Lebanese conversational style and cultural values

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 571-604
Author(s):  
Sasha G. Louis ◽  
Rana N. Khoudary
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
Conversational Style ◽  
Topic Shift ◽  
Fast Pace ◽  
Expressive Phonology

Abstract This paper investigates the Lebanese conversational style in relation to Lebanese cultural values. The study adopts a discourse analysis approach based on interactional sociolinguistic methodology for the analysis of audio-recordings and semi-structured interviews involving Lebanese nationals (multi-active culture) and members of linear-active cultures, in addition to participant observation. Four distinctive linguistic features characterizing the Lebanese conversational style are identified: topic (focus on personal topics and abrupt topic shift), pacing (overlap and fast pace), expressive phonology and intonation, and formulaic language. The findings of this study reveal that the Lebanese have a high-involvement conversational style as a result of their cultural values which reflect those of high-context, multi-active and collectivist cultures. Furthermore, a connection is made between cultural and communicative differences which can account for instances of stereotyping and misunderstandings between members of the two cultural groups.

Rethinking alternative youth identities in Izmir: ‘Indifferently cool’ manifestations

2020 ◽  
pp. 136754942091987
Author(s):  
Ture Sahin
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Cultural Production ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Youth Subcultures ◽  
Cultural Forms

This article discusses the self-identification and meaning-making processes of ‘alternative’ youth in Izmir, Turkey, by focusing on their own narratives and the microcosmos of their everyday life practices. The research argues that while alternative young individuals benefit from the global subcultural scene, particularly hipster subculture, they also create complex signifiers within their cultural environments to emphasise both individual subjectivities and shared ‘alternative’ group identities. The article claims that subcultures, with their styles, images and music that are consumed in imaginative ways, become productive and creative spheres of cultural production that are constantly at interplay with broader cultural forms in a given society. Hence, opening up a debate on youth subcultures has the potential to give salient clues about the transformations of society at large and its cultural values and beliefs. In this sense, the study formulates subcultures as offshoots – even forms of resistance – both drawing on and feeding mainstream cultural forms. The study is based on field research conducted among alternative youth in Izmir, Turkey – through participant observation, semi-structured interviews with youth groups and in-depth interviews with the owners and workers of the places where ‘alternative’ youth hang out. Since contemporary youth cultures in Turkey are a highly under-researched area, this article aims at mapping out a general framework towards a better understanding of the everyday practices and meaning worlds of alternative young people. It is hoped that this, in turn, will serve to pave the way for further research on youth subcultures in Turkey.

Older people and decision-making following acute stroke in China: ‘hiding’ as a barrier to active involvement

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1526-1554 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUE WANG ◽  
MIKE NOLAN
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Older People ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Essential Information

ABSTRACTDecision-making among older patients with stroke, their families and professionals has been extensively studied in a Western context, but there has been little prior work in China. The study reported here explored how decision-making took place between older people with stroke, their family carers and professionals in an acute care context in mainland China using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and documentary analysis. Constant comparative analysis of the data was carried out. This paper focuses on the key social process of ‘hiding’ and its dynamic relationship with the core category ‘keeping the peace’. In order to meet the traditional Chinese cultural value of ‘maintaining harmony’, both family carers and professionals hid essential information from older stroke survivors who, as a consequence, were effectively precluded from playing an active role in major decisions. In understanding ‘hiding’, the paper draws upon both Chinese cultural values and ‘awareness context theory’ and in so doing questions the relevance to the Chinese context of key Western notions such as involvement in health-care decision-making. A better understanding of the experiences of decision-making processes between older people with stroke, their family carers and professionals in China will help professionals to provide the best possible support and care whilst promoting informed decision-making amongst all concerned.

scholarly journals Multiple rationalities of participatory budgeting in indigenous communities: evidence from Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 2139-2166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelum Jayasinghe ◽  
Pawan Adhikari ◽  
Simon Carmel ◽  
Ana Sopanah
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Substantive Rationality

PurposeThis paper analyses participatory budgeting (PB) in two Indonesian indigenous communities, illustrating how the World Bank sponsored neo-liberal model of “technical rational” PB is overshadowed by local values and wisdom, consisting of sophisticated, pre-existing rationalities for public participation.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a qualitative and interpretive case study approach, the study draws on data from semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and periods of participant observation. The paper utilises Weber's characterisations of rationality to analyse the PB process in indigenous communities.FindingsThe co-existence of both formal (technical) and substantive rationalities leads two Indonesian indigenous communities to execute participatory budgeting pragmatically. The formal budgetary mechanisms (Musrenbang), cascaded down from central and local governments, are melded with, and co-exist alongside, a tradition of public participation deriving from local cultural values and wisdom (Rembug warga). Reciprocal relationships and trust based on a pre-existing substantive rationality result in community members adapting budget practices while also preserving their local culture and resisting the encroachment of neo-liberal initiatives. The paper offers deeper analysis of the unintended consequences of attempting to implement technical rational accounting reforms and practices in indigenous settings.Originality/valueThe paper provides important insights into the way the interplay between formal and substantive rationality impacts on accounting and budgeting practices in indigenous communities. Our study also presents a unique case in emerging economy contexts in which neoliberal initiatives have been outmanoeuvred in the process of preserving indigenous values and wisdom. The informal participatory mechanism (Rembug warga) retained the community trust that neoliberalism systematically erodes.

scholarly journals Cultural centres: a future for cultural Arctic tourism?

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-69
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ann Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Cultural Tourism ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of cultural centres to be spaces that foster interaction between tourists and locals, and thereby meet the demands of new cultural tourists. This is done through conducting a case study of Katuaq Cultural Centre in Nuuk, Greenland. Combining theories of cultural contact and placemaking, the paper analyses how locals and tourists make use of and experience the centre. The paper then goes on to conduct a broader discussion about how future placemaking in tourism can respond to the emerging demands of cultural Arctic tourists, and to suggest ways to encourage positive interaction on both a local community level and a resident-visitor level. Design/methodology/approach A series of anthropological research methods were used, including participant observation in the cultural centre itself, and informal and semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders. Findings Concluding that, from multiple perspectives, Katuaq fails to perform as a “centre of culture”, the study offers innovative insights into how cultural centres can be operated more inclusively in the future, as spaces in which members of different cultural groups can achieve positive interaction. It is argued that the future of successful and fulfilling cultural tourism offerings in the Arctic lies at the intersection of tourism and leisure studies. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies first in its deepening of the academic discussion of cultural centres. Second, and on a broader level, the paper identifies an emerging trend of “community–tourism spaces” as cultural tourism offerings, and provides some insights into the conflicts experienced in these kinds of spaces, as well as some suggestions as to how further research on these spaces should continue.

scholarly journals Language Maintenance and Language Shift among Keralites in Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-327
Author(s):  
Roy P. Veettil ◽  
P.M. Binu ◽  
J. Karthikeyan
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Shift ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Organizations ◽  
The Cost

This study explores the current status of language maintenance (LM) and language shift (LS) among Keralites, popularly known as ‘Malayalees,’ living in Oman. It analyses the leading factors that affect language maintenance and language shift: a particular focus is given to identifying the various domains in which language maintenance is facilitated; the attitudes held by the Keralite parents and their children towards their first language (L1), the initiatives taken by parents, religious and cultural organizations; and the role of educational institutions in promoting language maintenance. Data for this study have been gathered from semi-structured interviews and participant observation of Keralites who have lived in Oman for more than ten years. Analysis of the data indicates that while parents value their mother tongue as their first language and take various measures to maintain it, second-generation children are not keenly attached to L1. Instead, their first language oracy is strikingly marked with code-switching and code shifting, and their writing skills in L1 are diminishing. Refuting the previous findings, the present study reveals that language shift is a temporary phenomenon, and it does not take place at the cost of L1. On the contrary, various factors contribute to the maintenance of their heritage language. Also, the migrant Keralites, as a result of their living abroad, acquire two or three more new languages: English, Hindi, and Arabic depending on their study and work domains, thereby making them a multilingual society. Language shift can gradually result in linguicide, which can have various effects such as alienation from and the loss of culture and cultural values. It is expected that this study will unveil if there is a language shift of a severe nature among the Keratitis in Oman.

scholarly journals “You can’t forget our roots anyway”: French College Students’ views on a Racially and Religiously Pluralistic France

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-72
Author(s):  
Mariel Elyssa Tabachnick
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
The Political ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
French Culture ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
French Identity

Despite the longstanding presence of Islam in the territory of France, Muslim French must still claim and justify their belonging in the context of widespread public skepticism over Islam’s compatibility with “French” social and cultural values, such as laïcité, or secularism. The general public’s skepticism is also, in part, due to the historical and ongoing racialization of Muslim populations. Many French sub-populations, including those who are perceived as more “liberal” such as college students, are a part of this skeptical public. Therefore, how have these students speci cally been shaped by contemporary French discourses and understandings of laïcité? There is a lack of scholarly research on French college students in particular and their understandings of French identity, laïcité, and Muslims in France. To ll this gap, I conducted nine semi-structured interviews and drew on informal participant observation. In this article, I discuss French college students’ opinions on French identity as well as the desire for widespread assimilation, speci cally regarding Muslim women and their choice to wear a hijab in France. I examine these viewpoints within the framework of dominant French discourse, which often perpetuates the idea of a racialized Islam that is inherently incompatible with French culture. I argue that students on both the left and right sides of the political spectrum still reiterate opinions that t within this dominant French discourse.

scholarly journals Language Maintenance and Language Shift among Keralites in Oman

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy P. Veettil ◽  
P.M. Binu ◽  
J. Karthikeyan
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Language Maintenance ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Shift ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Organizations ◽  
The Cost

This study explores the current status of language maintenance (LM) and language shift (LS) among Keralites, popularly known as ‘Malayalees,’ living in Oman. It analyses the leading factors that affect language maintenance and language shift: a particular focus is given to identifying the various domains in which language maintenance is facilitated; the attitudes held by the Keralite parents and their children towards their first language (L1), the initiatives taken by parents, religious and cultural organizations; and the role of educational institutions in promoting language maintenance. Data for this study have been gathered from semi-structured interviews and participant observation of Keralites who have lived in Oman for more than ten years. Analysis of the data indicates that while parents value their mother tongue as their first language and take various measures to maintain it, second-generation children are not keenly attached to L1. Instead, their first language oracy is strikingly marked with code-switching and code shifting, and their writing skills in L1 are diminishing. Refuting the previous findings, the present study reveals that language shift is a temporary phenomenon, and it does not take place at the cost of L1. On the contrary, various factors contribute to the maintenance of their heritage language. Also, the migrant Keralites, as a result of their living abroad, acquire two or three more new languages: English, Hindi, and Arabic depending on their study and work domains, thereby making them a multilingual society. Language shift can gradually result in linguicide, which can have various effects such as alienation from and the loss of culture and cultural values. It is expected that this study will unveil if there is a language shift of a severe nature among the Keratitis in Oman.

scholarly journals Reconstruction of Ethnic Identity among Bugis Community In Pontian Johor

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-8
Author(s):  
Andi Adijah ◽  
Rosman Md Yusoff ◽  
Mohd Koharuddin Mohd Balwi ◽  
Tariq Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Data Organization ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Ethnographic Approach

This study focuses on the Bugis ethnic identity and retention efforts, among the Bugis community in Pontian, Johor. This study used qualitative methods with ethnographic approach through semi-structured interviews, moderate participant observation and documentation. Data were analysed using NVIVO 8 software to assist in the process of transcription and data organization. NVIVO 8 generates data analysis has been prepared based on coding, themes, order and categories. The entire data have been organized checked using triangulation, data, technique and time. The results show that the Bugis ethnic identity, which is still practiced in Pontian until now, is a form of Bugis non-material culture. While maintaining the identity of the efforts made by individuals and groups by way of inheritance of cultural values through the filtering process of filtering elements of culture that is based on Islam, adaptation to local culture and government policy.

Peregrinação Acadêmica: A mulher Romeira do Bom Jesus da Lapa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Célia Coelho Gomes da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The West ◽  
Patriarchal Family ◽  
The Family ◽  
West Part

This work is the result of the doctoral thesis entitled Pilgrimage of Bom Jesus da Lapa: Social Reproduction of the Family and Female Gender Identity, specifically the second chapter that talks about women in the Pilgrimage of Bom Jesus da Lapa, emphasizing gender relations, analyzing the location of the pilgrimage as a social reproduction of the patriarchal family and female gender identity. The research scenario is the Bom Jesus da Lapa Pilgrimage, which has been held for 329 years, in that city, located in the West part of Bahia. The research participants are pilgrim women who are in the age group between 50 and 70 years old and have participated, for more than five consecutive years in the Bom Jesus da Lapa Pilgrimage, belonging to five Brazilian states (Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Goiás) that register a higher frequency of attendance at this religious event. We used bibliographic, qualitative, field and documentary research and data collection as our methodology; we applied participant observation and semi-structured interviews as a technique. We concluded that the Bom Jesus da Lapa Pilgrimage is a location for family social reproduction and the female gender identity, observing a contrast in the resignification of the role and in the profile of the pilgrim women from Bom Jesus da Lapa, alternating between permanence and the transformation of gender identity coming from patriarchy.

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