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Russian religious aesthetics, and in particular the canon of Orthodox iconography, had a huge impact on all spheres of Russian culture. Among these areas, the influence of religious aesthetics on Soviet animation in the mid-twentieth century has been studied least of all. The study is based on a comparative historical analysis, semiotic and discursive study of the visual text. The main purpose of the study is to highlight the actual immanent features of religious aesthetics in general and, in particular, to analyze Russian (Soviet) animation to identify the features inherent in traditional Orthodox iconography in it. Such immanent features were singled out based on a discursive-textual analysis of the works of the most prominent representatives of Russian religious aesthetics of the late 19th - first half of the twentieth century. The study of the visual text of the most famous animation works of the time under study made it possible to find in them features corresponding to the iconographic Orthodox canon and its strong influence both in formal features and in the philosophy of creativity of Soviet animators. The results of the study can become part of training courses on aesthetics, philosophy, history, animation and cinematography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to understand the interactions of prompts used to initiate engagement and the resulting student engagement using video-data from one biology lecturer in a semester-long module. This study was informed by the socio-cultural perspectives on learning. The transcripts from video data were divided into interactive episodes. In these episodes, we looked for how the prompts (classified as verbal and non-verbal) interacted to bring student engagement. Findings indicate that the prompts interacted in a variety of ways. Findings indicate that the use of verbal prompts like questions resulted in minimal student engagement. Student engagement was heightened when the lecturer initiated whole-class discussion using both verbal prompts as well as non-verbal prompts in an interactive manner. We discuss the significance of these findings and argue how our approach to looking at student engagement helped us to unpack these succinct findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the influence of socio-cultural factors on attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) was investigated. In total, 1,677 Korean middle school students were selected to participate, and a test tool was used to measure the attitude toward AI. As a result, according to socio-cultural factors, middle school students' attitudes toward AI were affected differently by gender- or AI-related experiences. In particular, students experiencing difficulties because of socio-cultural factors showed a more positive attitude toward AI if they had an AI education. On the other hand, interest toward AI and programming experience had a significant effect on attitudes toward AI and was not affected by socio-cultural factors. In particular, students with high interest toward AI or experience with block- and text-based programming languages showed significantly positive attitudes toward AI. Hence, the disparity in middle school students' attitude toward AI according to socio-cultural factors was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the reinterpretation of Nirupa Roy as the "Queen of Misery" in 1980s Indian cinema, examining alternative dynamics of maternal care. Topics include the socio-cultural conditioning of motherhood, which dictates self-sacrificial roles and restricts self-actualization, the normative glorification of the mother figure in Indian society shaping social identity, and the patriarchal structures that confine women to caregiving roles.

We are colleagues and collaborators working in the field of English Literary Studies, broadly defined. This paper reflects on our collective encounters working as Life Writing scholars within the International Auto/Biography Association (IABA). Specifically, we muse autocritically on our experience of organising an online conference at a time when scholars are still experiencing the impact of the pandemic. We propose the term 'field culture' to describe and draw attention to the ways in which an academic field is shaped by socio-cultural practices that impact on the kind of knowledge and researcher identities produced within the field. We explore the 'field culture' of IABA and its conferences and posit that our research collective is an example of the ways in which academia might be made more accessible for early-career researchers, for those less able to travel to conferences. Reflecting on a series of aims and strategies for the conference, we also make a case for supporting creative practice and creative interventions in life writing as a discipline in which the politics of genre blurring and pushing boundaries has been foundational. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of the justification of theology within educational institutions, primarily the university, seems to open up an interesting theme with regard to educational responsibility and its cognitive paths. This thematic space indicates the need for a different way of knowing reality, no longer disinterested in questions about the meaning of existence in its cogent ethical, psychosocial, ecological, and political aspects. Theology, in fact, shows the plausibility of religion as a vision of the world and of life. In this, it is analogous to other knowledge if it contributes to the education of a critical capacity and the formulation of a cognitive model. In relation to this, the most adequate theological model is that of a critical correlation with the socio-cultural reality within a borderline epistemology and in an inter-disciplinary exercise. An important field of verification is that relating to the theology-religious pluralism relationship which requires a phenomenological-comparative method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the situation of theology at the Toronto School of Theology, an ecumenical consortium of seven theological faculties at the University of Toronto, one of the world's largest research institutions. It demonstrates that this unique arrangement coupled with specifically Canadian social and political realties affects the priorities and commitments that should shape theology. New questions and challenges are emerging from conversations and questions particular to the colonial settlement of Canada that challenge traditional understandings of Christianity and theological epistemologies and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of Environmental Policy Integration (EPI) and the policy tool Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) have come to the fore in European policy making over the past two decades. This article examines the introduction and implementation of SEA at national and sub-national levels in Hungary. It evaluates the factors affecting the process of international lesson-drawing in environmental policy based on empirical evidence. The article concludes that, just like in other policy fields, the process of lesson-drawing has been shaped and constrained by domestic governance structures and key endogenous factors embedded in socio-cultural settings. Structure and factors are featured by transience and path dependency at the same time. Hierarchical governance has the most significant influence on the process excluding voluntary forms of policy transfer hence resulting in the application of a stapled EPI, formal, instead of substantive transfer. Environmental policy transfer at the local level is problematic due to the low capacity and the lack of the financial means and human resources. It suggests that the EU principles of subsidiarity have been undermined. The article therefore makes an important contribution to understanding the key obstacles of (environmental) policy transfer. Additionally, reforming the theory of policy integration the author argues that beside the transactive, substantive and procedural aspects (the level of) path dependency should be taken into consideration to a better grasp of the effectiveness of policy transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]