Contemporary Approaches to the Study of Ethnic Identity

Based on the analysis of contemporary theoretical and practical research in the fields of social philosophy, sociology and social psychology, the author considers trends related to the interpretation of the phenomenon of ethnic identity. A multiple interpretation of this phenomenon is described, which allows us to study its different forms and degrees of manifestation. Network social media, multi-ethnic urban environment and processes in non-systemic politics are considered as socio-cultural factors that influence the transformation of the phenomenon under consideration. It is concluded that the process of ethnic identification cannot be further unambiguously identified with a scale directed from the zero state (identity is not formed) to the positive pole (identity is formed and expressed). Instead of this onedimensional interpretation, a metaphor of space, which includes different forms and degrees of expression of ethnic identity, is proposed.

FAMILY MEMORY OF THE RUSSIA’S CITIZENS IN THE CONTEXT OF ACTUAL SOCIAL CHALLENGES

Applying to the sociological data, the author examines the Russians’ perception of the family memory as a source of historical knowledge and proves that the memory about relatives and friends who have become participants and witnesses of the state’s key events seriously “feeds” the emotional citizens’ attitude towards symbols of the state identity and national pride. The actuality of the article is determinated by the global development of digital communication that seriously influences on the interest towards the reconstruction of family history and allows persons today to lift the veil of secrecy over the history of many families. Contemporary internet resources give wide opportunities for many modernized citizens to receive objective historical knowledge about their families. The purpose of this article is to study the specifics of the preservation and reproduction of family memory by the Russia’s citizens. In order to achieve this goal the author implement some research tasks. The author study as the place of the family memory among a number of various historical sources as the demand for family historical knowledge that the persons from different socio-demographic groups has. The special attention is paid to the study of the social media mechanisms that are using in order to reconstruct and reproduce the family memory.

The correlation of mythological, ideological and figurative-symbolic mechanisms of constructing state identity

The article considers the place of figurative and symbolic cultural phenomena in the process of forming the state identity of modern Russian youth. These phenomena are considered from the point of view of the possibility of direct influence on the value consciousness by using the socio-psychological potential of “aesthetic information” (A. Mol). The correlation of the figurative and symbolic aspects of the formation of state identity with the mythological and ideological aspects of this process is shown. The transformation of “national mythologems” into rational ideologems, which is inevitable in the conditions of rationalization and globalization of the modern world implies the autonomization of the value consciousness of the socializing individual, which, in turn, is impossible without using the potential of artistic images symbolizing the cultural unity of society.

New Zealand's Identity and New Zealand-Japan Relations: 1945-2014

<p>This thesis seeks to understand the role of New Zealand’s national identity in the Japan-New Zealand relationship to examine how identities and values have shaped New Zealand’s policies and diplomatic interaction with Japan. Four key identities are identified which contribute to New Zealand’s national self-image as a whole and illustrate the malleability of identity; the historically cultural British identity, the “search for independence” moral identity, the construction of an Asia Pacific state identity and the perception of New Zealand as a ‘good international citizen’ with liberally democratic values. To explore the role these identities and New Zealand’s perceptions of Japan have had on shaping bilateral relations, this thesis analyses multiple issues and policy decisions from 1945 till 2014 using the theoretical framework of Constructivism. It draws from a range of secondary literature, government documents, news sources, official speeches and various organisation’s publications from throughout this time frame. The research seeks to give a better understanding of how New Zealand’s national identity has evolved over time in response to domestic affairs and examine how it has contributed to shaping New Zealand’s relationship with Japan. It uncovers that the Japan-New Zealand relationship has developed significantly in the last seventy years and the role of identity can offer explanations regarding the ways in which New Zealand’s understanding of itself has helped shape its bilateral relationship with Japan.</p>

New Zealand's Identity and New Zealand-Japan Relations: 1945-2014

<p>This thesis seeks to understand the role of New Zealand’s national identity in the Japan-New Zealand relationship to examine how identities and values have shaped New Zealand’s policies and diplomatic interaction with Japan. Four key identities are identified which contribute to New Zealand’s national self-image as a whole and illustrate the malleability of identity; the historically cultural British identity, the “search for independence” moral identity, the construction of an Asia Pacific state identity and the perception of New Zealand as a ‘good international citizen’ with liberally democratic values. To explore the role these identities and New Zealand’s perceptions of Japan have had on shaping bilateral relations, this thesis analyses multiple issues and policy decisions from 1945 till 2014 using the theoretical framework of Constructivism. It draws from a range of secondary literature, government documents, news sources, official speeches and various organisation’s publications from throughout this time frame. The research seeks to give a better understanding of how New Zealand’s national identity has evolved over time in response to domestic affairs and examine how it has contributed to shaping New Zealand’s relationship with Japan. It uncovers that the Japan-New Zealand relationship has developed significantly in the last seventy years and the role of identity can offer explanations regarding the ways in which New Zealand’s understanding of itself has helped shape its bilateral relationship with Japan.</p>

Smile of the Crescent: Constructing a Future Identity Out of Historical Ambiguity in İstiklal Marşi (with Translation)

This article analyses identity construction in İstiklal Marşi (“Independence March”), the national anthem of the Republic of Turkey, within the theoretical framework of Eurocentric nation-state rhetoric. It argues that the continuing success of the text, written by Mehmet Akif [Ersoy] in 1921, is independent of the ideological stand of its author, and lies instead in its conveyance of a modern nation-state identity. In order to demonstrate this, the article first depicts the circumstances of the adoption of the national anthem and its immediate reception in Turkey. Afterwards, it examines identity construction in the anthem and reveals that the war against European forces determined the self-perception of the nation by both the negation and mirroring of the other. It concludes that, by foregrounding certain elements such as l’esprit frondeur and faith, and by interpreting the convention of Ottoman Divan poetry, the poet infused the cultural and aesthetic legacy of the past into the future needs of a nation-state.

Role of Enhancers in Development and Diseases

Enhancers are cis-regulatory elements containing short DNA sequences that serve as binding sites for pioneer/regulatory transcription factors, thus orchestrating the regulation of genes critical for lineage determination. The activity of enhancer elements is believed to be determined by transcription factor binding, thus determining the cell state identity during development. Precise spatio-temporal control of the transcriptome during lineage specification requires the coordinated binding of lineage-specific transcription factors to enhancers. Thus, enhancers are the primary determinants of cell identity. Numerous studies have explored the role and mechanism of enhancers during development and disease, and various basic questions related to the functions and mechanisms of enhancers have not yet been fully answered. In this review, we discuss the recently published literature regarding the roles of enhancers, which are critical for various biological processes governing development. Furthermore, we also highlight that altered enhancer landscapes provide an essential context to understand the etiologies and mechanisms behind numerous complex human diseases, providing new avenues for effective enhancer-based therapeutic interventions.

VEGA is an interpretable generative model for inferring biological network activity in single-cell transcriptomics

Deep learning architectures such as variational autoencoders have revolutionized the analysis of transcriptomics data. However, the latent space of these variational autoencoders offers little to no interpretability. To provide further biological insights, we introduce a novel sparse Variational Autoencoder architecture, VEGA (VAE Enhanced by Gene Annotations), whose decoder wiring mirrors user-provided gene modules, providing direct interpretability to the latent variables. We demonstrate the performance of VEGA in diverse biological contexts using pathways, gene regulatory networks and cell type identities as the gene modules that define its latent space. VEGA successfully recapitulates the mechanism of cellular-specific response to treatments, the status of master regulators as well as jointly revealing the cell type and cellular state identity in developing cells. We envision the approach could serve as an explanatory biological model for development and drug treatment experiments.