippines. By zooming in on the notions of God and practices of select Cordilleran Christian youth, this study endeavors to make the voices of indigenous Christian youth heard. Using the framework of Laylayan theology, this study explores the perspectives of the indigenous Christian youth on God, traditional practices, and lived experience, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show the interconnectedness of faith and culture among select indigenous youth during this contemporary period. Their lived religious context informs society on the dialogue of life and experience.

Eating, drinking, and swallowing (EDS) are fundamental to the biomechanical model of the body. They are the processes by which the body obtains fuel essential for existence but are so much more than this mere function. What, when, and how we eat, with whom, even what we do not eat, and when we do not eat, are not physiological restrictions. The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination of patients based on a list of protected characteristics, including religion. There is a paucity of literature addressing religion and EDS issues despite most religions having laws regarding food sourcing, preparation, consumption, and fasting. The diverse perspectives of our patients may influence engagement with services unless we appreciate the significance of the interplay of EDS and religious belief. Our paper addresses religion and EDS with a focus on the activities that lead up to food or drink consumption. Religion, as with many important aspects of humanity, is a highly individual experience. Thus, we need to establish what is important to each person that we deal with, whilst using general knowledge of a religion to guide us. An informed multidisciplinary team including stakeholders from chaplaincy services is critical for optimal patient care.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the authority basis of compulsory school principals in Iceland by making a general comparison to the other participating countries in the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018, as well as by using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. The study utilizes data from principals in 48 of the countries that participated in the TALIS 2018. The authority bases of the principals and of the other governing agents are explored with regard to the key task areas, which range from managerial to curriculum tasks. The authority basis of the principals and the other agents in Iceland has commonalities with most of the other Nordic countries, as well as with Baltic countries, Anglophone countries (except for Canada (Alberta)), and with many Eastern European countries. On the basis of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model, Iceland is “individualist”, with a low “power distance”, and it allocates more responsibility to the principals and to the other school agents at the school level than it does to the authorities. The major implication of this study for the Icelandic context is the need to enhance and strengthen the role of the school boards in terms of the professional support for principals.