Courage Under Fire

2021 ◽  
pp. 146-181
Author(s):  
Zachary M. Howlett
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Head Teachers ◽  
Mental Flexibility ◽  
The Face ◽  
Latent Potential ◽  
Knowledge And Attitude ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter highlights the fateful moment of the Gaokao itself, investigating the important role of attitude and composure in examination success. It shows how head teachers personify an educational contradiction, both helping children to overcome their deficits in cultural capital and encouraging them to take individual responsibility for their examination results. It also considers the relationship between knowledge and attitude, elaborating how the capriciousness of attitude is accounted for. The chapter cites Gaokao observers that commonly remark how top students can choke on the exam, whereas dark horses can tap into their latent potential to surge from behind. It elaborates how the Gaokao assesses the diligent accumulation of knowledge and the less tangible aspects of character, particularly testing the ability of students to maintain composure and mental flexibility in the face of high pressure.

scholarly journals Afro-Communitarianism and the Role of Traditional African Healers in the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luís Cordeiro-Rodrigues ◽  
Thaddeus Metz
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Ethical Perspective ◽  
The Face

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant challenges to healthcare systems worldwide, and in Africa, given the lack of resources, they are likely to be even more acute. The usefulness of Traditional African Healers in helping to mitigate the effects of pandemic has been neglected. We argue from an ethical perspective that these healers can and should have an important role in informing and guiding local communities in Africa on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Particularly, we argue not only that much of the philosophy underlying Traditional African Medicine is adequate and compatible with preventive measures for COVID-19, but also that Traditional African Healers have some unique cultural capital for influencing and enforcing such preventive measures. The paper therefore suggests that not only given the cultural context of Africa where Traditional African Healers have a special role, but also because of the normative strength of the Afro-communitarian philosophy that informs it, there are good ethical reasons to endorse policies that involve Traditional Healers in the fight against COVID-19. We also maintain that concerns about Traditional African Healers objectionably violating patient confidentiality or being paternalistic are much weaker in the face of COVID-19.

Virtual Reality from the Standpoint of Complexity Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-260
Author(s):  
Helena Knyazeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
The Past ◽  
Extended Approach ◽  
Human Creativity ◽  
The Future ◽  
Latent Potential ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

An extended approach to the comprehension of virtual reality is developed in the article. Virtual reality is understood not only as a logically possible or cybernetically constructed reality but also as continuous turbulence of potencies of the complex natural and social world we live in, the wandering of complex systems and organizations over a field of possibilities, such a realization of forms and structures in which many formations remain in latent, potential forms, and are in the permanent process of making and multiplying a spectrum of possibilities, lead to the growth of the evolutionary tree of paths of development. It is shown that such an understanding of virtual reality corresponds to concepts and notions developed in the modern science of complexity. The most significant concepts are considered, such as the nonlinearity of time, the relationship of space and time, the uncertainty of the past and the openness of the future, the choice and construction of the future at the moments of passing the bifurcation points. Some cultural and historical prototypes of these modern ideas of virtual reality are given. It is substantiated that the vision of virtual reality being developed today can play the role of a heuristic tool for understanding the functioning and stimulation of human creativity.

Part III Conceptual Pillars, Ch.16 Harm Prevention

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brunnée Jutta
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Law ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
International Environmental Law ◽  
Significant Harm ◽  
Actual Harm ◽  
The Face ◽  
Harm Prevention ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter addresses how international environmental law originates from and revolves around the harm prevention rule. It focuses on three points of contention, each related to the role of due diligence in harm prevention, and each highlighted by recent judicial engagements with the harm prevention rule. First, it is generally accepted that a state's obligation to prevent environmental harm is not absolute, but requires due diligence in the face of risk of significant harm. However, it is unclear whether a failure to act diligently to avert harm on its own—absent actual harm—can amount to a breach of the harm prevention rule. Second, the relationship between the procedural and substantive dimensions of the harm prevention rule remains ambiguous. Third, there is some uncertainty as to where the line runs between the harm prevention obligation and the precautionary principle, given the focus of both notions on risk. These inter-related conceptual questions affect the harm prevention rule's function as a reference point for international environmental law.

scholarly journals Climate as an Evolutionary Driver of Nest Morphology in Birds: A Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela M. Perez ◽  
Janet L. Gardner ◽  
Iliana Medina
Keyword(s):  
Local Environment ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Extended Phenotype ◽  
The Face ◽  
Building Behavior ◽  
Fledgling Success ◽  
Nest Microclimate ◽  
The Relationship

Avian nests are critical for successful reproduction in birds. Nest microclimate can affect egg development, chick growth and fledgling success, suggesting that nest building behavior should be under strong selective pressure to nesting conditions. Given that the internal microclimate of the nest is critical for avian fitness, it is expected that nest morphology is shaped by the local environment. Here we review the relationship between nest morphology and climate across species’ distributions. We collate growing evidence that supports a link between environmental conditions and particular nest traits, within species and across species. We discuss the degree to which phenotypic plasticity in nesting behavior can contribute to observed variation in nest traits, the role of phylogenetic history in determining nest morphology, and which nest traits are likely to be influenced by climatic conditions. Finally, we identify gaps in our understanding of the evolution of nest morphology and suggest topics for future research. Overall, we argue that nests are part of the extended phenotype of a bird, they play a crucial role in their reproductive success, and may be an important factor in determining which species will be able to persist in the face of ongoing climate change.

scholarly journals Reviving Traditional Food Knowledge Through Food Festivals. The Case of the Pink Asparagus Festival in Mezzago, Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele F. Fontefrancesco ◽  
Dauro M. Zocchi
Keyword(s):  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Traditional Food ◽  
The Past ◽  
Food Knowledge ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Village ◽  
The Relationship

The article investigates the link between food festivals and traditional food knowledge and explores the role played by tourist events in disseminating local agricultural and gastronomic knowledge. This article presents the ethnographic case of the Pink Asparagus Festival in Mezzago in Italy, analyzing how the festival supported the continuation of crop production and its associated traditional knowledge in the village. In the face of a decline of asparagus production, the article highlights the role of the festival in fostering a revival of local food knowledge, which is also able to embrace modernization, at the same time maintaining a strong sense of the past and Mezzago's legacy. Thus, the article suggests that festivals are not just events aimed at commodifying local knowledge, but can be important tools to refresh and maintain local expertise, which is vital and pressing in the context of modern society, and strengthen and expand the relationship between members of the community, thus converting the festival into an endeavor to foster sociocultural sustainability.

DO EXPORT MARKETS SELECT THE MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCERS? THE MODERATING ROLE OF PRODUCTIVITY

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (02) ◽  
pp. 1550030 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOAQUÍN MONREAL-PÉREZ ◽  
ANTONIO ARAGÓN-SÁNCHEZ ◽  
GREGORIO SÁNCHEZ-MARÍN
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Foreign Markets ◽  
Export Markets ◽  
Industrial Firms ◽  
Process Innovations ◽  
Export Activity ◽  
The Face ◽  
Product And Process ◽  
The Relationship

In this paper, we examine a sample of 2000 Spanish industrial firms over the period 2001–2010 to analyse whether the self-selection hypothesis explains the relationship between innovation and the export activity of the company. In addition, we analyse how productivity moderates that relationship. The results indicate that the hypothesis does explain the effect of product and process innovations: Overseas foreign markets select those companies that have previously secured product or process innovations, while investment in research and development (R&D) does not increase the propensity for companies to export. On the other hand, the productivity of the company intensifies this effect. These results are robust in the face of fixed effects, different specifications of export activity and endogeneity, the last of which suggests possible effects of learning by exporting.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and the importance of space in entrepreneurship research and policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 697-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Korsgaard ◽  
Richard A Hunt ◽  
David M Townsend ◽  
Mads Bruun Ingstrup
Keyword(s):  
Economic System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Economies ◽  
Spatial Perspective ◽  
Entrepreneurship Research ◽  
Digital Platform ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Research And Policy

Given the COVID-19 crisis, the importance of space in the global economic system has emerged as critical in a hitherto unprecedented way. Even as large-scale, globally operating digital platform enterprises find new ways to thrive in the midst of a crisis, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) nestled in local economies have proven to be fragile to shocks, causing countless local economies to unravel in the face of severe challenges to survival. Here, we discuss the role of entrepreneurship in re-building local economies that are more resilient. Specifically, we take a spatial perspective and highlight how the COVID-19 crisis has uncovered problems in the current tendency for thin contextualisation and promotion of globalisation. Based on this critique, we outline new perspectives for thinking about the relationship between entrepreneurship, resilience and local economies. Here, a particular emphasis is given to resilience building through deeply contextualised policies and research, localised flows of products and labour, and the diversification of local economies.

Psychiatric Syndromes Associated with Cerebrovascular Disorders in the African

1958 ◽  
Vol 104 (434) ◽  
pp. 133-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Adeoye Lambo
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Cerebrovascular Disorders ◽  
Endogenous Depression ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Cerebrovascular Disorder ◽  
Inherited Predisposition ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship

This contribution towards the subject is limited to three of its aspects—namely, the possible aetiological role of inherited predisposition and psychogenic factors (mainly environmental to which the patient is still exposed), the relationship between late endogenous depression and the symptoms of cerebrovascular changes, and prognosis. On the face of it, prognosis of course must ultimately depend on that of the cerebrovascular disorder but apparently hereditary and environmental factors play a more significant role. Inherited predisposition is here assessed in terms of constitutional and personality factors.

Measuring Cultural Capital: Taste and Legitimate Culture of Czech Youth

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ondřej Špaček
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Multiple Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Fine Arts ◽  
Empirical Evaluation ◽  
Cultural Consumption ◽  
Educational Credentials ◽  
Institutional Dimension ◽  
The Relationship

The concept of legitimate culture plays a crucial role in the study of the relationship between the differentiation of tastes and the reproduction of social inequalities. Nevertheless, the actual role of legitimate culture in present society is often disputed in light of a supposed crumbling of the privileged structure of the fine arts. Meanwhile, the existing practice of survey research often neglects this institutional dimension of the legitimisation of taste and researchers often withdraw from attempts to develop an empirically-based scale to measure the legitimacy of taste. The aim of this paper is to develop a method of measurement of cultural capital which is based on empirical evaluation of the legitimacy of respondents’ taste. Specifically, this measurement links responses to open-ended questions about favourite cultural goods with institutionalized critical ratings. The particular focus is to answer how this methodologically innovative approach relates to prevalent instruments for measurement of cultural capital (highbrow culture attendance, educational credentials) and how it could inform the study of the change of legitimate culture. The study uses data from a survey of Czech youth cultural consumption (N=524). The results show close ties between the institutional measurement of cultural capital and the Bourdieusian application of Multiple Correspondence Analysis as a mean to identify significant cultural differences. While the feasibility of institutional measurement of cultural capital in survey data could be disputed, it is a useful tool to advance our understanding of how legitimate culture operates in present society.

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