scholarly journals The proliferation of secular religions

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-85
Author(s):  
Tamás Nyirkos
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
General Category ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ultimate Failure ◽  
Adequate Definition ◽  
Definition Of Religion ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Secular Religion

The term ‘secular religion’ first appeared in the description of modern totalitarian ideologies but soon became a general category applied to other political, socio-economic and cultural phenomena. The first problem with this approach is the inherent contradiction of the term, since ‘secular’ by all modern definitions means ‘non-religious’, making a secular religion something like a ‘nonreligious religion’. The second is the wide range of examples from communism to liberalism, from capitalism to ecology, or from transhumanism to social media, which suggests that with some creativity almost anything can be described as secular and religious at the same time. The first part of the paper deals with the terminological difficulties, while the second outlines the history of drawing secular-religious analogies, concluding that the ultimate failure to give a coherent narrative of secular religions is rooted in the impossibility of giving an adequate definition of religion in the first place.

The Biased Media and Their Utilization of Propaganda

2021 ◽  
pp. 199-217
Author(s):  
David B. Ross ◽  
Gina L. Peyton ◽  
Melissa T. Sasso ◽  
Rande W. Matteson ◽  
Cortney E. Matteson
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Cable News ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Politics ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Definition Of

Propaganda is a widely controversial issue, especially when it collides with the media and politicians. This complex system creates a tension between those who have a personal agenda to disseminate false statements to advance their plan to manipulate the minds of the public. Based upon 24/7 cable news and social media, there seems to be a miscommunication and disconnect from the truth regarding how the media reports world events, politics, environment, and how politicians were elected to help their constituents, not their own personal agendas. This chapter will address the concern for a better system of reporting the facts and not personal agendas of propaganda-styled broadcasts and non-fact stories that lack truth. In addition, the history of the utilization of propaganda, the definition of this term, the theoretical framework for the theory of propaganda will be revealed, and how this ties in with media and political actors. Furthermore, various techniques, media, politics, and how to rectify these situations with open, trusting, and straightforward communications will be debated.

A History of African American Theatre. By Errol G. Hill and James V. Hatch. Cambridge Studies in American Theatre and Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003; pp. 608. $130 cloth.

2005 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-129
Author(s):  
Harry Elam
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Theatre History ◽  
American Theatre ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Black Theatre ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
American Theatre History ◽  
Daunting Challenge

Over the more than twenty years since the publication of two profoundly influential collections—Errol Hill's two-volume anthology of critical essays The Theatre of Black Americans (1980) and James V. Hatch's first edition of the play anthology Black Theatre USA (1974)—there has been considerable activity in African American theatre scholarship. Yet even as scholars have produced new collections of historical and critical essays that cover a wide range of African American theatre history, book-length studies that document particular moments in the historical continuum such as the Harlem Renaissance, and Samuel Hay's broader study African American Theatre: An Historical and Critical Analysis (1994), no one until now has written a comprehensive study of African American theatre history. Into this void have stepped two of the aforementioned distinguished scholars of African American theatre, Errol G. Hill and James V. Hatch. To be certain, writing a comprehensive history of African American theatre poses a daunting challenge for anyone hearty enough to undertake it. Where to begin? What to include and exclude? With their study, A History of African American Theatre, Hill and Hatch show themselves indeed worthy of the challenge. They explore the evolution of African American theatre across time and space, documenting the particular efforts of artists, writers, scholars, and practitioners, from inside as well as outside the United States, that have had an impact on our understanding of African American theatre. The authors make clear that the definition of African American theatre from the beginning has been in constant flux and that it has been affected by the changing social times in American as much as it has influenced those times.

The symbolic meaning of luxury-lite fashion brands among younger Chinese consumers

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Wang ◽  
Fei Qiao
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Symbolic Meaning ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Chinese Market ◽  
Chinese Consumers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Definition Of

PurposeThe purpose of this study is uncovering the connotative and symbolic meaning of “luxury-lite brands” [轻奢].Design/methodology/approachApplying mixed methods, this study conducted two studies: (1) a semiotic analysis of a focus group discussion and 10 interviews on luxury-lite brands and (2) a content analysis of 248 Weiblog posts from 10 luxury-lite brands in a two-month period.FindingsStudy 1 showed that luxury-lite brands are interpreted as foreign brands that serve people's needs for social presence, and symbolize youthfulness, tastefulness, and aspirations. Other descriptors of luxury-lite brands included unique design, and less than the best quality offered by luxury brand. Study 2 suggested brands are missing out on a wide range of stories that resonate with their core segments in their social media advertising.Practical implicationsBased on the definition of luxury-lite brands in the context of China proposed by the researchers, we recommend that managers broaden topics of stories, make more effort to create desirable symbolic brand meaning, and use social media to excite these young crowds.Originality/valueLuxury-lite brands have been a cultural sign in the Chinese market projected to grow into an over 90 billion USD business by 2025. Therefore, an insightful understanding of the masstige market of China is a must for any Western masstige brand to be successful and competitive.

scholarly journals History of the emergence of legal regulation of activity of controlled foreign companies in the Russian Federation

2021 ◽  
pp. 43-54
Author(s):  
Ruslan Adamovich Muratov
Keyword(s):  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Parent Company ◽  
Foreign Companies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Regulation Of Activity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cfc Rules

Spread of the possibility of free movement of capital from one jurisdiction to another allows the companies incorporated in high-tax countries, to use low-tax or tax-free jurisdictions for conducting business and, as well as reducing tax burden. One of the mechanisms of tax evasion is the creation of controlled foreign companies that can delay the payment of dividends to the parent company, i.e. the payment of income that will be taxed in the country of tax residence of the parent company. The countries, in turn, adopt CFC rules (controlled foreign companies riles) to prevent tax evasion, which may change due to various circumstances. The CFC rules are aimed at determining the actual tax liability of the taxpayer. However, there are situations when CFC rules are implemented in a broader approach – for example, a wide range of entities would fall under the definition of “controlled foreign companies” or “controlling entities”, which may result in the fact that the conditions for application of CFC rules may arise for the entities that do not exercise control over a foreign company. In this case, CFC rules can worsen the situation of the taxpayer. This creates an abuse of the right of controlling authorities in terms of preventing tax evasion. In order to avoid such situations, it is necessary to improve the CFC rules by limiting the circle of entities and clearly distinguishing between abuse of the rights and lawful actions in implementation of CFC rules.

The Biased Media and Their Utilization of Propaganda

2020 ◽  
pp. 89-113
Author(s):  
David B. Ross ◽  
Gina L. Peyton ◽  
Melissa T. Sasso ◽  
Rande W. Matteson ◽  
Cortney E. Matteson
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Cable News ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Politics ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Definition Of

Propaganda is a widely controversial issue, especially when it collides with the media and politicians. This complex system creates a tension between those who have a personal agenda to disseminate false statements to advance their plan to manipulate the minds of the public. Based upon 24/7 cable news and social media, there seems to be a miscommunication and disconnect from the truth regarding how the media reports world events, politics, environment, and how politicians were elected to help their constituents, not their own personal agendas. This chapter will address the concern for a better system of reporting the facts and not personal agendas of propaganda-styled broadcasts and non-fact stories that lack truth. In addition, the history of the utilization of propaganda, the definition of this term, the theoretical framework for the theory of propaganda will be revealed, and how this ties in with media and political actors. Furthermore, various techniques, media, politics, and how to rectify these situations with open, trusting, and straightforward communications will be debated.

Reinventing Religious Studies

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-44
Author(s):  
Matt Sheedy
Keyword(s):  
Identity Politics ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Recent Book ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of Religion ◽  
Definition Of

I interviewed Scott S. Elliott in December 2013, where we discussed his recent book (as editor) Reinventing Religious Studies: Key Writings in the History of a Discipline (Acumen 2013). Our conversation ranged from the history of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion to how articles appearing in its journal, the CSSR Bulletin, over some 40-odd years have been at the leading edge of advancing debates in the study of religion, from problems in theory and method and the definition of religion, to issues of identity politics and the study of Islam.

scholarly journals Geoarchaeology: Where Geosciences Meet the Humanities to Reconstruct Past Human–Environment Interactions. An Application to the Coastal Areas of the Largest Mediterranean Islands

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 4480
Author(s):  
Matthieu Ghilardi
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Archaeology ◽  
Environmental Archaeology ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Mediterranean Islands ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Exciting Opportunity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Definition Of

The study of past Human–Environment interactions has long been seen at a very local scale, that of sites of human occupation. Geoarchaeology differs from the traditional concepts of Environmental Archaeology and Landscape Archaeology in this respect since it adopts a different spatial resolution based on the development of multidisciplinary research at the scale of geographical, geological or geomorphological features. In this paper, we aim to contribute to the definition of coastal geoarchaeology where environmental holistic studies can be developed, thus integrating both continental and marine dynamics. A specific application is realized here for the largest Mediterranean islands where heterogeneity can be observed in research over the last decades. For this reason, we divide the Mediterranean Basin into four areas in order to review the main works conducted. In general, investigating coastal environments represents an exciting opportunity to reconstruct past landscapes and to evidence the long-term history of human occupation and land use by employing a wide range of proxies. We focus in particular on the coastal wetlands of Corsica, where a large number of lagoons have been cored since the early 2010s. Multiproxy laboratory analyses reveal a history of the complex relationships between past human societies and their environments which is complementary to existing archaeological studies.

Group Experiences and Individual Differences in Stuttering

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4335-4350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth E. Tichenor ◽  
J. Scott Yaruss
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Group Experiences ◽  
History Of ◽  
Adults Who Stutter

Purpose This study explored group experiences and individual differences in the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings perceived by adults who stutter. Respondents' goals when speaking and prior participation in self-help/support groups were used to predict individual differences in reported behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Method In this study, 502 adults who stutter completed a survey examining their behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in and around moments of stuttering. Data were analyzed to determine distributions of group and individual experiences. Results Speakers reported experiencing a wide range of both overt behaviors (e.g., repetitions) and covert behaviors (e.g., remaining silent, choosing not to speak). Having the goal of not stuttering when speaking was significantly associated with more covert behaviors and more negative cognitive and affective states, whereas a history of self-help/support group participation was significantly associated with a decreased probability of these behaviors and states. Conclusion Data from this survey suggest that participating in self-help/support groups and having a goal of communicating freely (as opposed to trying not to stutter) are associated with less negative life outcomes due to stuttering. Results further indicate that the behaviors, thoughts, and experiences most commonly reported by speakers may not be those that are most readily observed by listeners.

Towards the digital land reclamation

2020 ◽  
pp. 5-9
Author(s):  
Sergey Vasil'ev ◽  
Vyacheslav Schedrin ◽  
Aleksandra Slabunova ◽  
Vladimir Slabunov
Keyword(s):  
Retrospective Analysis ◽  
Land Reclamation ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Maximum Effect ◽  
Optimal Management ◽  
Scientific Potential ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Full Cooperation

The aim of the research is a retrospective analysis of the history and stages of development of digital land reclamation in Russia, the definition of «Digital land reclamation» and trends in its further development. In the framework of the retrospective analysis the main stages of melioration formation are determined. To achieve the maximum effect of the «digital reclamation» requires full cooperation of practical experience and scientific potential accumulated throughout the history of the reclamation complex, and the latest achievements of science and technology, which is currently possible only through the full digitalization of reclamation activities. The introduction of «digital reclamation» will achieve greater potential and effect in the modernization of the reclamation industry in the «hightech industry», through the use of innovative developments and optimal management decisions.

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