Religiosity differently influences moral attitude for robots in the US and Japan

Researchers have speculated that religious traditions influence an individual's moral attitude and care toward robots. They propose that differences in moral care could be explained by values motivated by religion, anthropocentrism and animism. Here, we empirically examined how moral care for robots is influenced by religious belief and attendance with US and Japanese samples, cultures that are Abrahamic and Shinto-Buddhist traditions respectively (N = 3781). Moral care was higher in Japan and participants with higher religious beliefs had less moral care for robots only in the US. Further, participants who scored low on anthropocentrism and high on animism were more likely to attribute moral care for robots. Anthropocentrism in the US and Animism in Japan had a larger effect compared to the other country. The finding demonstrates how religion could influence moral attitudes for robots, and might suggest the realm of moral consideration could be shaped by cultural traditions.

ETHNOCULTURAL INEQUALITY IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF DAGESTANI YOUTH AND PROSPECTS FOR CIVIL CONSOLIDATION

В статье рассматривается проблема этнокультурного неравенства в научной литературе и в массовом сознании студенческой молодежи Республики Дагестан в контексте гражданской идентификации. На основе анализа социологического исследования, проведенного автором в 2021 г., выявляется корреляционная зависимость между восприятием точек зрений о нарушении или обеспечении этнорелигиозного паритета в России и уровнем гражданской идентификации. Авторская точка зрения заключается в том, что сложность для гражданской интеграции современного российского общества представляет не «множество идентичностей» россиян, сколько их неравномерное положение в социально-политической структуре российского государства. Автор делает упор на важности формирования гражданской нации как надэтнической и надрелигиозной формации, но подчеркивает преждевременность успеха данного процесса без равноправия при учете этнокультурных особенностей российских народов. В связи с чем делается вывод о необходимости создания механизма согласования интересов этнических и религиозных сообществ в субъектах Российской Федерации в целях повышения гражданской идентичности населения, так как, по мнению автора, обеспечение условий для развития этнокультурных особенностей людей повышает чувство их гражданской лояльности, создает предпосылки к открытости и терпимости к представителям иных этнокультурных традиций. The paper deals with the problem of ethnocultural inequality in the scientific literature and in the mass consciousness of the students of the Republic of Dagestan in the context of civil identification. Based on the analysis of a sociological study conducted by the author in 2021, the publication reveals a correlation between the perception of points of view about the violation or maintenance of ethno-religious parity in Russia and the level of civil identification. The author's point of view is that the difficulty for the civil integration of modern Russian society is not the "set of identities" of Russians, but rather their uneven position in the socio-political structure of the Russian state. The author emphasizes the importance of forming a civil nation as a supra-ethnic and supra-religious formation, but emphasizes the prematurity of the success of this process without equality, taking into account the ethno-cultural characteristics of the Russian peoples. In this connection, it is concluded that it is necessary to create a mechanism for coordinating the interests of ethnic and religious communities in the subjects of the Russian Federation in order to increase the civil identity of the population. Since, according to the author, providing conditions for the development of ethno-cultural characteristics of people increases the sense of their civic loyalty, creates prerequisites for openness and tolerance to representatives of other ethno-cultural traditions.

VOCES Y OTREDAD. DE LAS CARTAS DESDE MI CELDA A BÉCQUER Y LAS BRUJAS

La crítica especializada ha relacionado las leyendas de las cartas Desde mi celda de Bécquer con la insistencia por parte del autor en la búsqueda y recuperación del folclore y de las tradiciones populares. No obstante, el acercamiento a las mismas exige una doble lectura. La riqueza polifónica muestra que, al Bécquer folclorista, habría de añadírsele su faceta de lector afamado, imprescindible en su configuración como narrador de historias. El escritor sevillano mira al pueblo, recoge y bebe de la tradición, pero la filtra a través del prisma del movimiento gótico, de los ecos que aún permanecían en la literatura y que se atisbaban en las últimas manifestaciones de las narraciones románticas y en la incipiente narrativa realista. El largometraje recientemente estrenado Bécquer y las brujas ahonda en esta riqueza polifónica de una figura, construida desde la más pura otredad: la de la bruja. Abstract: Literary scholarship has credited the legends collected in Bécquer’s letters Desde mi celda for the writer’s interest in the research and recovery of folklore and popular traditions. However, when approaching these traditional stories, another perspective is possible: Bécquer’s polyphonic narrations are rooted in his wide readings, from which he draws the material of his stories. The Sevillian writer observes and grasps the people’s cultural traditions, but through the filter of the Gothic, the echoes of the last romantic prose and the emerging realist narrative. The newly released film Bécquer y las brujas highlights the richness of his compositions, based on the purest otherness: the figure of the witch.

Complex Pathways Towards Emergent Pastoral Settlements: New Research on the Bronze Age Xindian Culture of Northwest China

The Xindian culture of northwest China has been seen as a prototypical example of a transition toward pastoralism, resulting in part from environmental changes that started around 4000 years ago. To date, there has been little available residential data to document how and whether subsistence strategies and community organization in northwest China changed following or in association with documented environmental changes. The Tao River Archaeology Project is a collaborative effort aimed at gathering robust archaeological information to solidify our baseline understanding of economic, technological, and social practices in the third through early first millennia BC. Here we present data from two Xindian culture residential sites, and propose that rather than a total transition to nomadic pastoralism—as it is often reconstructed—the Xindian culture reflects a prolonged period of complex transition in cultural traditions and subsistence practices. In fact, communities maintained elements of earlier cultivation and animal-foddering systems, selectively incorporating new plants and animals into their repertoire. These locally-specific strategies were employed to negotiate ever-changing environmental and social conditions in the region of developing ‘proto-Silk Road’ interregional interactions.

Policy Analysis and Crafting to Empower Authentic Indigenous Learning Experiences in the Pacific Higher Education Landscape

This chapter examines the context of higher education in the Pacific. A brief explanation of the role of colonialism in the formation of institutions of higher education in the region is followed by discussions of policies and practices that empower local dissemination and production of knowledge by and amongst faculty, students, and the communities which they serve. The author concludes that a balance between advancing knowledge in a way that is respectful to academic traditions and cultural traditions in the Pacific can be achieved by harnessing the best values and qualities in common between those traditions.

Cognitive Enhancement and Neuroprotective Abilities of Plants

Extensive research suggests that a number of plant-derived chemicals and traditional Oriental herbal remedies possess cognition-enhancing properties. Widely used current treatments for dementia include extracts of Ginkgo biloba and several alkaloidal, and therefore toxic, plant-derived cholinergic agents. Several non-toxic, European herbal species have pan-cultural traditions as treatments for cognitive deficits, including those associated with aging. Acute administration has also been found to reliably improve mnemonic performance in healthy young and elderly cohorts, whilst a chronic regime has been shown to attenuate cognitive declines in sufferers from Alzheimer's disease. The present chapter looks at the ethnobotanical and pharmacological importance of various plants cognitive enhancing and other neuroprotective abilities.

LANGUAGE BOUNDARIES, PUBLISHING, AND POWER

Applied anthropologists in the English-speaking world tend to disregard publications in other languages; institutions emphasize English-language publishing and give less credence or value to work in other languages. Even applied anthropologists writing in non-English languages often privilege English sources. The invisibility of non-English applied anthropology diminishes the richness of our field, as we miss opportunities to gain insights from different academic, practice, and cultural traditions. This paper, based on a panel held at the 2021 SfAA Meetings, presents reflections on the challenges of language in the circulation of global knowledge for anthropological practice. We highlight the power relations embedded in language, as well as opportunities for applied anthropologists to promote communication and collaboration across boundaries.

The Impact of Religion and Culture on the Supremacy of the Constitution in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s social composition demonstrates it to be a pluralist, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic country. The life and behaviour of its citizens are, for example, governed by more than one source of law, namely those of Islam and Afghan culture. In light of this, the current article attempts to, firstly, explain Islam as a source of law in Afghanistan and its supremacy over that country’s constitution and then, secondly, apply the same logic to culture as rooted in Afghan tribal and ethnic traditions. While many cultural traditions exist in Afghanistan, this article focuses solely on the constitutionally recognised Loya Jirga (Great Assembly). Finally, the study suggests applicable solutions for maintaining the authority of the constitution in the presence of Islam and Afghan custom. This, it is hoped, will help Afghanistan escape its ongoing political instability and avoid the relentless downfall of governments.

Hadarat in Tual City Maluku: The Role of Arab Al-Katiri in Integration of Islam and Local Culture

<p>This paper examines the hadarat tradition as part of integrating Islam with local culture by the Al-Katiri Arab group in Tual City. Attendance is a unique ritual that the people of Tual City carry out in celebrating religious holidays such as Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, weddings, circumcisions, and other religious activities. The community conducts friendship around the village while dancing accompanied by chanting <em>shalawat</em> to the Prophet Muhammad with music (tambourine) in the hadarat. This article uses a qualitative descriptive method, with observations, interviews, and documentation as the data collection techniques. This article shows that the Al-Katiri Arab community played a role in the spread of Islam in Tual City through trade routes and social and cultural approaches. The descendants of the marriage between the Arab al-Katiri group and the Kei Community of Tual City have been considered one part of the Kei community of Tual City. The information was obtained using historical research methods. Appreciating the culture of the Kei people of Tual City as a form of preaching the spread of Islam is the key to the success of the Al-Katiri Arab group living in harmony amid society with local cultural traditions.</p><p><em>Tulisan ini mengkaji tentang tradisi hadarat sebagai bagian dari strategi mengintegrasikan Islam dengan kebudayaan lokal oleh kelompok Arab Al-Katiri di Kota Tual. Hadarat menjadi sebuah ritual unik yang dilakukan oleh masyarakat Kota Tual dalam merayakan hari besar keagamaan seperti Hari Raya Idul Fitri, Hari Raya Idul Adha, perkawinan, khitanan, dan kegiatan keagamaan lainnya. Masyarakat melakukan silaturahim mengelilingi kampung sambil menari diiringi lantunan shawat kepada Nabi Muhammad dengan musik (rebana) dalam hadarat. Artikel ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif, dengan observasi, wawancara, dan dokumentasi sebagai Teknik pengumpulan datanya. Hasil peneltian artikel ini menunjukkan bahwa komunitas Arab Al-Katiri berperan dalam penyebaran agama Islam di Kota Tual, melalui jalur perdagangan dan pendekatan sosial dan budaya. Keturunan dari hasil pernikahan antara kelompok Arab al-Katiri dengan Masyarakat Kei Kota Tual sudah dianggap sebagai satu bagian dengan masyarakat Kei Kota Tual. Informasi tersebut didapatkan dengan menggunakan metode penelitian sejarah. Menghargai kebudayaan masyarakat Kei Kota Tual sebagai suatu bentuk dakwah penyebaran agama Islam merupakan kunci kesuksesan kelompok Arab Al-Katiri hidup rukun di tengah-tengah masyarakat dengan tradisi budaya lokal. </em></p>