No Net Loss: A Cultural Reading of Environmental Assessment

Global environmental quality decline builds up through innumerable decisions at many scales that cause damage to ecological and social values. Environmental assessment (EA) is a relevant decision-making framework in this sense. Besides its technical role, EA has a cultural side we should consider in the pursuit of sustainable societies. Despite its limited reach, EA exemplifies and confronts some cultural implicit stances that may unwittingly favor the overall decline of environmental quality, and limit the advancement and efficiency of EA. Many of these cultural traits are well known and easier to point to than to reverse, namely: (1) too tolerant-to-damage standards of environmental protection and equality; (2) inadequate criteria to assess environmental performance; (3) tolerance of the net loss of environmental quality; (4) confrontation between ecological and social values in decision-making; and (5) neglect of full, in-kind compensation of environmental impacts. EA may have not only a technical or procedural, but also a cultural role to play in confronting these sources of unsustainability. A lack of attention to the cultural causes of environmental impacts neglects the deepest roots of environmental damage. This commentary addresses the topics above and brings attention to their disregard for environmental values, which should guide EA towards increased levels of sustainability.

Evaluating the effectiveness of vegetation conservation on a sacred mountain in western China

Sacred natural sites, as probably the oldest form of habitat reserve for religious or cultural causes worldwide, are suggested to have an important role in conserving vegetation; however, there are insufficient data supporting the detailed implications of such sites for vegetation conservation. Thus, we evaluated the effectiveness of vegetation conservation on a Tibetan sacred mountain in Yajiang County, Sichuan, China, by investigating species richness and the structural attributes of higher vascular plant communities on and around the sacred mountain from April to June 2009. The results showed that the number of tree species on the sacred mountain was significantly higher than that in the surrounding area, but there were no notable differences in the numbers of shrub and grass species between the two sites. The sacred mountain harbored a greater number of small, short trees compared with the surrounding area, wherein the low-shrub and grass understory was relatively dense. We conclude that the sacred mountain has a positive impact on indigenous vegetation protection, but disparities in the management of the allowed uses of such sites could reduce their conservation effectiveness.

Robot and ukiyo-e: implications to cultural varieties in human–robot relationships

The social and cultural causes behind the widespread use and acceptance of robots in Japan are not yet completely understood. This study compares humans and robots in images gathered through Google searches in Japanese and in English. Numerous pictures obtained by the search in Japanese were found to have a human and a robot looking together at something else (“third item”), whereas many of the images acquired by search in English show a human and a robot facing each other. This is similar to the composition of mother and child in paintings: in ukiyo-e that was painted mainly in the Edo period of Japan, the mother and child are often depicted together viewing something other than themselves, whereas this is not the case in Western paintings of mother and child. It has also been pointed out that, in modern Western paintings, the world inside the picture is separated from the outside world, forming an independent microcosmos, whereas the inside and outside are continuous in Japanese paintings. These may indicate that, in Japanese society, robots are to a certain extent regarded as fellow human beings who can share the third item. In Western society, on the other hand, no code is embedded that can fix robots’ superiority or inferiority to humans, which would easily trigger an antagonistic view toward artificial intelligence (AI)/robots as threatening entities, as shown in most of Western literature and movies. We suggest that such cultural characteristics of Japanese society can contribute to enhance coexistence with AI/robots.

The Attitudes and Motivation of University Learners Towards Learning English

This study examines the Yemeni students’ attitudes and motivation towards learning English. It tries to find out the types of motivation the subjects have towards learning English. Two types of motivations were investigated in this research, instrumental motivation that refers to the utilitarian and academic causes, and integrative motivation, which refers to the social and cultural causes. Moreover, the current survey sheds some light on the students’ anxiety about the English language and their attitude towards learning English and using it in India. The quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire administered to 107 students. The data analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The results revealed that Yemeni students in India have a high positive attitude towards learning English. Moreover, they are instrumentally and integratively motivated to learn English. Their attitude towards the anxiety of English, learning English, and using it in India was moderate. The results also showed a significant difference in the students’ attitude towards learning English, where the postgraduate students have a higher positive attitude than undergraduates. According to the gender, the results revealed no significant difference between males and females regarding the attitude and motivation towards learning English. The present survey recommended teaching the English language intensively in Yemen, whether in schools or universities. The English language anxiety has to be manipulated by teachers using the courses that enhance the students’ confidence in using English.

Socio-Cultural Causes of Kala Kali (Honour Killing): A Case of Tehsil Jam Pur

Pakistani rural people have to face many problems under the umbrella of tribal laws and customs. These cultural norms and tribal laws compel the people to kill their wives, sisters, mothers and daughters in the name of so-called "honour". The major objectives of the study were to explore the socio-cultural causes of kali kali (honor killing) and to see the impacts of kala kali on victim's family. The cases of fourteen victims were studied where the members of victim's family were informants as victims themselves were not available. The result of the present study shows that the lust for money, feudalism, illiteracy and lack of awareness about human rights are the causes of kala kali. It can be reduced by increasing awareness and education. Government should launch some policies like a comprehensive legal awareness program to make people aware of their legal rights.

O filme publicitário e as audiovisualidades da diversidade e da inclusão nas estratégias de comunicação organizacional

Advertising narratives constitute a decisive discursive set to the functioning of contemporary sociability, founded on consumerism and dynamized by mediatized audiovisual experiences. In this context, in the field of communication of organizations, it is clear that marketing advertising discourse, which historically is not linked to social and political-cultural causes, has been investing in inclusive campaigns, anchored in the diversity agenda. Advertising films are a recurring resource in these initiatives, dialoguing with the expressive audiovisuality in contemporary times. It may seem unusual to link commercial advertising to sociopolitical causes, just as the discursive mismatch between the market and the growing planetary movement of conservatism and disruptions in liberal democracy in the political-institutional realm can be suggested. With a theoretical-conceptual review and case study of two advertising films made by the company Mercado Livre, one of the giants of online commerce in Brazil and present in 18 countries, on the occasion of the International LGBTI Pride Day (28/06), we present a critical reflection on the strategies and motivations of advertising campaigns focused on narratives of diversity and inclusion, precisely in a political-institutional environment increasingly inhospitable to human and civil rights of minorities and marginalized populations.

NEGLIGENCE OF WOMEN HEALTH IN INDIA:ROLE OF GENDER BIASNESS AND OTHER SOCIO-CULTURAL ISSUES

Women health is one of most neglected issues in developing countries like India. Though in past few years there has increase in awareness about rights of women and their health issues still we have long way to go. This paper talks the status of women health in India and how they are unaware about their health and facilities they can acquire to improve on their health. The women of India are not much concerned about their health; either we talk about physical health or mental health. In this paper, I have also discussed about different socio-cultural causes that led to this condition of women health, specially the role that gender biasness plays in poor condition of women health. This paper also talks about how such issues can be addressed and resolved.

Socio-Economic and Cultural Causes and Effects of Increasing Divorce Rate by Women in Bangladesh: A Critical Analysis

To create generation by maintaining family and social binding, marriage is the only legal way which is recognized by society, civilization, country and religious. All religious encourage both man and woman to marry. But this legal tie is untied by way of divorce. In consequences of divorce a bride have to return to her parental home which is not considered as respectable in the society of Bangladesh and the situation may be more difficult if parents are not alive or in poverty. Though divorce is a right of a man or a woman and he or she can legally terminate his or her conjugal life by divorce but in Bangladesh currently it has reached in such extreme level that it has become a matter of great concern. To some extent divorce relief a man or a woman from endless sufferings but most of the cases it broken dreams, hopes and aspiration of a family, causes intolerable sufferings and push their offspring future uncertainty. The prime object of this research is to trace out the connection of divorce by women and socio-economic and culture of Bangladesh. This research also attempts to find out effects of divorce on the victims, their children and also in the family and society.