Month: August 2014
The Exclusion of the Bakla in Philippine Contemporary Cinema
This paper explores representations of the bakla (a Filipino gender category that conflates sexual orientation and gender identity through the performance of the four components of effeminacy, cross-dressing, same-sex sexuality, and lower class status) and gay globality (which emphasizes hypermasculinity, desiring sameness, and upper class status) in contemporary Philippine cinema. A multimodal critical discourse analysis …
Common Songs: A Study of the Saibara Collection and Inquiry into “Fuzoku” Arts in the Heian Court
Premodern Japanese scholarship has focused on the major literary collections of the Nara and Heian periods. In the area of poetry, the Kojiki, Nihon shoki, Man’yōshū, Kokinshū, and Shinkokinshū have absorbed much of the attention of premodern scholars. In contrast to these, the archaic min’yō, or ‘folk song,’ collections offer a glaring contrast to these …
The Lonely Island of Queerness: Manifestations of Early Shōwa Homosexuality Discourse in Edogawa Ranpo’s Kotō no Oni
The focus of this paper will be put on the literary analysis of Edogawa Ranpo’s mystery novel Kotō no Oni (1929-30), with respect to how the discourse of homosexuality of the day manifests itself in the novel. Edogawa has established a reputation as one of the most famous Japanese mystery writers, counting among the authors …
Aspects of Italian Buddhist Presence and Poetry
The first, shorter section of this paper will briefly inform on how Buddhism was imported to Italy. The latest and most prolific import has taken place in the last five decades. Buddhism in Italy involves about 89,000 Asian migrants, and 100,000 Italian nationals. An aspect of cultural borderland is that Italian Buddhism, like all Western …
Examining a Collaborative Conversational Feature between Australian Men and Women
Many past studies of gender interaction discussed differences in masculine and feminine conversational styles. In particular, collaborative talk is regarded as a feminine conversational style. For example, Holmes (2006) makes a summary that most gender studies found that women tend to collaborative while men tend to be challenging in everyday communication. However the author of …
The Creation of Trans-cultural Belonging: Chinese Artists’ Paintings from Tibet after 1982
Since the 1960s, Tibetan self-government has been established in autonomous areas; there, Tibetans live in compact communities under the unified leadership of the Chinese central government. A number of Chinese artists and scholars have come to work and live in Tibetan cities, in Lhasa in particular. Against this background, this paper is about contemporary paintings …
Intercultural Awareness and Competence: Cultural Differences and Challenges among International Students in a Private Malaysian University
In the past, almost the whole university student population in Malaysia comprised three major ethnic groups, namely Malays, Chinese and Indians, as well as other minorities. The make-up of the student population has evolved dramatically and it is common to see students of other cultures in private campuses throughout the country. These students have significant …
Frontiers in Google Maps: Commodification and Territory in the Borderlands
From carving up empires to enclosing the commons, the history of maps has long been caught up in creating, legitimising and representing borders. As a product of these historical processes, Google Maps now claim to have one billion users per month. Given this unprecedented audience, how the multinational corporation represents the world is very significant, …
Surviving and Thriving in the Borderlands: An Autoethnography
This autoethnography recounts the process of developing my own agency out of a borderland lifeworld formed in multiple geographic sites. I use self-reflection and research to make explicit a functional inbetween space where I belong. Through Gloria Anzaldúa’s work, literature from border and cultural studies, identity formation and my own qualitative research, I analyze the …
Globally Not Yours … The Master Discourse of Transcultural Mediation
Globally not yours … The master discourse of transcultural mediation Intercultural encounters, particularly between civilizationally and power-unequally related cultures, demonstrate the complexity inherent in the process of interlingual communication across cultures. This complexity stems from the carrying-over of specific cultural products (as texts) to and recuperated by receivers that have at their disposal an established …
The New Style of Hybridity in Global Village – Two Cases of Studies of Both Techno Nezha and Old Master Q Puppet Theater
By the rapid flow of internet and media, McDonaldization has somehow mixed with local cultures everywhere. Culture represents our whole life, and nowadays people express their traditional culture by using modern tools and images. We have created a new style called “Hybridity”, which was introduced by Homi K. Bhabha, especially in refernce to the global …
Tolerating Difference: Japanese Experiences with Difference and Multiculturalism
Post-Modernity, Globalization, Neo-Liberalism, many words come to mind to describe the contemporary world, but there is one type of discourse that seems to be gaining hegemonic position regardless of how we describe the present era: Multiculturalism. Particularly in Japan, a country that has since long constructed its identity under the idea of homogeneity, the adoption …
The Exhaustion of the Multicultural Australian Philosophy and the Rise of a New Visual Regime of Signification: Melbourne between Multiculturalism and Globalization
The Second World War caused unprecedented hardship, but it also accelerated change. A massive European immigration reached Australia’s shores, giving rise to a sort of ideal multi-ethnic society. Between history and myth, diverse ethnic groups interacted without coalescing and by maintaining distinctive, national or group cultural identities. Indeed Melbourne rose as one of the world’s …
The Borderlands of Motherhood: Representation of Spatial Belonging of Mothers and Families in Government Posters
Japan, like many developed countries, has seen its population decrease and reached the lowest low fertility rate of 1.41 in 2012. This tendency was first associated with the lower number of children born to married couples. But since the 1970s, the main cause identified is the postponement of marriage, and so childbirth, by women. Following …
Liminality & Belonging in Refugee Resettlement: An Ethnographic Case Study of Bhutanese Refugees in the UK
The paper is based on qualitative, ethnographic research with Bhutanese refugees who resettled to the UK via the Gateway Protection Programme. In this context, borderland is not a physical space, but a state of mind, in which stateless refugees attempt to negotiate between different identities: whilst seeking to ‘integrate’ in the British host society, they …
Unconsidered Ancient Treasure, Struggling the Relevance of Fundamental Indonesia Nation Philosophie “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” in Forming Harmony of Multicultural Society
Indonesia is a multicultural country that consists of hundreds of distinct native ethnic, racial, and religist groups. Historically, the Nation was built because of the unitary spirit of its components, which was firmly united and integrated to make up the victory of the Nation. The plurality become advantageous when it reach harmony as reflected in …
Colonialism, Migrations and Ethnic Integration in Asia: The Case of Modern Sri Lanka
Colonialism fundamentally changed the traditional pattern of Asian migration and opened new avenues for trade and investment for migrant merchant communities and occupational opportunities as indentured labour for agrarian classes. The Indian communities who migrated to Sri Lanka during British rule played vital and diverse roles in the colony’s economic transformation. When Sri Lanka transformed …
Borderlands – Exploring Commonalities and Overcoming Challenges in Sarawak
Today there still exist many borders which hamper transit and crossings for many others. Case in point is the border between Sarawak and Kalimantan, a border whose crossing requires documentation for many a potential traveller. In this regard it is helpful to remember that most national borders are different from natural borders. National borders are …
Practicing Peace: The International Okinawan Martial Arts Community as a Community of Practice
Economists to academics have noted the simultaneous tendency towards globalization and localization in recent decades. At times, the increasingly globalized economy and advances in communications technology seem to bring us together only closely enough to recognize our fundamental differences. Internal divides along cultural, linguistic, political and economic lines become as sharp and clear as geographic …
Representation of Indonesian Beauty in Cosmetic Advertisements
Sari Ayu is a homegrown and local owned Indonesian cosmetic brand. Every year since 1985, Sari Ayu has been featuring different themes for its commercial campaign, which based on certain Indonesian Heritage.Thus, Sari Ayu has been trying to visualize Indonesian women’s beauty and beauty trend through its campaign. This study focus on the magazine advertisements …
Self-identity in Love: The problem of self in Zweig’s Letter from an Unknown Woman
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1922), one of the Stephan Zweig’s monuments, shows the contradiction between self and others in the context of Love, in which, self insists on his (her) own identity while it is required to keep in touch with others by the nature of “I Love you”, that is to say, self …
Reception and Consumption of Korean TV Drama by Asian Audiences: The Fansubbing Phenomenon
Changes in the new media environment are radically shifting the ways audiences consume media products like foreign language TV dramas. The rapid expansion of broadband internet and the development of mobile technology in Asia are changing how Asian fans of these media products interact with each other. The purpose of this study is to examine …
Consuming and Interpreting Japanese Television Dramas: Attitudes among University Students in Malaysia
Japanese media cultures have become diversified in Malaysia, providing opportunities for local audiences to gain access to media products from varied sources and participate in its consumption. This triggers an increase in recognition for audiences as producers of rich cultural readings resulting from cross-border media consumption. This study examines the interpretations of Japanese television dramas …
The Hostess at the Border: An Emergent Anachronism
In 2003 the Actroid range of robotic androids was launched in Japan. Its creators and vendors imagine that the ‘bots will integrate into society, taking on companionship, entertainment and hostessing duties. Actroids are modelled after young females, with the exception of (near) exact copies of two male Professors from Japan and Denmark, and a ‘brother’ …
Yayoi Kusama – Manhattan Salvation Addict
Kusama Yayoi is a world famous Japanese artist who has worked in a wide variety of media. Since the 90’s we can observe growing fascination with Kusama’s works, as well as its recognition and rediscovering. The phenomenon is better known as “The Kusama Renaissance”. As a still living and creating artist, she constantly tries to …
Heavy Metals Determination in Raw Milk Fed by Contaminated by Cow Feed
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Exploring Subculture in China: Punk and Resistance
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Food, Power, and Immigrants in Timothy Mo’s Sour Sweet
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The Natural Disaster Management in ASEAN Countries
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Socio-Impacts in the Formation of Organic Settlement
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Debt Servicing Burden among Working Adults in Malaysia
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Problem of Law Related to Forest Management in Thailand
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Palestinian Culture of Identity
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Factors affecting Happiness in a Workplace
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Should Prostitution Be Legalized?
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Theory of Counterplexity
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Kung Fu Canton:Culture of Martial Arts in Guangdong, China
Abstract:Kung Fu is a word borrowed from the Chinese word gongfu, which translates as accomplished or cultivated skill. Wushu would be a more accurate word to have borrowed, but it’s still just an umbrella term for a whole myraid of Chinese martial art, ranging from drunken boxing to the Fujian white crane. Perhaps the most …
Matrilineal Canadian Nikkei Generations: Representations of Belonging and Transnational Nikkei Identities
The Japanese in Canada have a complex cultural identity relating to their sense of (not) belonging in Canada, their imaginings of Japan as homeland, and the growth of Nikkei identifying themselves transnationally. This paper compares representations of Canadian Nikkei families in the post-Redress (1988) and post-Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1988) period by Canadian Nikkei authors. It …
Conserving Cultural Landscape as a Driver for Identification in Local Communities in Taiwan
A cultural landscape, which encompasses various elements in a specific area, represents the combined works of nature and man. An organically evolved cultural landscape may represent a specific production process for a place, and may consolidate the identification for local people through conservation process of cultural landscape. With this concept, traditional economical model with special …
Maximum Power Point Tracker Based on Perturb and Observe Algorithm for Photovoltaic Energy System under Egyptian Conditions
In this paper, a maximum power point tracker (MPPT) based on perturb and observe algorithm for photovoltaic (PV) energy system is introduced. MPPT is a dc to dc converter that regulates the output power to ensure an optimum value of the PV module voltage to extract the maximum power from PV module. The main objective …
Hong Kong’s Mental Health Policy-Preliminary Findings
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Key Actors and Networks of Thai Happy Workplace Movement
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Antecedents of Interpersonal Conflict: A Study from Turkey
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Sample of Job Satisfaction of Nurses at Bursa State Hospital
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Children’s Social Behavior and the Utilization of Gadgets
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Employee Satisfaction from Indoor Work Environments in Doha, Qatar
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The Prototype of Road Power Generator
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Suitable Alternative Energy in Bang Phra District Chonburi Thailand
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Successful Aging among Immigrants after Midlife
Relocation by crossing borders can be a risky endeavor, regardless of the amount of resources and support one receives. While many immigrants experience stress by functioning in a foreign language and culture, aging in a foreign environment can lead to an additional burden among older people. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the number of …
Impact of Cultural Differences on Business Projects between Germans and Swiss Germans: Unravelling Sub-Proximity HR Challenges of Cross-Cultural Projects
Based on Hofstede´s 5 cultural dimension we explored in a study among Germans and Swiss Germans that cross-cultural diversity and distance on a level of geographical proximity is more significant than literature has predicted. Its recognition, human resource management and assignment level holds the promise to leverage benefits of bicultural teams. Therefore we formulated the …
Water for Coal Production in Mongolia
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Modeling for Extreme Rainfall in Lower Northeastern of Thailand
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The Demand for Automobile Fuel Efficiency in Taiwan
Based on the data for Taiwan’s automobile industry, we explore consumers’ preferences over various automobile characteristics and responses to increasing fuel expenditures. We find that while consumers prefer more fuel efficient automobiles, the preference for higher power is insignificant when endogeneity issues are fully accounted for, which reflects for a small and crowded country with …
An Ethnographic Research on Interactive Travellers’ Use of Twitter
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Future Perspectives within Japanese and Chinese Children: A Comparative Study about Children’s Expectations and Concerns for the Future
Adopting a comparative methodology, this study attempts to identify similarities and differences in children’s expectations and concerns for the future between Japan and China. Fourth-grade elementary-school children were invited to describe three future events that they expected and three future events that they were concerned about. Qualitative analysis was conducted on the response contents. Comparison …
Wind Catcher Earth Air Tunnel: A Tool for Passive Cooling for Residential Homes in New Cites of Egypt
Wind catcher Earth air tunnels systems are proposed to be used in modern buildings to minimize the consumption of non-renewable energy. A tunnel in the form of a heat ex-changer burns at a depth of about 4 m below the ground level will acquire the near temperature as the surrounding earth. Therefore, when the ambient …
A Novel Catalyst for Treatment of Textile Wastewater by Ozonation
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Mapping the Concept(s) of Belonging
Various epistemological changes – such as the linguistic, narrative, and cultural turns that have influenced humanistic and social scientific studies since the 1980s – have had an impact on the increased academic interests in politics, discourses, processes, and practices of belonging. During the recent decades, the idea of belonging or non-belonging have been discussed and …