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Religious studies in the past paid more attention to the changes of institutional religion than to the status characteristic of folk beliefs. This paper argues that religious categorization based on institutional religion is not conducive to understanding the cultural and religious life of Chinese society, but rather leads to the stigmatization of folk religion and the reduction of the life-world. From this perspective, the historical development of folk religion affects the relationship between national elites, institutionalized religion, and civil society. Folk religion can be foregrounded and exerts great impact on the rise and fall of institutional religion. The folk religion revival in contemporary China and the development of related studies also promote the renewal of religious categorization. The revival of folk religion in the new millennium can consequently facilitate social integration and provide new possibilities for overcoming institutional religion's exclusiveness and for increasing the cultural diversity of Chinese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious studies in the past paid more attention to the changes of institutional religion than to the status characteristic of folk beliefs. This paper argues that religious categorization based on institutional religion is not conducive to understanding the cultural and religious life of Chinese society, but rather leads to the stigmatization of folk religion and the reduction of the life-world. From this perspective, the historical development of folk religion affects the relationship between national elites, institutionalized religion, and civil society. Folk religion can be foregrounded and exerts great impact on the rise and fall of institutional religion. The folk religion revival in contemporary China and the development of related studies also promote the renewal of religious categorization. The revival of folk religion in the new millennium can consequently facilitate social integration and provide new possibilities for overcoming institutional religion's exclusiveness and for increasing the cultural diversity of Chinese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, sustainable development has undoubtedly become an essential perspective for museums. Museums have been committed to raising social awareness around ecological conservation and cultural diversity through various exhibitions, education and research projects, and public engagement. However, the concepts, approaches, and practises of "sustainability" differ across nations and regions, and there is a lack of sufficient quantitative research on sustainable development by and within museums. This article aims to establish an evaluation framework and evaluation approach for museum sustainability in China. Its framework is initially based on the DSR model, in which "D" delineates seven deeds of museum visitors, "S" characterizes the status of sustainable practises within museums, and "R" involves presenting sustainability strategies pertinent to Chinese museums by integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A fuzzy QFD model is then used to develop an evaluation approach for analyzing the Zhejiang Natural History Museum (ZNHM)'s sustainable development strategies, using data from surveys and in-depth interviews. As a result of this study, significant opportunities for deepening sustainable practises were identified for ZNHM, which include updating the collection system, enhancing professionalism in exhibitions and educational projects, and securing funding policies. ZNHM's sustainability efforts prioritize enhancing social awareness, and internal reforms related to social value, governance, and professional capabilities. With these foundations in place, international cooperation among museums may be the next step towards a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explaining the processes that produce cultural diversity has long been a focus of anthropological study. Whilst linguistic diversity has frequently been shown to be associated with population splitting during migrations, much less is known about the influence of migration patterns on other forms of culture. Here we compare variation between different cultural types to understand whether their diversity might also be a consequence of historic population change. For our case study, we developed a dataset of 90 cultural traits recorded across around 100 societies in Pama-Nyungan Australia focusing on three cultural forms important in Australian life: adolescent initiation, mortuary practice and rock art motifs. Trait diversity was analysed using phylogenetic methods and compared with language diversity since previous studies have suggested an association between Pama-Nyungan language evolution and population dispersal. We were able to demonstrate a strong association between the phylogenetic history of language and initiation ritual but not between language and mortuary ritual or rock motifs. The finding suggests population migration may have had a significant influence on initiation ritual diversity. It also lends support to the idea, as suggested by some authors, that the development of complex initiation practices may have played an active role in the dispersal of Pama-Nyungan speakers throughout the Australian continent. Our study results suggest that the type of phylogenetic comparative approach applied here can make an important contribution to the reconstruction of deep cultural history over long timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explaining the processes that produce cultural diversity has long been a focus of anthropological study. Whilst linguistic diversity has frequently been shown to be associated with population splitting during migrations, much less is known about the influence of migration patterns on other forms of culture. Here we compare variation between different cultural types to understand whether their diversity might also be a consequence of historic population change. For our case study, we developed a dataset of 90 cultural traits recorded across around 100 societies in Pama-Nyungan Australia focusing on three cultural forms important in Australian life: adolescent initiation, mortuary practice and rock art motifs. Trait diversity was analysed using phylogenetic methods and compared with language diversity since previous studies have suggested an association between Pama-Nyungan language evolution and population dispersal. We were able to demonstrate a strong association between the phylogenetic history of language and initiation ritual but not between language and mortuary ritual or rock motifs. The finding suggests population migration may have had a significant influence on initiation ritual diversity. It also lends support to the idea, as suggested by some authors, that the development of complex initiation practices may have played an active role in the dispersal of Pama-Nyungan speakers throughout the Australian continent. Our study results suggest that the type of phylogenetic comparative approach applied here can make an important contribution to the reconstruction of deep cultural history over long timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding divergent perceptions of ethnic groups to climate change in mountainous regions home to multi-ethnic cultures and the factors influencing these perceptions is crucial for policymakers to predict the trending impacts of climate change and make long-term decisions. Based on the case of Southwest China, 1216 households were interviewed by questionnaire surveys to gain insight into the perceptions of local people on the dynamic evolution characteristics of climate events in the uplands of Yunnan, China, which is an area home to rich ethnic diversity, and also to determine the factors that influence these perceptions. Results indicated that climate events have now become important events for farmers' livelihoods, ranking only after family diseases and livestock diseases. Drought, long-term drought, and erratic rainfall are the three kinds of climatic events with the most significant increase in frequency and severity in mountainous areas. Farmers' perceptions on whether drought, long-term drought, and erratic rainfall occurred 10 years ago as well as changes in frequency and severity are significantly influenced by characteristics of respondents, ethnic culture, geographical environment of farmer residences, farmland characteristics, and sources of livelihood. Ultimately, taking ethnic differences into consideration for long-term planning will be an important part of the local response to climate change in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the digital age, as social media evolves into a new and significant centre for the dissemination of Chinese folk beliefs, the Malaysian Chinese have actively shared information about these folk beliefs on their social media platforms. The dissemination has transcended regional barriers, encouraging more Malaysian Chinese across various states to actively participate in public discussions on this topic. This study delves into Malaysian Chinese folk beliefs by analysing data from Facebook. A comprehensive examination of 4012 text posts was conducted using the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) model for topic modelling. The analysis identified four main themes on social media: 'Practitioners Worship', 'Temple Activities', 'Deity Legends', and 'Merchandise about Deity Statues'. Based on integrating social construction theory and media ecology theory, the study first explores the varied constructors, including practitioners, temple organisations, media organisations, and merchants. Secondly, Malaysian Chinese folk beliefs on social media present characteristics of utilitarianism, regional diversity, multiple social functions, flowing realms, strong Taoist elements, commercialisation, and a close relationship with the Spring Festival. Furthermore, 'Safety and Peace', 'Pray for Demands', and 'Merits and Virtues' form an interconnected semantic nexus. Hence, the findings theoretically highlight the interaction and significance of social media in the construction and practice of folk beliefs within the Malaysian Chinese community. Practically, this research provides valuable insights into the understanding and dissemination of Malaysian Chinese religious culture in the digital era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Audiovisual news is a critical cultural phenomenon that has been influencing audience worldviews for more than a hundred years. To understand historical trends in multimodal audiovisual news, we need to explore them longitudinally using large sets of data. Despite promising developments in film history, computational video analysis, and other relevant fields, current research streams have limitations related to the scope of data used, the systematism of analysis, and the modalities and elements to be studied in audiovisual material and its metadata. Simultaneously, each disciplinary approach contributes significant input to research reducing these limitations. We therefore advocate for combining the strengths of several disciplines. Here we propose a multidisciplinary framework for systematically studying large collections of historical audiovisual news to gain a coherent picture of their temporal dynamics, cultural diversity, and potential societal effects across several quantitative and qualitative dimensions of analysis. By using newsreels as an example of such complex historically formed data, we combine the context crucial to qualitative approaches with the systematicity and ability to cover large amounts of data from quantitative methods. The framework template for historical newsreels is exemplified by a case study of the "News of the Day" newsreel series produced in the Soviet Union during 1944–1992. The proposed framework enables a more nuanced analysis of longitudinal collections of audiovisual news, expanding our understanding of the dynamics of global knowledge cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional distance is well-recognised as having a significant influence on MNE subsidiary performance in host countries. However, there is less clarity as to how the institutional distance is managed by top management teams of MNEs. Specifically, it is not known whether the previous work experiences of the top management team (TMT) can moderate how institutional distance impacts subsidiary performance. The purpose of our research is to address the research question, how do different work experiences among the TMT moderate the relationship between institutional distance and subsidiary performance? To empirically answer this question, we use a sample of 6119 Chinese MNE subsidiaries with 34,870 TMT managers. We apply ordinary least square (OLS) regression and bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap (BCa) to the data. The results indicate that the strength of the negative relationship between institutional distance and MNE subsidiary performance is conditional on the different work experiences of the TMT. We show that the negative relationship between institutional distance and MNE subsidiary performance is strengthened with an increase in expatriates in the TMT who have home country work experience (β = −0.346, p < 0.05) but mitigated with an increase of managers in the TMT who have host country work experience (β = 0.129, p < 0.01). Additionally, the negative relationship between institutional distance and subsidiary performance is weakened by increasing diversity of TMT's international experience (β = 0.555, p < 0.01). Notably, the TMT's international experience in weak-institution markets has a more salient mitigating effect on the negative relationship than work experienced gained in strong-institution markets. This study contributes to the integration of TMT perspective into institutional management and has practical implications for the staffing strategy of MNE subsidiaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]