Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Mayors In Achieving Brunei Darussalam’S Wawasan 2035, Lessons From China, Brice Tseen Fu Lee, Ayidana Asihaer, Juan Pablo Sims

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Brunei Darussalam's national vision, WAWASAN 2035, sets forth ambitious goals for the nation's development, emphasizing a centralized governance paradigm. However, the potential of decentralized governance, as exemplified by China's mayor-led districts, offers a compelling model for achieving national aspirations. This research explores the feasibility and potential benefits of introducing mayors in Brunei's districts, drawing insights from China's successful decentralized governance structure. By fostering inter-district competition and allowing for localized policy tailoring, Brunei can enhance its adaptability and responsiveness to local nuances. Drawing from China's experiences, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of how Brunei might optimize its governance structure to …

Multimodality Of Japanese Backchannel In Beauty Vlog, Filia Filia Dr., Nilam Husna Muthia

International Review of Humanities Studies

A backchannel is generally known as a response in a conversation that serves as a sign that the interlocutor is paying attention. In conversation, verbal backchannel speech can simultaneously occur with nonverbal gestures. Backchannel in conversations in digital content is often found. Beauty content from Hiro Beauty Channel shows that backchannel in beauty vlogs often occurs through verbal and nonverbal . Previous studies have researched the behaviour of backchannel usage (Cutrone, 2011; Nurjaleka, 2019; Bodur et al., 2022; Ramadhani, 2023) and the behaviour of gazing gestures (Walker, 2010). However, there has yet to be research about the multimodality of backchannels …

Counter-Discourse And Power In Ahmed Yerimah’S Hard Ground And Uwemedimo Atakpo’S Watering The Hard Ground, Anietie Francis Udofia

International Review of Humanities Studies

Niger Delta uprising always evokes controversial positions viewed from a single perspective from the pages of print to electronic media with which many dramas and films on their themes clone some intertextual discourses as the absolute voice on the Niger Deltans’ problem. The major concern is usually the violence caused by the people of the Niger Delta to disrupt the peace of the Nigerian society without giving a second thought to the people’s complaint about the political which worsens the situations of the region. Using qualitative research methodology, framed on Mikhail Bakhtins’ theory of Dialogism as a suitable theoretical framework …

Co-Designing An Institutional Repository In Kosovo: Soliciting Student Feedback In A Repository Launch, Michele Gibney

University Libraries Librarian and Staff Articles and Papers

An institutional repository (IR) launched at the University for Business and Technology in Pristina, Kosovo in 2019. Students from 2018 and 2019 enrolled in an Information Systems course at the University provided ideas and feedback on the repository development. Their suggestions are captured here by focus group sessions held in mid-2019 in Kosovo and subsequently shared with University Administration and the IR platform company. This case study from the field advocates for continuous feedback from stakeholder groups and an expansion of the underlying data collection methods at other institutions.

Digital Echoes: The Influence Of Internet And Social Media On The “Ideal” Conception Of Motherhood In Indonesian Stunting Programs, Sari Damar Ratri

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

This article examines how information about childhood care available on social media affects the construction of ideal Indonesian mothers. Specifically, I pay closer attention to how women's roles and experiences in stunting prevention campaigns are portrayed and enacted online in the context of the digital socialization of these programs. Based on online ethnographic research from 2021-2023, which examined social media accounts of healthcare professionals and mothers, this article explores the construction of “ideal” motherhood within the digital realm of stunting programs. As health care professionals’ social media accounts carried messages and embodied the authoritative power of medical knowledge, they helped …

“Merdeka Belajar”: A Cultural Political Economy Of Indonesia’S Neoliberalising Nationalist University, Inaya Rakhmani

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

This article examines the realignment of nationalist higher education in Indonesia to suit market interests. Using a cultural political economy approach to knowledge and power, this article selects and analyses university policy reforms and narratives in Indonesia that have guided university reform in the past decades. It suggests that the reorganisation of Indonesia’s higher education sector can be understood through the relationship between structural change in the global economy, which occurs together with cultural shifts within national and local conditions. It looks at how universities and higher education policies are organised in post-authoritarian Indonesia under the framework of neoliberal governance, …

The Ideas Of Journalistic Ethics Based On Pancasila For Multicultural Society, Sugeng Sugeng, Fristian Hadinata

International Review of Humanities Studies

This paper aims to show that journalistic code of ethics based on Pancasila is strongly related to multiculturalism morality as both emphasize inclusive ideas, respect for diversity, and the awareness of unity in diversity. The writers use descriptive qualitative library research in the field of philosophy to show meaning and objectively reveal philosophical essence. This method includes collecting and analyzing criticism of relevant literature related to multiculturalism, philosophy, journalistic ethics, and cyber media reporting. The result shows that the development of the internet technology has changed the way society live, and it has affected their preferences towards the elements of …

The Problem Of Indonesian Contract Brides In China And Its Implications For Cross-Border Marriage, Liu Xiang Mei

International Review of Humanities Studies

The rise of Indonesian contract brides in China has become a major focus that requires urgent action to protect their rights and well-being. The initiative aims to prevent exploitation in the context of cross-border marriages and ensure that such marriages are conducted fairly and legally. This situation arises from a number of factors, including difficult economic conditions, unlicensed intermediary operations, and a strong desire to live more prosperously. It also deals with issues of commercial marriage, human trafficking, and marital fraud, which require a careful and coordinated approach. Therefore, China should take steps to renew the international marriage law, enhance …

Sustainable Futures-Integrating Indigenous Perspectives Into An Environmental Assessment Framework: An Analysis Of The Mauri Model, Anna Bettini

Journal of Environmental Sustainability

The twin concepts of sustainable development and sustainability have been key points in new policies. Nonetheless, only the Western scientific perspective is typically considered, excluding other voices and leading to a very narrow vision of “sustainability”. The following article investigates the benefits to including indigenous knowledge and principles, considering their values rather than limitations and presents two specific case studies using the Mauri Model Decision Making Framework, a tool applied for environmental assessment, seen as a more cultural-friendly sustainable approach.

Acculturation And Intimate Partner Violence Among Kenyans In The United States, Max J. Stein, Peter Ndiang’Ui, Eunice Menja

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is abuse by a partner or spouse. This study focused on IPV among Kenyan immigrants to the United States. Several studies reported connections between IPV and cultural tensions experienced during the acculturation process. Scholars disagree whether acculturation buffers against IPV by exposing immigrants to adaptive social norms or heightens risk factors among those facing challenges acclimating to new settings. Whereas this association has been researched among Latinx and Asian communities in the United States, it is understudied among African and especially Kenyan diasporas. This descriptive study explored how acculturation and IPV among U.S. Kenyans were experienced …

Imperial Sainthood In Byzantium: A Preliminary Inquiry, Christopher J. Helali

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

The Authors

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

Short professional biographies of the Contributors: Dimitra Andrianou, Giacomo Bardelli, Magali An Berthon, Tina Boloti, Cecilie Brøns, Ana Cabrera-Lafuente, Francesca Coletti, Roxana Coman, Catarina Costeira, Cristina Cumbo, Camilla Cziffery Nielsen, Klara Dankova, Anna Maria Desiderio, Kerstin Droß-Krüpe, Arianna Esposito, Astrid Fendt, Nade Genevska Brachikj, Francisco B. Gomes, Judith Goris, Audrey Gouy, Karina Grömer, Morten Grymer-Hansen, Mary Harlow, Susanna Harris, Sophia Larissa Hayda, Angela Huang, Floor Huisman, Alina Iancu, Zofia Kaczmarek, Marisa Kerbizi, Meghan Korten, Tetiana Krupa, Karolina Anna Kulpa, Lena Larsson Lovén, Ronja Lau, Yuliia Lazorenko, Susanne Lervad, Petra Linscheid, Christina Margariti, Maria João Melo, Elena Miramontes Seijas, Leyre Morgado-Roncal, …

The Euroweb Textile And Clothing Terminology Network And The Digital Atlas Of European Textile Heritage: Some Reflections And Results, Louise Quillien, Alina Iancu, Meghan Korten, Susanne Lervad, Joana Sequeira, Catarina Costeira

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

One of the research areas of the EuroWeb project during the four years of the COST Action (November 2020 – October 2024) is the comparative study of textile and clothing terminologies in European languages across time. Inside the EuroWeb network, the research group on Textile and clothing terminologies has three topics of particular interest: 1. the specificities of these terminologies, and the strategies for naming textiles and garments; 2. the impact of European geography on textile and clothing terminologies, especially visible through textile terms formed after a toponym or through the circulation of loanwords; 3. the influence of textile and …

Exploring Dress, Gender, And Bodily Capital Through Pre- And Protohistoric Funerary Contexts: Case Studies From Southwestern Europe, Francisco B. Gomes, Catarina Costeira, Anna Maria Desiderio, Arianna Esposito, Giacomo Bardelli

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

While uneven in their scope and reach, studies of dress and dress complements (fibulae, belt buckles, buttons, etc.) have a significant tradition within the broader study of the pre- and protohistory of Mediterranean Europe. Many of these studies, however, have had a strong focus on the typology of the dress complements and ornaments themselves, either as chronological indicators, ethnic markers, or both. In more recent years, however, a shift in research agendas has ushered in the introduction of new perspectives and new ways of thinking about dress and bodily adornment.

This contribution explores one such perspective in particular — namely, …

Displaying And Experiencing Dress Identities In Museums: Case Studies From The Etruscan Period To Modern Times, Karina Grömer, Astrid Fendt, Morten Grymer-Hansen, Anna Zimmermann, Kayleigh Saunderson, Camilla Cziffery Nielsen, Francisco B. Gomes

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

Dress, clothes, and accessories receive and give meaning through their nearness to the human body. As P. Stallybrass writes: “Bodies come and go: the clothes that have received those bodies survive.” It is through the close interaction between dress and person that they both receive their meaning. Clothes shape the human body, and we in return shape our clothes. Dress communicates class, gender, nationality, and marital status, and we leave behind parts of us in its smell, wrinkles, wear, and tear: “Clothes receive the human imprint.” Archaeological and historical dress — no matter how ancient — remain intrinsically linked to …

Red Dyes From West To East In Medieval Europe: From Portuguese Manuscript Illuminations To Romanian Textiles, Irina Petroviciu, Paula Nabais, Maria J. Melo

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

Red is the color par excellence, its symbolism being linked with protection and magic through its primary attributes, fire and blood. It was the predominant color from the earliest times, certainly during the Greek and Roman periods and into Medieval Europe, until blue became a competitor around the 13th century. Mineral pigments, like iron oxides, were the first red sources, used to draw lines, dots, or spots on cave walls or stones. Later, other mineral red pigments were also exploited: Cinnabar, natural mercury sulfide, since the Neolithic, and realgar, arsenic trisulfide, in Ancient Egypt. Scientific investigation revealed that, although …

Searching For The Exotic: Textiles, Orientalism, And Identities, Ana Cabrera, Roxana Coman, Karolina A. Kulpa, Tim Parry-Williams

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

Textiles, with their economic, sartorial, and identity-constructing functions, have long been at the center of cultural discourses, whether narrative or visual. Objects of desire, but also objects of curiosity, textiles have been the topic of costume books, offered in diplomatic exchanges, collected by private collectors and museums alike, and have traveled, sometimes as sample books. Their Othering function did not only differentiate between members of different civilizations, but also the members of the same society, where clothing was used to signal rank and function. The case studies presented intend to elaborate further on the role and symbolism associated with textiles, …

Clothing In Transition: Social, Symbolic, And Legal Aspects Of Garments From Prehistory To The Early Byzantine Period, Tina Boloti, Francesca Scotti, Cristina Cumbo, Petra Linscheid

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

Since ancient times, garments served a wide range of purposes: Either functional, providing protection by covering the body, or symbolic, as an element of non-verbal communication and marker of identity. In particular, this stimulates the development of specific characteristics in shape, decoration, or material composition, which generate distinctions among garments, as acknowledged by Roman jurists too.

These distinctions are determined by various factors. One important factor is the social meaning of clothing: There are garments for public life, garments expressing rank, garments suited for special professions, or garments intended for sacred/priestly rites reflecting particular religious symbols. And, of course, clothes …

Berta Szeps-Zuckerkandl: The Forgotten Woman In The Center Of Fin De Siècle Vienna, Riley Peterson

International ResearchScape Journal

The scholarship surrounding fin de siècle Vienna contains many cultural and intellectual cornerstones that are lauded even to this day. All participating in the Viennese coffeehouse culture of the time, artists like Gustav Klimt, musicians like Gustav Mahler, psychologists like Sigmund Freud, and authors like Arthur Schnitzler shaped their respective disciplines significantly. The social network for how these intellectuals and many others interacted is very complex. This study analyzes and maps the interactions of dozens of individuals from early 20th-century Vienna to pinpoint the social center of this culture. Intriguingly, the often-overlooked Berta Szeps-Zuckerkandl—whom leading scholar Carl Schorske only mentioned …

Understanding Gold Textiles: Case Studies Of Gold Threads From The Bronze Age And Antiquity In Europe, Karina Grömer, Francesca Coletti, Francisco B. Gomes, Kayleigh Saunderson

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

The production of textiles, in terms of weaving techniques, has a long history in Europe, and dates back to the Stone Age, the time during which the first farming communities arrived in the Mediterranean and Central Europe, in the 7th/6th millennium BC. The first evidence of textile tools, like spindle whorls and loom weights, demonstrate that people made an important step forward in mechanizing this craft, not only twisting fibers and interlacing strands purely by hand, but also inventing tools to increase efficiency. Through the development of textile techniques, we see the unleashing of enormous creative power that stimulated even …

“What’S In A Name?” Toponyms And Loanwords In European Textile Cultures, Dimitra Andrianou, Klara Dankova, Nade Genevska Brachikj, Angela Huang, Meghan Korten, Elena Miramontes, Jasemin Nazim, Marie-Alice Rebours, Joana Sequeira

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

Textiles as man-made products have been exchanged over distances for millennia. They can and have been produced almost anywhere; they are also, as a product, highly differentiated and quickly adjustable to changing demands. This brings with it naming practices to communicate about the goods in question. Textiles are labeled so that people can form expectations about them and rely on the reputation tied to the product’s identity. The terminology of textiles and textile items arises and develops in unison with technical innovations, discoveries, fashions, and trade patterns. Although the occurrence of toponyms e.g., in preindustrial trade (10th to 18th century …

The Terminology Of Soft Furnishings In Ancient Babylonia, Greece, And Rome: A Comparative Approach, Dimitra Andrianou, Elena Miramontes, Louise Quillien

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

Various kinds of textiles were used to furnish domestic spaces in Antiquity, such as curtains, covers, hangings, pillows, cushions, mattresses, rugs, tapestries, tablecloths, and towels. These objects have practical and everyday functions, they embellish and add to daily comfort in the house and speak to the owner’s prosperity. Being made of perishable materials, furnishings have, on the whole, not survived in ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. Apart from a few excavated pieces of textiles found in tombs, our information comes primarily from written testimonia and iconography.

It is thus essential to consider soft furnishings in their own right, in order …

Textiles, Dress And Politics: A Diachronic Perspective Through The Case Studies Of Ancient Rome And Medieval Iceland, Meghan Korten, Zofia Kaczmarek

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia

People dress for more than just aesthetic reasons. Over the centuries, dress became a sign of human civilization, allowing us to identify the origin, gender, and status of the wearer. Textiles and clothing influence our body, posture, movements, and the way we are perceived by society. Textiles are also a tool used by people to further their agenda, that is why they found their place in the political life of many ancient and modern societies.

According to Michel Foucault, power can be understood as a set of activities influencing the life of the other: It provokes, forbids, or permits, but …

Forgiveness As A Critical And Transformative Factor In Sustainable Peace: Peacebuilding Women In Rumuruti, Kenya, Genevieve Mwella Sabala

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The concept of ‘forgiveness’ in relation to sustainable peace has been extensively writtenabout. However, research shows that many organizations involved in peacebuilding have not actively adopted ‘forgiveness’ as they have done with restorative justice, healing, and reconciliation. Therefore it opens up an opportunity for further inquiry to identify the meaning and role of forgiveness in sustainable peacebuilding. Forgiveness is still being debated and the various meanings accorded by a variety of disciplines from religion, political, sociological, and conflict resolution practitioners, make it more complex. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate women’s lived experiences with ethnic violence post …

Navigating Sexual Consent In Japan, Samara Mizutani Cesar

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Employing an exploratory sequential research design, including focus groups and an online survey, this thesis explores the factors influencing how Japanese people navigate the gray zones of sexual consent. This study not only addresses gaps in the literature on sexual consent but also provides a preliminary understanding of Japanese individuals’ perceptions, beliefs, behaviors, and experiences in ambiguous sexual interactions, which is particularly meaningful given Japan’s recent legal revisions and changing sociocultural landscape. Findings indicated the impact of traditional sexual scripts on consent perceptions, with gender and relationship norms contributing to the dismissal of sexual assaults within specific relationships. It was …

Human Trafficking In The United Arab Emirates: Analyzing The Challenges And Efforts Towards Eradication, Gianna M. Bilotta

Undergraduate Projects

This paper describes the human trafficking issue within the UAE (United Arab Emigrates).

Historical Reappearance: Tracing The Impacts Of Argentina's Los Desaparecidos To The Rise Of President Javier Milei, Analise Sofia Chain

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 1976 the Argentine government was taken over by a right wing military junta, attempting to “save” their country from communism. Military officials kidnapped, tortured and killed between 10,000 and 30,000 Argentine citizens, who were thought of as “guerrillas” supporting the leftist government and the late president Juan Perón. These victims are regarded as the disappeared, or Los Desaparecidos; due to the fact their families had no knowledge of where their loved ones were taken, or what was happening to them. Many of these young, liberal advocates were never seen or heard from again, their remains lost to history, and …

“We’Ll Offer Asylum Just So Long As…” The Discrimination Of Poc And Lgbtq+ Refugees In Ongoing Refugee Crises, Faith N. Schaefer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

An ongoing refugee crisis is apparent in global politics and foreign relations. Still, the way receiving countries regard certain communities in this critical period has brought to light the inhumane discrimination solely based on one’s skin color and/or sexual identity. Despite the “open arms” policy that most nations tend to project, there is an unwritten protocol along borders that some states have chosen a “pick and choose” approach when it comes to People of Color (POC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other gender non-conforming (LGBTQ+) individuals who are fleeing their country of origin. Any such prejudice and inequity …

Afro-Latin Americans Living In Spain And Social Death: Moving From The Empirical To The Ontological, Ethan Johnson, Joy González-Güeto, Vanessa Cadena

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper has three objectives. First, we establish that although Spain has attempted to distance itself from its role in the sub-saharan African slave trade and the significance blackness plays within its borders, there exists a significant population of people of African descent from Latin America living in Spain. Second, we show Black people are living what Sadiyah Hartmann refers to as the afterlife of slavery in Latin America. We claim it is worthwhile to take into account that Afro-Latin Americans are fleeing to the country that is largely responsible for them being in Latin America and the conditions of …

A Causal Discovery Exploration Of Determinants Of Social Isolation, Barry Nuqoba, Kenneth Choo, Yi Wen Tan, William Tov

ROSA Research Briefs

In this report, we explore the potential causes of social isolation among older adults in Singapore using causal discovery. We found an inferred causal relationship between perceived helpfulness and social isolation, where older adults who perceived themselves as helpful were less likely to perceive themselves as socially isolated. Our study also found that perceived isolation and loneliness may be distinct concepts among older adults in Singapore, with loneliness being more likely to precede social isolation. Policy recommendations include promoting a sense of helpfulness through programs such as volunteering to reduce social isolation.