Role of Urban Agriculture for Livelihood Improvement, Waste Management and Greening in Case of Hawassa City

Background: Urban agriculture is one of the strategies to enhance the livelihood of the urban community, ensure food security and nutrition. Despite, the increasing development of the practice in Hawaassa city, its environmental and societal perspectives had been neglected. Moreover, the increase in urbanization due to several social-economic reasons has become a challenge for urban agriculture practices. Methodology: This study was aimed at investigating the roles of urban agriculture on livelihood improvement, waste management, and urban greening. A purposive random sampling technique was employed to select sample households. Besides questionnaire surveys and key informant interviews were used to elicit necessary information while literature analysis supplemented the data. Result: It was found that urban agriculture in the study area is maintaining the cultural experience of the local society, generating income, and introducing saving habits. It has also improved the esthetic value of the city via utilization of the organic waste. Hence, urban agriculture in the city is compatible with urban job creation, price adjustment, and provision of a green urban environment. Conclusion: Urban agricultural practices should keep the phase of increasing urbanization in the study area.

Cultural Experience Influences Multisensory Emotion Perception in Bilinguals

Emotion perception frequently involves the integration of visual and auditory information. During multisensory emotion perception, the attention devoted to each modality can be measured by calculating the difference between trials in which the facial expression and speech input exhibit the same emotion (congruent) and trials in which the facial expression and speech input exhibit different emotions (incongruent) to determine the modality that has the strongest influence. Previous cross-cultural studies have found that individuals from Western cultures are more distracted by information in the visual modality (i.e., visual interference), whereas individuals from Eastern cultures are more distracted by information in the auditory modality (i.e., auditory interference). These results suggest that culture shapes modality interference in multisensory emotion perception. It is unclear, however, how emotion perception is influenced by cultural immersion and exposure due to migration to a new country with distinct social norms. In the present study, we investigated how the amount of daily exposure to a new culture and the length of immersion impact multisensory emotion perception in Chinese-English bilinguals who moved from China to the United States. In an emotion recognition task, participants viewed facial expressions and heard emotional but meaningless speech either from their previous Eastern culture (i.e., Asian face-Mandarin speech) or from their new Western culture (i.e., Caucasian face-English speech) and were asked to identify the emotion from either the face or voice, while ignoring the other modality. Analyses of daily cultural exposure revealed that bilinguals with low daily exposure to the U.S. culture experienced greater interference from the auditory modality, whereas bilinguals with high daily exposure to the U.S. culture experienced greater interference from the visual modality. These results demonstrate that everyday exposure to new cultural norms increases the likelihood of showing a modality interference pattern that is more common in the new culture. Analyses of immersion duration revealed that bilinguals who spent more time in the United States were equally distracted by faces and voices, whereas bilinguals who spent less time in the United States experienced greater visual interference when evaluating emotional information from the West, possibly due to over-compensation when evaluating emotional information from the less familiar culture. These findings suggest that the amount of daily exposure to a new culture and length of cultural immersion influence multisensory emotion perception in bilingual immigrants. While increased daily exposure to the new culture aids with the adaptation to new cultural norms, increased length of cultural immersion leads to similar patterns in modality interference between the old and new cultures. We conclude that cultural experience shapes the way we perceive and evaluate the emotions of others.

The impact of COVID-19 on destination visit intention and local food consumption

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the relationships between motivation and intention to consume local food and between intention to consume local food and intention to visit the destination of that food's origin while examining the moderating effect of risk perception associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Design/methodology/approachData were collected from two samples of potential Chinese tourists in the contexts of Italian and Thai food. Data obtained from 264 Chinese respondents for Italian food and 277 Chinese respondents for Thai food were analyzed. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was utilized to test the research model.FindingsThe results indicate that, while motivational factors such as cultural experience, novelty and sensory appeal influence potential Chinese tourists' intention to consume Italian food, motivational factors such as cultural experience, health concern, novelty and sensory appeal influence tourists' intention to consume Thai food. The authors found that intention to consume local food positively influences tourists' intention to visit both destinations (Italy and Thailand). Moreover, tourists' risk perceptions of COVID-19 negatively moderate the effect of cultural experience and novelty on the intention to consume Italian food. Regarding the intention to consume Thai food, the authors found that tourists' risk perceptions have a diminishing effect on all motivational factors.Originality/valueThis pioneering study examines the role of COVID-19-related risk perception on the relationships among motivation of local food consumption, intention of local food consumption and destination visit intention in the context of two destination countries. It reveals cross-country differences of the negative effect pertaining to the risk perceptions of COVID-19, which has important implications for international destination marketing.

The entrepreneurial advantages of experiencing foreignness: leveraging shocks for capability clusters

Purpose Drawing on the “shocks to the system” concept in image theory, a mid-range theoretical model is developed to illuminate understanding on why cross-cultural experience is so conducive to stimulating entrepreneurship yet has remained largely unexplained at the individual level.Design/methodology/approach The novel idea is put forth that experience of foreignness, in itself, can be harnessed as a powerful cognitive resource for entrepreneurship – particularly the nascent stages of new venture development. Providing cross-cultural exposures arouse “self-image shocks”, they manifest over time as skill clusters that reflect the sensing, seizing and transforming capabilities at the heart of entrepreneurship. This paper's pivot helps delineate a common mechanism to explain how a diverse range of seemingly disparate cross-cultural experiences can be processed in a way that enhances entrepreneurial pursuits.Findings The insights of this paper reinforce the need for educators and policymakers to encourage and provide opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to engage in cross-cultural and overseas exposures as they are influential for stimulating each of the core sets of entrepreneurial capabilities. The model and synthesis table also help to practically unpack how to design and plan such cultural experiences to optimize the enduring entrepreneurial advantages.Originality/value The author turns a long-standing assumption surrounding cultural differences in entrepreneurship on its head. The shocks and tensions arising from intercultural interactions are not always inevitable liabilities to be “managed away” or attenuated. Rather, cross-cultural experience can be explicitly leveraged as an asset for nascent venturing as the juxtapositions they evoke provide both proximal and distal enhancements to ways in which entrepreneurs think and develop skills at the core of venturing.

Structural and Semantic Analysis of English and Russian Proverbs about Marriage as a Source of Expression of Cultural and National Identity

The article is devoted to the comparative structural and semantic analysis of proverbs of the English and Russian languages with the meaning marriage. The novelty and relevance of the study consists in the fact that the proverbs that go to the heart of the current problems of marriage relations were first analyzed with the use of comparative approach in the context of structural and semantic analysis. In the course of the analysis, on the material of the proverbs of these languages, the main meanings of the proverbs were identified and systematized. The proverbs reveal the view on the value of marriage, the view on the predestination of marriage, the roles of husband and wife, controversial aspects of marital relations, as well as the question of the unity and strength of the family. An important part of the article is the study of male and female views on the problem of marriage, family life and the choice of a life partner. In English proverbs, a critical attitude towards marriage and the mention of the advantages of a bachelor life can be found more often. In Russian proverbs, marriage is generally viewed more positively but almost half of the proverbs that reveal the hardships of life in marriage are proverbs that convey a womans view of marriage. The article reveals lexical components, syntactic structures, artistic techniques and figurative means pertain to the proverbs of both linguistic and cultural ethnic groups. The presence of unique and distinctive proverbs in each language reflects the peculiarities of the historical and cultural experience of the two peoples, but the proverbs of both languages also have many common features. This is explained both by the community of human nature and knowledge, and by borrowing from common sources. Both Russian and English proverbs are characterized by using methods of comparison, contraposition, allegory, the use of personifying metaphors, lexical antonymy, the use of zoonyms, proper nouns and somatisms. In Russian, the emotional and expressive component is higher due to the use of diminutive suffixes, vernacular and vulgar words, they represent more widely archaisms and vocabulary associated with the realities of peasant life. Most Russian proverbs are composed according to the laws of the folklore genre and have a compositional completeness due to their rhythmic and phonetic design. Most of the English proverbs contain sayings, teachings, and use more abstract and neutral vocabulary, although there are also bright and original proverbs among them. The author reveals interaction of the figurative means and the conceptual component of proverbs and concludes that the linguistic means and figurative motivation of proverbs are related to the peculiarities of the national-cultural thinking of the both peoples.

‘Hayan na ang mga Hampas-dugo! (the Penitents are coming!)’: Penitensya as religious-dark tourism

This paper applies indigenous research methods to understand the motives of visitors attending Penitensya (a Lenten Filipino ritual involving violent ritualistic performances) which we introduce as a novel form of religious-dark tourism. The paper also examines the tourism product potential of Penitensya as a controversial, yet potentially valuable feature of Filipino public culture. The motives of visitors to the Penitensya ritual in the Philippines during the 2019 schedule of events are examined to understand the touristic appeal of this unique form of religious-dark pilgrimage which involves overt and abject rituals of mortification and self-harm. Analysis suggests that the motives for attending Penitensya resonate with the motives of visitors to dark tourism attractions, and these include the allure of a novel cultural experience, knowledge-seeking and rubbernecking. The findings suggest that Penitensya might have unrealised potential as a legitimate form of intangible Filipino cultural heritage, but in order to authenticate the event as part of the nation’s cultural tourism product mix it must be carefully curated and marketed, and embraced by local authorities and the wider community.

Editorial

The cover title of the new issue, An Oriental Journey, has attracted a great deal of interest from authors of various disciplines. Scholars of both remote and recent history have passionately explored this theme. The issue section contains three articles related to the medieval Levant. Wojciech Mruk, a medievalist from the Jagiellonian University, analyses the account given by Lionardo Frescobaldi, Simone Sigoli and Giorgio Gucci, who made a peregrination to the Holy Land together between 1384 and 1385. Another article, by Christopher Schabel (Cyprus University in Nicosia), discusses the best-known medieval Cypriot village of Psimolofu and its links with the patriarchs of Jerusalem. Nicholas Coureas of the Cyprus Research Center provides a broad perspective on the presence of the Greek Church on Cyprus during the Lusignan and Venetian rule (1191–1571). The next contribution takes us back to the 20th century and even further to the East. Magdalena Filipczuk (Jesuit University Ignatianum in Cracow) reconstructs selected themes in the reflections by Lin Yutang, a Chinese thinker, translator and editor, based on his work towards explaining and popularizing Chinese culture and philosophy in the West. One more article that takes us to the Far East, but back in time, is by Małgorzata Sobczyk (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń) undertakes to characterize the image of a Japanese woman in the light of sixteenth-century European accounts. The next three studies invite us to learn more about Poles and their presence in the East. Ewa Siemieniec-Gołaś (Jagiellonian University) makes an attempt to discuss the figure of Władysław Jabłonowski, not only a physician in the Ottoman service, but also an expert and researcher of the East. Beata Gontarz (University of Silesia in Katowice) discusses the cultural experience of Jan Józef Szczepański based on his book Do raju i z powrotem [To Paradise and Back]. The last article in the issue section is a work of turkologist Sylwia Filipowska (Jagiellonian University), who discusses the circumstances of Tadeusz Kowalski’s journey to Turkey in 1927.

Development of ethno-environmental culture among future teachers

The article offers a brief analysis of implementation of ethno-environmental component in academic subjects included in basic academic program "teachers’ training" with two training profiles "Biology and Chemistry" and "Biology and Geography". The subject matter of the article is the curriculum and extracurricular activities that are relative to ethnocultural features. The article is a theoretical overview of Russian and foreign literature on the considered topic. The analysis of the curriculum and extracurricular activities was carried out with the sue of applied examination method. It is concluded that ethno-environmental education of future biology, chemistry and geography teachers is facilitated with a range of conditions developed in the Faculty of Science Education, which include: disciplines of subject-methodical unit aimed on development of environmental thinking, based on ethno-cultural experience of Chuvash; curricular and extracurricular activities aimed on activation of their ecological and ethno-cultural practice. The main forms of upbringing the ethno-environmental culture of future teachers are as follows: master classes in ethno-environmental research; round tables devoted to ethnocultural information about toponyms; ethno-environmental seminars on the problems of protected areas of Chuvashia, etc.

Minority Languages as a Resource for Tourism Promotion on the Web: The Case of Some Minority Communities in Italy

Minority languages have been the subject of a rich literature in the field of the sociolinguistics of tourism and a number of works have underlined that they have been increasingly used in tourism promotion in the last few decades as they convey overtones evoking authenticity. Travel websites do not only provide a first glance at a destination for potential guests, but they are also part of the tourist experience because they introduce visitors to relevant contents related to specific places. In view of this, in websites of a destination where a minority language is spoken the use of the local variety could be particularly relevant in order to promote a specific place as offering an immersion into a unique cultural experience. The present article addresses the question how ten minority communities in Italy mobilize their local languages for self-representation purposes within their tourism websites.