The Celebrity Imprint: Fan-Celebrity Attachments and Religious Work Among Fans of John Lennon and Johnny Cash

Based on in-depth interviews, this article examines the relationships fans develop with John Lennon and Johnny Cash. Fan attachments consist of an initial curiosity, to a more profound emotional bond or relationship with “religious” underpinnings. An externalized sense of self and the concept of a product of popular culture doing the work of religion highlight how fans develop relationships because they see more of themselves in the celebrity than do other fans. The notion of gradual development of an interpretive lens helps explain how these shifts happen over time. I conclude by considering what degrees of fan attachment say about the relationship between celebrity fandom and religion.

Mongolian Studies in the Czech Republic: Personalities, Centers, Current State

Nowadays, improving international relations and strengthening international ties are leading trends in the development of world economy. In the epoch of globalization, both western and eastern countries are trying to promote close mutually profitable partnership relations between countries, because it can serve as a trigger for their further gradual development. As it can be observed in the practice, in the 21st century, the dialogue between the developed European countries and the actively developing East is becoming especially successful and efficient for both parties. One of the unique examples of the interest of the West towards the East is the development of Oriental and Mongolian studies in the Czech Republic. Its climax can be observed in the 20th century. The author of the article proves that contemporary Mongolian studies in the Czech Republic play a significant role in European Oriental studies. Analysis of the scientific contribution of the leading Czech specialists in Mongolian studies: P. Poucha, Lumir Iisl, Ya. Vacek, I. Shima, I. Grollova is conducted. A brief description of the current state of Mongolian studies in Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic is given. The author draws a conclusion about the presence of scientific interest towards Mongolian linguistics and culture in Europe, which contributes to strengthening cultural identity of Mongolia. On the basis of continuity of research and the presence of an original scientific school of Mongolian studies in the Czech Republic, the author makes an assumption about the possibility of extending research of the issues of economy and economic geography of Mongolia, which will, undoubtedly, contribute to strengthening the relations between the countries.

Stroke-Like Migraine after Radiation Treatment Syndrome in Children with Cancer

Stroke-like migraine attacks after radiation therapy (SMART) syndrome is a symptom complex of transient neurological deficits, headache, and abnormal cortical contrast enhancement on brain MRI. Pathophysiology is unclear, but exposure to cranial radiation (RT) is a sine qua non. We report five children with SMART syndrome treated with RT therapy for medulloblastoma (n = 3), atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (n = 1), and pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (n = 1). Median age at tumor diagnosis was 9.4 years (range 5.1–14.7). Median follow-up from cancer diagnosis was 3.1 years (range 1.4–12.9). All patients had 54 Gy focal RT treatment and medulloblastoma children had additional 36 Gy craniospinal irradiation. Median time from the end of RT to first transient neurological deficit was 1 year (range 0.7–12.1). The median follow-up since first SMART episode was 0.6 years (range 0.3–2.6). Presenting symptoms included the gradual development of unilateral weakness (n = 4), non-fluent dysphasia (n = 1), somnolence (n = 1), and headaches (n = 3). Neurological deficits resolved within 30 minutes to 10 days. Transient cortical enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was confirmed in two children and was absent in the other three. Two children had a single and three had multiple episodes over the next few months. Two children with protracted symptoms responded to 3 days treatment with high dose intravenous methylprednisolone. Symptoms ultimately resolved in all patients. SMART syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by slow evolution of neurological deficits with variable abnormal cortical contrast enhancement. The use of steroids may improve symptoms and speed resolution.

Gandhara Art’s Influence on Buddhist Art in Xinjiang, China

The Gandhara region of India was the origin of Buddhist art, and, due to its unique geographical location, it was a place where European and Asian civilizations mingled. The original Gandhara Buddhist art style was largely influenced by the style of Classical Greek sculpture. With the gradual development, its sculpture art and Buddhist stories entered a prosperous period and began to spread eastward, exerting a profound impact on the development of Buddhist art in the early stage of western Regions and later in Xinjiang.

The Political Environment of the Cities of Northern Kazakhstan at the Cusp of the 19th-20th Centuries

Cities of the northern part of Kazakhstan at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries had played the role of administrative units for a long period; however, the gradual development of the urban environment and the integration of the cities of the national outskirts into the system of socio-economic relations of the empire led to the formation cooperation of a citizen not only in the economic aspect, but also, in the political aspects. The research attempted to analyze the processes associated with the formation of a political space in a colonial city, where representatives of the national intelligentsia were the subjects, and the emerging media and public spaces were the tools. The author insists that the political component of the city had developed in the context of the all-Russian political situation. The systemic crisis in all spheres of the state's life demanded new formats of their rights struggle. Under these conditions, the intelligentsia takes the initiative and develops its own style of struggle, expressed in the creation of newspapers, which will later become the print organs of the parties. For example, the newspaper "Kazakh" will become the official organ of the Alash party. Thus, the author argues that the formation of the political space in the colonial city is the result of the activities of the intelligentsia. The article uses the data of the regional archives of Kostanay, Petropavlovsk and NurSultan cities. One of the methods of this research was the historical and genetic one, which allows considering the problems in its development and identifying patterns. The use of the historical-comparative method revealed differences in the development of Kazakhstan historiography.

Contemporary Historiography on the Beginnings of Islam in North Africa

The 7th century CE was a turning point in the evolution of North Africa, with the Arab-Muslim conquest ushering in a period of decisive change. This study seeks to develop a grid for reading the contemporary historiography on this period. We begin by focusing on the origins of studies of the topic and then turn to a división between Western and Arab authors, in order to provide a sense of the geographical specificities of the extant scholarship. In doing so, we are able to see how the Arab conquest and the arrival of Islam in the region have been represented, and then observe the gradual development of the scholarship on this period into a fully-fledged field of historical studies.

Acquisition of the counting principles during the subset-knower stages: Insights from children’s errors

Studies on children’s understanding of counting examine when and how children acquire the cardinal principle: the idea that the last word in a counted set reflects the cardinal value of the set. Using Wynn’s (1990) Give-N Task, researchers classify children who can count to generate large sets as having acquired the cardinal principle (cardinal-principle-knowers) and those who cannot as lacking knowledge of it (subset-knowers). However, recent studies have provided a more nuanced view of number word acquisition. Here, we explore this view by examining the developmental progression of the counting principles with an aim to elucidate the gradual elements that lead to children successfully generating sets and being classified as CP-knowers on the Give-N Task. Specifically, we test the claim that subset-knowers lack cardinal principle knowledge by separating children’s understanding of the cardinal principle from their ability to apply and implement counting procedures. We also ask when knowledge of Gelman & Gallistel’s (1978) other how-to-count principles emerge in development. We analyzed how often children violated the three how-to-count principles in a secondary analysis of Give-N data (N = 86). We found that children already have knowledge of the cardinal principle prior to becoming CP-knowers, and that understanding of the stable-order and word-object correspondence principles likely emerged earlier. These results suggest that gradual development may best characterize children’s acquisition of the counting principles, and that learning to coordinate all three principles represents an additional step beyond learning them individually.

Japan: Formalization of Banking Supervision Including a Reversal

This chapter deals with the case of Japan, which experienced a reversal of the formalization of banking supervision. Additionally, this chapter outlines the on-site examination process and the main objectives of bank examinations. During the initial adoption of formal banking supervision, its main role was the “education” of bankers rather than proper prudential oversight. Formal banking supervision was suspended between 1893 and 1914 but was reintroduced in response to requests from both bankers and the government. This reversal reflected the development of the Japanese economy in the 1900s and 1910s, and thus the main driver of the formalization of banking supervision in Japan was not a financial crisis. The gradual development of the banking sector and better-educated bankers in the early twentieth century provided the background for the transformation of the supervisor’s role. The formalization process was completed with the enactment of the Banking Act of 1927 and the creation of the Bank Inspection Section within the Ministry of Finance in 1927.

FEATURES OF TAX ADMINISTRATION IN THE CONDITIONS OF FISCAL REGULATION OF THE ECONOMY

. The subject of the study was the economic relations that arise as a result of the implementation by the state of the fiscal function of taxation in order to improve the effective regulation of the economy of Kazakhstan. The aim of the study is a theoretical description of the fiscal function and its impact on economic regulation. The paper substantiates the fact that the fiscal function leads to the financing of public expenditures and serves as a perfect regulator of economic processes in the country. Particular attention is focused on the instruments of fiscal policy, as well as the degree of their impact on the effectiveness of its implementation. The article defines the elements and methods of implementing tax policy, analyzes the goals of significant programs and concepts, and examines the chain of tasks that contribute to the gradual development of the economy. The direct connection between the fiscal function and the sustainable development of the economy of Kazakhstan is determined. The effectiveness of the main components of the study is justified by the fact that the fiscal function creates a platform for state regulation of economic relations in order to develop the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.