Humanities and Social Sciences Communications最新文献

In this era of digital heritage, immersive media, such as 360° documentaries, have been proposed to enrich engagement and learning. However, how immersive 360° media formats influence the understanding of ethnic minority cultures remains underexplored. We conducted a controlled laboratory experiment comparing traditional 2D and 360° documentary presentations of the Miao community in Guizhou Province, using the same narration and content, including village scenes, performances, and crafts, to isolate the effect of media format. The results suggest that the 360° documentary may increase viewers' enjoyment, sense of presence, curiosity, and appreciation of cultural content relative to a comparable 2D film. These exploratory findings indicate a potential for immersive media to deepen cultural understanding. Our study underscores 360° documentaries as a promising tool for engaging audiences with ethnic minority cultures, while noting that these conclusions are provisional given the lab setting and should be tested in real-world museum contexts.

While large-scale comparative and historical analysis of folktales has largely disappeared from anthropological inquiry after the wane of diffusionism in the early 20th century, such approaches are experiencing a revival in the framework of cultural evolution. In that context, questions asked include to what extent narrative traditions are transmitted horizontally from generation to generation; influenced by practices of neighbors; and form larger packages with other expressions of culture, prominently language. Here, I explore to what extent 41 versions of a widespread story told by Indigenous Andean storytellers in the Quechuan languages show signs of having developed according to evolutionary phylogenetic mechanisms, bringing data from the underrepresented New World into the purview of the literature. The story of Juan Oso ("John the Bear"), which tells of the origins and adventures of a half-bear, half-human boy, has European roots, meaning that variation in the Central Andes only had several centuries to develop. Analyses show that the story varies in ways that can neither be explained fully by where it is told (and hence by possible "diffusion" of characteristics from region to region), nor by the Quechuan variety in which it is told ("co-evolution of language and culture"), nor, most importantly, by historical mechanisms of an evolutionary nature according to which the story might change. With reference to the ethnographic literature, I suggest that these results can be explained by the ways in which Andean storytellers recombine narrative material from stories to imbue them with new meaning that comments on local and regional social and political circumstances, and that a "rhizotic" model of development, in addition to or instead of the phylogenetic ones tested by cultural evolutionists, might be more adequate to understand how the individual versions of this story came to be told the way they are.

In an era of increasing calls for responsible environmental stewardship within health research and care, the concept of environmentality is a productive vehicle to theorise, analyse and critique the changing trends of environmental governance. Despite the usefulness of this approach, little to no literature has explored how this concept could apply to the health sector. In this paper, we examine three examples of emerging environmental governance in the health sector to illustrate and consider the usefulness of the environmentality lens. We show how environmentality provides a framework to interrogate different forms of governance and, in particular, how specific modes of environmental governance gain traction such that different types of knowledge/power (relations) are produced. We argue that using this analytical framework can draw attention to the regimes, techniques and technologies that are beginning to shape the forms of knowledge that are gaining power in health sector environmental management and can contribute to a better understanding of fields of environmental knowledge/power (in)visibility.

Eradicating extreme poverty and inequality are the key leverage points to achieve the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the reduction of extreme poverty and inequality remains vulnerable to shocks such as pandemics and climate change. Numerous models have been developed to examine the complex social interactions giving rise to inequality and persistent poverty, yet few approaches include multilevel dynamics. Here, we introduce a heterogeneous agent-based model to identify conditions underlying poverty traps at different levels, which manifest as distinct statistical steady-state outcomes. We find that vulnerabilities emerge from the interaction between individual and institutional mechanisms. Individual characteristics like risk aversion, attention, and saving propensity can lead to sub-optimal diversification and low capital accumulation. These individual drivers are reinforced by institutional mechanisms such as lack of financial inclusion, access to technology, and economic segregation, leading to persistent inequality and poverty traps. Our experiments demonstrate that addressing the above factors yields a "double dividend"-reducing poverty and inequality within and between communities and creating positive feedback that can withstand shocks. Finally, we demonstrate that our theoretical model can be used as a sandbox for cost-benefit analysis of intervention strategies.

Political ecology analyses climate change adaptation by examining the intricate relationships between systemic inequalities, power dynamics, and structural factors, including colonialism and capitalism. This paper examines the political ecology of climate change adaptation in the Arctic, focusing on five Inuit communities in Nunatsiavut, a self-governing Inuit region in northern Canada. It examines how various social, economic, and environmental factors intersect to influence adaptation. We found that colonialism, forced relocation, and capitalism are driving the historical construction of climate risk along with contemporary adaptation challenges, and showcase how inequities affect the ways different community members experience and respond to climate change. Inuit communities face significant adaptation barriers, such as high costs associated with store-bought food and machinery, economic constraints, and technological dependence required for food gathering. Using a political ecology lens, we contextualised these barriers within the broader socioeconomic factors. The analysis centres on the critical question of "adaptation for whom?" and examines the barriers and limits to adaptation, emphasising the uneven distribution of adaptive capacity within Nunatsiavut. This study underscores the need for an equitable approach to adaptation that addresses the systemic, structural, and infrastructural challenges faced by Inuit in a rapidly changing Arctic. This research was conducted in accordance with Indigenous and Inuit research ethics, ensuring Inuit self-determination and community control over the research process.

The urbanization of migrant populations is a crucial component of high-quality urban development, yet many migrants fail to achieve full settlement and social integration after entering cities. Housing purchase restriction policies, designed to curb speculative demand and stabilize prices, have unintentionally limited migrants' access to urban housing and may discourage permanent settlement. While previous studies have examined the overall impact of these policies, few have explored the specific effects of policy details or their micro-level implications for individual migrants. Moreover, although extensive research has identified various factors influencing migrants' settlement intentions-such as individual, family, and destination characteristics-these strands of research have tended to treat housing policies and public services separately. Limited attention has been paid to how restrictive housing policies interact with access to public services to jointly shape migrants' settlement decisions. Drawing on nationally representative data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS), housing purchase restriction policy documents from 278 cities, and city-level statistics, this study employs a logit model to examine how policy implementation and intensity affect migrants' intentions to settle in cities and how education and healthcare services moderate this relationship. The findings reveal that housing purchase restriction policies significantly reduce settlement intentions, and the negative effect intensifies with policy stringency. Higher education and children's educational opportunities partially mitigate this impact, but their moderating roles diminish in cities with stricter restrictions, while healthcare resources show no significant effect. These results highlight tensions between market regulation and social equity: policies that stabilize housing markets may inadvertently constrain migrants' settlement opportunities, undermining the goals of people-centered urbanization. The study suggests optimizing restrictive housing policies, promoting inclusive housing systems, and equalizing public service provision to balance market stability with social equity.

This study uses metadata visualisation and corpus linguistics to examine patterns of representation of the emerging term greenlash in media reports, as retrieved from the Nexis news database. The metadata analysis reveals that media coverage of greenlash has surged since 2021, predominantly in left leaning European and North American media sources. Through Sketch Engine, collocation analysis identified core thematic areas surrounding greenlash: definition and resistance, status, actor, cause and impact, and location. Our findings indicate that greenlash is primarily a European phenomenon, which may be attributed to a lack of mainstream outlets through which actors can voice opposition to climate policies. The phenomenon is largely driven by economic concerns, in response to specific policies perceived to impose financial burdens on protesting groups. Moreover, our analysis reveals that media organisations often introduce the term greenlash as broad, generalised public opposition to environmental policies rather than a complex, economically driven opposition to specific policies, and portray this opposition in a negative light. We suggest that media organisations may downplay these elements in opposition to neoliberal or populist ideologies or to retain readership. This phenomenon thus highlights the complex intersection between environmental policies, economic burdens, and political divisions underscoring the broader tensions and paradoxes surrounding climate action and socio-economic disparities.

Immersive virtual reality (IVR), as presented through headsets, is becoming increasingly relevant in education, especially in STEM fields, due to its potential to make complex concepts more accessible. Despite empirical evidence revealing the potential of IVR, its adoption in primary schools remains low. The objective of this paper is to examine the level of acceptance and intention to use IVR among different stakeholders in Swiss primary schools. To achieve this, we conducted online questionnaires with directors (n = 37), teachers (n = 70), and parents/caregivers (n = 202). The results indicated considerable variability in the responses, with a general resistance to integrating IVR being detected across all groups. Common reasons for this resistance included high costs, technical challenges, and uncertainty about IVR's pedagogical value. However, we found that individuals who saw value in IVR were more likely to express the intention to integrate it into their schools. We discuss the importance of bridging the gap between IVR research and the reality of school implementation through targeted projects to encourage its integration into primary education.

Studies investigating the effects of bilingualism on cognitive function have often yielded conflicting results, which may stem in part from the use of arbitrary criteria to categorize participants into groups based on language experience. The present study addresses this limitation by using a machine learning algorithm, known as cluster analysis, to identify naturally occurring subgroups of participants with similar language profiles. In a sample of 169 participants with varying degrees of first- and second-language proficiencies and ages of acquisition, the cluster analysis yielded four bilingual subgroups: late-unbalanced, early-unbalanced, late-balanced, and early-balanced. All participants completed the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery. Results revealed that early-balanced and early-unbalanced bilinguals scored higher than late-unbalanced bilinguals on the cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control subtests of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery, whereas late-unbalanced bilinguals scored higher than early-balanced bilinguals on the verbal working memory subtest of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery. Bilingual language experience did not impact performance on measures of processing speed, episodic memory, and English vocabulary. These findings demonstrate the utility of data-driven approaches to capture the variability in language experience that exists in the real world. We conclude that different bilingual experiences can shape a wide range of cognitive abilities, from working memory to inhibitory control.

Conspicuous consumption, driven by immediate satisfaction, novelty, and status, contradicts the Circular Economy's (CE) goals of reducing consumption and waste. As the CE evolves into a global mission supported by legislation, it must address overconsumption by adopting a humanist, design-focused, participatory approach that fosters alternative cultures of consumption. This paper investigates the potential of leveraging human wellbeing as a strategic approach to achieving circular sustainable consumption of textiles. It proposes that strengthening the connection between human wellbeing and material resource flow, particularly through a garment's lifecycle, can aid in reducing the textile consumption necessary for a successful CE. The 'Wellbeing framework for consumer experiences in the circular economy of the textile industry' positions consumer wellbeing as essential for the circular value chain of textiles. It serves as a cornerstone for designing consumer experiences that support a CE, informs alternative narratives for the industry and society, and has the potential to influence policy. The Framework is grounded in a comprehensive literature review examining how consumer wellbeing can drive the social health benefits of circularity, foster new sustainable consumption cultures, and serve as a consumer-centric tool for achieving zero waste through responsible and personalised engagement with consumption, reuse, and recycling. The iterative literature review and interdisciplinary elaboration followed five stages: review, selection, empirical testing, synthesis, and abstraction to achieve the final framework. The Framework comprises 16 wellbeing dimensions clustered into three categories: being well, feeling well and doing well. The primary contribution of this framework is its holistic approach to integrating and balancing the hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions of wellbeing within the context of the CE. It conceptualises wellbeing as a dynamic temporal process that evolves throughout the consumption journey, encompassing moments of both satisfaction and challenge, and addresses social factors such as the embodied experiences and self-perception elicited by a garment.