Search

This paper reviews natural capital (NC) valuation approaches in the context of woodland, forest, and riparian ecosystems, emphasising the need for participatory methods to take priority over neoclassical economics approaches. Focusing on research carried out in Scotland, the study analyses findings according to a classification of natural capital initiatives that we have developed, building on ideas proposed by the UK ENCA initiative, a guideline proposed to help researchers and practitioners understand NC and take it into account in valuation, decision-making and policy. We have found that landscape-scale initiatives that address the relationships between people and place to inform value and decision-making beyond the economic (monetary) benefits generated by ecosystem services (ES) are becoming popular. For instance, recent methods employed to capture stakeholders' non-utilitarian preferences include the use of participatory GIS mapping, scenario planning, and other participatory methods to identify, explore and quantify less tangible cultural ecosystem services (CES). The review shows that many studies provide information relevant to the formulation of a place-based NC approach, working towards the integration of contextual and relational values into land management decisions to help formulate management strategies that maximise ES delivery. Conversely, we have not found evidence of the integration of shared values arising from an eco-centric perspective of nature valuation into the more classical, instrumental value lens. Such an approach would help inform broader, overarching aspects of woodland and forest management that may foster more effective conservation and help to manage conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to conceptualize the patterns of cultural change. Building on the seminal work of the German sociologist Tönnies and using eight cultural dimensions from Inglehart, Hofstede, Schwartz, and GLOBE, the study analyzes the patterns of cultural change at three distinct levels: (1) socio-economic development/modernization, (2) birth/migration, and (3) globalization/contact. The paper suggests that the path of cultural change is complex and dialectical. While socio-economic development shifts cultural values from traditional to modern, demographic pressures and migratory movements have opposite effects and reinforce traditional cultural values. Moreover, globalization and increasing contact between traditional and modern cultures create a constant blend and conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic values have dominated water policy discourse over the last four decades. Very little has been written on social, cultural, and ecological values and their roles in enhancing water security. The primary objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of diverse water values with a case study of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. To achieve this, a review of the existing scholarship on water values was conducted to develop a set of water values. Field surveys and interviews were conducted to comprehend the water values held by various stakeholders in Delhi. This paper is an attempt to show that viewing water security through the lens of diverse water values (social, cultural, economic and ecological) provides a better understanding of water policies, and enhanced comprehension could potentially result in better policies to promote water security. In the case of Delhi, we additionally found that the claimed predominance of water values such as efficiency, equity, equality, religiosity, and purity does not mean that these values are also actualized in water practices. Another major finding is that all four sets of values are integrated with one another, and policies underpinned by the identified values would be relatively better than policies solely based on economic values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the diverse impact of the Olympic Movement on society, emphasizing core values like 'excellence', 'friendship', and 'respect'. Traditionally, the Olympic Movement actively promotes global sport through initiatives such as Olympic education programs, instilling moral dimensions, cultural values, and essential life skills. Recent Olympic Games are scrutinized for their organizers' focus on safety, pandemic management, environmental sustainability, and gender equality. This paper addresses crucial policy options, spanning human rights, social inclusion through sport, and the pervasive issue of inactivity affecting public health. Noteworthy successes in leveraging sports for refugees and combating substance use disorders are discussed, alongside joint efforts by the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee, to combat inactivity and promote health through sports. Exploration of gender equality in the Olympic Movement recognizes challenges and suggests actions, including increasing female participation and addressing sexual harassment. The intersection of sports, climate change, and environmental responsibility is examined, with a focus on the ambitious 'climate-positive' goals of the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, since most of the IOC actions are rather symbolic and not substantial, many organizations are called upon to take active initiatives. Actionable recommendations urge countries to prioritize physical activity policies, organize exercise programs, and collaborate across sectors for health and environmental sustainability. The Olympic Games should focus on promoting mass sports participation, fostering positive attitudes, enhancing public health through sports, education, peace, and societal values, advocating for a holistic approach that champions ethical values, and promoting Olympic education to build a better world through sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 26 May 2011, the Russian People's World Council issued a document entitled The Basic Values: The Fundaments of National Unity. The document, prepared by the Synodal Department for Church–Society Cooperation, provided a catalogue of 17 traditional values whose general framework was constituted by a combination of freedom, unity, patriotism, family, and devotion. At that time, the Moscow Patriarchate considered religious faith to be the foundation of traditional values and it continues to do so. The defence and promotion of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values were also central in the Russian National Security Strategy (2015); this was the case in the updated version of this document as well, put out in July 2021. Furthermore, they have been the core of the Moscow Patriarchate's participation in the Council of Europe and of Patriarch Kirill's speeches about the war in Ukraine. Finally, on 9 November 2022, The Foundations Of State Policy For The Preservation Of Spiritual And Moral Values was approved. This framework permits us to understand the strict interplay between the Church and the State in the Russian Federation and to see why it is important to refer to the concept of post-secularism when talking about the role of religion in post-Soviet Russia. Proceeding from the Abstract, the present paper aims to analyse this interplay in a specific sector of visual culture: the cinema and television industries. Manuel Castells highlighted the relevance of cultural values in the age of information and the connection between the values and social mobilization that follows it. He pointed out that the Internet has become a way to render this connection predominant, inevitably leading to the development of social movements and networks that have a religious basis. This is unquestionably true; surveys conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (OJSC «VCIOM») and by Nevafilm Research confirm that a high percentage of Russians watch films not only at the cinema or on television (especially the older generations) but also on the Internet (as far as the younger generations are concerned). The importance of this market is also confirmed by the success of the cinema and TV distributor Orthodox Encyclopaedia (2005); in the words of the philosopher Sergei Kravets, who, commenting on it during an interview published in 2006 by the website Sedmits.ru, declared that the expression "orthodox cinema" can be understood as a way to express Russian culture. He asserts that "the fact that today Orthodox films have begun to appear on the central TV channels testifies that Russian film producers and viewers have apparently begun to be aware of themselves as Orthodox, to feel that they are bearers of a special Orthodox culture. [..]". At the same time, consideration should be given to the importance of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Minister of Culture's condemnation of films such as Matilda or Monastery. In addition, it is important to consider that, according to a survey conducted in 2022 by the Levada Center, Russian people consider television the most reliable source of information (54%). The long-term implications of this tendency may have very important effects, not only in terms of its objectives but also in terms of the consideration that, after the beginning of the war, many Western film distributors withdrew their licenses from Russia. This paper will analyse "the effect of religion on the institutional system, the regulatory environment of the media and the public sphere" by studying the features of films and TV programs distributed by Orthodox Encyclopaedia, their relations with traditional values promoted both by the Kremlin and the Church, how these have contributed to strengthening the interplay between the Minister of Culture and the Moscow Patriarchate, and the impact this process has had on Russian society and Russia's relations with the European and Western World in the 2005–2022 period. A list of the films and TV programs being discussed will be provided, and then statements about the project and reviews of the serials and films will be analysed. The analysis will be conducted mainly through the official sites of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin and by browsing the Integrum database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional villages, rich in historical and cultural value, hold a high level of preservation value. In the process of urbanization, traditional villages face the crisis of decline, making it difficult to perpetuate the carried cultural heritage. The Ganjiang River Basin hosts numerous traditional villages with rich research value, making the study of their preservation and development in this region a significant topic. This paper, from the perspective of landscape ecology, employs geographic detectors to analyze the driving factors behind the emergence of traditional villages in the Ganjiang River Basin, summarizing the spatial distribution characteristics of traditional villages. A classification method based on village landscape features is adopted to categorize traditional villages in the Ganjiang River Basin, providing a reference for planning the preservation and development of traditional villages. The research results show that plain areas are more suitable for the continuation of traditional villages; a single suitable environmental element cannot provide an environment conducive to the development of traditional villages, which is the result of the combined effect of multiple suitable elements; the study has divided traditional village landscapes into nine types, with clear distribution differences among different types of villages; for different regions and types of traditional villages, it is necessary to balance development and protection tendencies and plan differently according to environmental characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image inpainting aims to restore the damaged information in images, enhancing their readability and usability. Ancient paintings, as a vital component of traditional art, convey profound cultural and artistic value, yet often suffer from various forms of damage over time. Existing ancient painting inpainting methods are insufficient in extracting deep semantic information, resulting in the loss of high-frequency detail features of the reconstructed image and inconsistency between global and local semantic information. To address these issues, this paper proposes a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN)-based ancient painting inpainting method using multi-layer feature enhancement and frequency perception, named MFGAN. Firstly, we design a Residual Pyramid Encoder (RPE), which fully extracts the deep semantic features of ancient painting images and strengthens the processing of image details by effectively combining the deep feature extraction module and channel attention. Secondly, we propose a Frequency-Aware Mechanism (FAM) to obtain the high-frequency perceptual features by using the frequency attention module, which captures the high-frequency details and texture features of the ancient paintings by increasing the skip connections between the low-frequency and the high-frequency features, and provides more frequency perception information. Thirdly, a Dual Discriminator (DD) is designed to ensure the consistency of semantic information between global and local region images, while reducing the discontinuity and blurring differences at the boundary during image inpainting. Finally, extensive experiments on the proposed ancient painting and Huaniao datasets show that our proposed method outperforms competitive image inpainting methods and exhibits robust generalization capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Painted cultural relics hold significant historical value and are crucial in transmitting human culture. However, mold is a common issue for paper or silk-based relics, which not only affects their preservation and longevity but also conceals the texture, patterns, and color information, hindering cultural value and heritage. Currently, the virtual restoration of painting relics primarily involves filling in the RGB based on neighborhood information, which might cause color distortion and other problems. Another approach considers mold as noise and employs maximum noise separation for its removal; however, eliminating the mold components and implementing the inverse transformation often leads to more loss of information. To effectively acquire virtual restoration for mold removal from ancient paintings, the spectral characteristics of mold were analyzed. Based on the spectral features of mold and the cultural relic restoration philosophy of maintaining originality, a 3D CNN artifact restoration network was proposed. This network is capable of learning features in the near-infrared spectrum (NIR) and spatial dimensions to reconstruct the reflectance of visible spectrum, achieving the virtual restoration for mold removal of calligraphic and art relics. Using an ancient painting from the Qing Dynasty as a test subject, the proposed method was compared with the Inpainting, Criminisi, and inverse MNF transformation methods across three regions. Visual analysis, quantitative evaluation (the root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean absolute error (MEA), and a classification application were used to assess the restoration accuracy. The visual results and quantitative analyses demonstrated that the proposed 3D CNN method effectively removes or mitigates mold while restoring the artwork to its authentic color in various backgrounds. Furthermore, the color classification results indicated that the images restored with 3D CNN had the highest classification accuracy, with overall accuracies of 89.51%, 92.24%, and 93.63%, and Kappa coefficients of 0.88, 0.91, and 0.93, respectively. This research provides technological support for the digitalization and restoration of cultural artifacts, thereby contributing to the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review addresses the gap in the literature regarding sibling relationship quality among Latinx families, a topic that has not been comprehensively examined to date. This study aimed to synthesize current research on sibling relationship quality in Latinx families, focusing on the influence of cultural factors, identifying key variables associated with sibling relationship quality, and evaluating the methodological approaches used. This paper is a systematic review based on a recently published evidence and gap map (EGM) that identified and visually presented all published studies investigating sibling relationship quality. Additional inclusion criteria were applied to select articles that specifically examined sibling relationship quality in the United States samples with at least 50% Latinx participants. The review included 12 articles representing 6 distinct studies, revealing significant findings on the roles of familism, simpatía, and gender in shaping sibling dynamics. Results indicated that cultural values such as familism and simpatía positively influence sibling intimacy and warmth, while gender dynamics further moderate these relationships. Methodologically, the articles employed longitudinal and cross-sectional designs, utilizing various quantitative measures. The findings underscore the importance of culturally sensitive approaches in studying sibling relationships and highlight the need for further research to explore these dynamics in diverse Latinx subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chiropractic, osteopathy, and physiotherapy (COP) professionals regulated outside the United States traditionally incorporate hands-on procedures aligned with their historical principles to guide patient care. However, some authors in COP research advocate a pan-professional, evidence-informed, patient-centered approach to musculoskeletal care, emphasizing hands-off management of patients through education and exercise therapy. The extent to which non-Western sociocultural beliefs about body representations in health and disease, including Indigenous beliefs, could influence the patient–practitioner dyad and affect the interpretation of pillars of evidence-informed practice, such as patient-centered care and patient expectations, remains unknown. Methods: our perspective paper combines the best available evidence with expert insights and unique viewpoints to address gaps in the scientific literature and inform an interdisciplinary readership. Results: A COP pan-professional approach tends to marginalize approaches, such as prevention-oriented clinical scenarios traditionally advocated by osteopathic practitioners for patients with non-Western sociocultural health assumptions. The Cynefin framework was introduced as a decision-making tool to aid clinicians in managing complex clinical scenarios and promoting evidence-informed, patient-centered, and culturally sensitive care. Conclusion: Epistemological flexibility is historically rooted in osteopathic care, due to his Indigenous roots. It is imperative to reintroduce conceptual and operative clinical frameworks that better address contemporary health needs, promote inclusion and equality in healthcare, and enhance the quality of manual therapy services beyond COP's Western-centered perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education and culture are seen as key components of the learning process. In this context, discussions about the quality of education and approaches to strengthening educational values, as well as the importance of culture in the transmission of these values, are becoming increasingly relevant. However, in Latvia, studies regarding people who attend various cultural events do not focus on strengthening educational values or linking them to the cultural context. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore how educational values are linked to current trends in cultural offerings and how they are reflected in teacher education. The research methodology followed a qualitative and quantitative research paradigm and the specifics of interdisciplinary research. The data were obtained using surveys and focus group discussions. The overall strategy of the study is based on a holistic, multidisciplinary approach that takes the regional discourse in Latvia into account. The research results prove that cultural experiences have contributed to the development of most respondents' personalities and emphasize the role of teachers in the transmission of educational values. The qualitative and educational content of cultural offerings promotes a culture of discussion, strengthens community consciousness, and shapes cultural taste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is a key element for companies that aim to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage. Recently, a great number of academics and practitioners have focused on the role of cultural values to provide further incentives to firms to invest more in innovation that will give them a market edge. The purpose of this paper is to provide further insights into the relationship between cultural values and innovation. Primary data were collected from top managers in medium- and large-sized enterprises to determine how cultural values affect four types of technological innovation. The results indicate that two cultural values have a significant influence on firms' innovative practices. Collectivism and uncertainty avoidance have a significant negative impact on radical, process and product innovation. Thus, we argue that managers who emphasize their personal ambitions and are comfortable with ambiguity are more likely to achieve innovation in their organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that a comparative study of saints is not only a useful classroom tool for historians and religionists, but an exceptionally powerful locus of pedagogical insight and cultural understanding. By reframing contemporary consumptive patterns, media representations, and power discourses as religious vectors of saintliness, the professor has an opportunity to explore and assess cultural values, rituals, beliefs, worldviews, communities, traditions, and meaning making in the contemporary college student's world. By acknowledging the dangers and possibilities of the category of saint while reframing the ascetical impact on developing subjectivities, we propose six pedagogical examples of how this might best be deployed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing modern museum content and visitor data analytics to achieve higher levels of visitor experience and overall museum performance is a complex and multidimensional issue involving several scientific aspects, such as exhibits' metadata management, visitor movement tracking and modelling, location/context-aware content provision, etc. In related prior research, most of the efforts have focused individually on some of these aspects and do not provide holistic approaches enhancing both museum performance and visitor experience. This paper proposes an integrated conceptualisation for improving these two aspects, involving four technological components. First, the adoption and parameterisation of four ontologies for the digital documentation and presentation of exhibits and their conservation methods, spatial management, and evaluation. Second, a tool for capturing visitor movement in near real-time, both anonymously (default) and eponymously (upon visitor consent). Third, a mobile application delivers personalised content to eponymous visitors based on static (e.g., demographic) and dynamic (e.g., visitor movement) data. Lastly, a platform assists museum administrators in managing visitor statistics and evaluating exhibits, collections, and routes based on visitors' behaviour and interactions. Preliminary results from a pilot implementation of this holistic approach in a multi-space high-traffic museum (MELTOPENLAB project) indicate that a cost-efficient, fully functional solution is feasible, and achieving an optimal trade-off between technical performance and cost efficiency is possible for museum administrators seeking unfragmented approaches that add value to their cultural heritage organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chosen is a wide-reaching series born within American Evangelicalism in 2019, whose academic interest resides in its value as a cultural product that has been gaining influence after the release of its four seasons. This article discusses the reception of Mary Magdalene in two chapters (S1/E1 and S2/E5) on the basis of two key principles that characterise North American conservative Evangelicalism: biblical inerrancy and its "born-again" model of conversion. The last part presents the difficult compromise between these religious values and filmic fictionalism, which leads to maintaining the traditional image of the repentant prostitute, though with a few particularities: the disappearance of all features of sensuality, an ambiguous interpretation of demon possession that is linked to an episode of sexual abuse and the story of Mary Magdalene's childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the last decade, cultural heritage has been recognized as the fourth most important field of sustainability, but insufficient empirical research has focused on social participants' intent to inherit intangible cultural capital. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study investigated the influence of cultural significance and successors' perceptions of traditional foods served during landmark birthday rituals in South Korea. The results show that, while historical stability and instrumental healing are important cultural values for South Koreans, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and a perceived female role affect the intention to preserve traditional food heritage for landmark birthdays. In addition, we examined the differences between genders and age groups in terms of the influence of perceived behavioral control and the perception of the female role and found that both impacts increased in the older group. The contributions to the field are discussed in terms of cultural sustainability and TPB, along with the managerial implications for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to investigate the factors that influence the authenticity of heritage hotels in popular tourist destinations. Using the Greek island of Santorini as a case study, the following three (3) factors, which have not been systematically studied so far, are examined and appear to have a significant impact on authenticity in the conversion of a heritage architectural building into a heritage hotel: (a) its structural characteristics, (b) the influence of the star classification system and (c) the extent to which each business promotes authenticity elements and heritage identity. For the purposes of this study, a threefold methodological approach was conducted, which includes archival research in the registry of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels for all the heritage hotels in Santorini (69 units), research in the accounting data of the island's heritage hotels certified with the national star ranking system for their services and amenities and research analysis of the information regarding the promotion of the heritage hotels through their official websites. Additionally, a cartographic representation of the locations of these hotels was created and their positioning was compared to the boundaries of traditional or non-traditional settlements. The results validated the basic finding of the literature review, that the authenticity of a heritage hotel is a construction under constant negotiation, influenced by a multitude of factors. The conversion of a historic building into a heritage hotel is a multidimensional process that requires a delicate balance between preserving cultural value and adapting to the needs of modern tourism, as well as a continuous evaluation and review of the policies in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article was to compare the landscape and cultural value of cemeteries located around wooden churches on the Polish–Czech border in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Research regarding the history of the villages was undertaken, describing their development and the construction of the churches and the cemeteries so as to compare changes in cemetery spatial layout, architecture, and landscape. The villages involved were Grzmiąca, Kamieńczyk, Międzygórze, Nowa Bystrzyca, Rybnica Leśna, and Zalesie. The following analyses were conducted: assessment of the visual aspects of the landscape, evaluation of the architectural value, and assessment of land use. In the landscape of Lower Silesia, churchyard cemeteries, which bear witness to the rich past of this region, are gradually but remorselessly deteriorating. Adverse changes are occurring to their spatial layout, to church buildings, as well as in architecture and greenery. The article presents a new approach to the subject of sacred sites through multi-faceted research aimed at protecting the fragile and changing religious landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a catalyst for urban landscape transformation, the reuse of heritage sites plays a pivotal role in shaping contemporary urban spaces and influencing socio-economic development. However, this phenomenon is not without controversy, particularly regarding the quality of preservation and the potential risks associated with over-commodification. Consequently, there has been an increasing research focus on reconciling these conflicting aspects. This study employs a multi-value interpretation framework to delve into the reuse of heritage sites in the urban area of Xi'an within the broader context of China's urbanization. Utilizing a comparative case study method, this research specifically examines the burgeoning phenomenon of heritage parks. This exploration sheds light on how the reuse of heritage intertwines with urbanization processes, by taking into account environmental, economic, social, and cultural values. The findings suggest that a multi-value interpretation framework is crucial to address the limitations of the current heritagization. Heritage sites in Xi'an have been integrated into the urban transformation process through heritage conservation and the production of new heritage spaces. However, the evolving multi-value evaluation of these heritage sites continues to influence the city's interpretation of its significant and fading past in planning. This study highlights the dynamic nature of heritage sites in the urban context and underscores the need for nuanced approaches to balance heritage preservation with the evolving demands of contemporary urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-related cultural heritage architecture (WRCHA) represents a globally significant and potentially hybrid heritage found across river basins worldwide. Its spatial and temporal evolution characteristics offer insight into the development trends of river basin environments, yet their value within water-related cultural and environmental systems remain incompletely assessed. This study undertakes qualitative and quantitative analyses of the historical spatial and temporal distributions, influencing factors, and environmental changes affecting the water-related culture, climate, population, and urban areas of 295 WRCHA sites in the Li River Basin of China, employing drought–flood indices, GIS analyses, random forest algorithms, and other methodologies. The results reveal that (1) the Lishui Basin contains a significant distribution pattern of agglomeration for WRCHA within the river basin, concentrated along the river, at low altitudes, with minimal terrain variation, and radiating around ancient governance centers, with varying increases observed across different periods and aggregation zones and with significant spatial and temporal heterogeneities; (2) the distribution pattern is influenced by joint natural and human factors, closely tied to variables such as the river network density, DEM, population changes, and distance to ancient government sites; (3) the combination of the architecture's location and elevation, along with drought–flood curves, reflects the position of the ancient riverbed of the Lishui River and its historical maximum water level. The quantity of new constructions, in conjunction with the distance from ancient government centers and the trends in population change, thus indicates the urban scale and the frequency and severity of disasters. This study provides a research paradigm and historical reference model for investigating environmental changes in watershed systems, aiding in clarifying the historical human–water symbiosis pattern in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Such insights will furnish a scientific basis for future regional ecological planning and watershed environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Public space is an important carrier for maintaining the cultural values of a village and the production and living customs of the villagers, but the use rights and boundaries are in an unstable and ambiguous state, and it is not a completely open and inclusive public space. The study aims to deepen the understanding of the publicness of public space in traditional villages from the perspective of subjective and objective combination, which reveals the relationship between the space and villagers' behavior. (2) Methods: The research established an evaluation framework for assessing the "publicness" of public spaces in traditional villages by integrating space syntax and cognitive surveys. This framework facilitates the analysis of the extent and dimensions of publicness, along with corresponding behavioral patterns, and explores the underlying mechanisms influencing publicness. (3) Results: The study reveals significant variations in the publicness of traditional village spaces. High-publicness areas tend to cluster, whereas low-publicness areas are more scattered, and riverfront regions exhibit greater publicness compared to mountain-adjacent ones. Villagers exhibit notable differences in their evaluations of public spaces, and individuals aged 14–18 and those over 66 rate the highest. The utilization rate of high-publicness spaces is significantly high, catering to a diverse array of activities. In spaces with lower publicness, the duration and variety of activities tend to be more constrained, often limited to rapid exchanges or brief respites, exhibiting a narrower scope of activities. (4) Conclusions: The study underscores the variability and complexity of publicness in traditional village spaces, which manifest not only in spatial layouts and types but also in villagers' usage patterns and behavioral preferences. This may be influenced by objective factors such as spatial accessibility, social interaction, and richness of cultural activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research delves into the intricacies of the "Buddha Story Stele" in Cave 133 of the Maiji Mountain Grottoes, China, examining the sculptural combinations and conceptual nuances rooted in Buddhist culture from the 5th to the 6th centuries CE. The research focuses on discerning the identities of the "Two Adjacent-Seated Buddhas" and the Cross-Legged Bodhisattva carved on the stele, concurrently delving into the embedded symbolic significance within its structural composition. Our investigation posits that the upper, middle, and lower segments of the "Buddha Story Stele" respectively symbolize the post-Nirvana Dharmakāya Shakyamuni, the Bodhisattva Shakyamuni, and the Buddha Shakyamuni of Sumedha. Advancing scholarly discourse, it reevaluates the Cross-Legged Bodhisattva's identity and the configuration of the "Two Adjacent-Seated Buddhas", elucidating the interplay of imagery and conceptual themes. This study provides pivotal insights into the sculptural arrangement and religious thought transmission in the Maiji Mountain Grottoes, contributing significant academic and cultural value to preserve this unique heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary globalized landscape characterized by international and intercultural decision-making processes, interconnected supply chains, and diverse customer relations, susceptibility to biases and heuristics poses a substantial threat to the efficiency of decision making. This research explores the relatively understudied influence of culture on individuals' susceptibility to concepts derived from behavioral economics. Employing the Individual Cultural Values Scale (CVSCALE), we examine the impact of culture on the allure of choice, mental accounting, and overconfidence among 837 participants from Australia (AU), China (CN), Germany (GE), and the United States (US) through logistic regression analysis. At the individual level, discernible interactions between power–distance, allure of choice, and overconfidence are observed. On the national scale, power–distance (AU, US), uncertainty avoidance (US), and masculinity (CN) significantly impact the allure of choice, while overconfidence is influenced by power–distance (US) and masculinity (US). Our analysis shows that culture plays a pivotal role in shaping susceptibility to biases and heuristics, thereby influencing decision-making processes. The findings advocate for a culturally differentiated approach to behavioral economics, emphasizing the need to tailor strategies and interventions based on cultural nuances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A crucial component of ecosystem services (ES) that represents social and humanities values is the cultural ecosystem service (CES), which refers to the non-material advantages that the environment provides for humans. CES are challenging to deeply understand, and little is known about the interactions between CES and landscape variables, particularly in some remote Chinese cities. In order to assess the dominant landscape variables of different CESs from physical, experiential, intellectual and inspirational aspects, this article investigates the landscape variables that may influence the public preferences of various CESs based on social media and geographic data in Anshun, China. The findings are displayed below. The public preferences of various CESs are impacted by the landscape variables in different ways. Physical CESs are influenced by both natural and infrastructure elements, demonstrating that accessibility to restaurants, accommodation, and transit affects how people interact with plays in public. Experiential CESs are primarily influenced by sensory elements, particularly the visual senses, suggesting that when people visit such settings, they place more emphasis on sensory experiences. Intellectual CESs are mostly affected by sensory and natural elements, implying that intellectual CESs with a natural perception are more alluring to tourists. Inspirational CESs are mainly influenced by natural and infrastructure elements, people usually consider nature and convenience when they go to such scenic spots. From the standpoint of promoting people's wellbeing and boosting tourism appeal, the study's results can offer fresh perspectives and content additions for the tourism landscape planning and management in Anshun. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding aspects of maritime/underwater cultural heritage (MUCH) and the associated cultural values and integrating them into maritime spatial planning (MSP) processes is a new global challenge alongside the rapid increase in human activities at sea and climate change impacts on the seas and the oceans. This article highlights the significance of cultural values in shaping human interactions with marine environments and how MSP can address the cultural dimensions of marine resources management. The key research question addresses the prerequisites and methods for a better incorporation of MUCH in the MSP processes. This review revealed a diversity of literature addressing the inclusion of MUCH in (a) coastal and marine management but also in (b) marine/maritime spatial planning (346 articles from the Scopus database). In the first case, there is a strong focus on cultural ecosystem services (CES) and cultural values, the role of indigenous and local communities, the transfer of traditional ecological knowledge, and participatory approaches and tools. As for the latter, this review demonstrated quite a lot of relatively recent MSP endeavors that seem to be influenced by the above approaches identified in the coastal and marine management literature. This article concludes that for MSPlans to be innovative and mainly acceptable by local communities, the "missing layer" of socio-cultural values and data is indispensable. Furthermore, a collaborative MSP between governments and regional/provincial authorities may boost sustainable blue activities while preserving ecological and cultural values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]