• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.24
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• pp.147-156
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• 2011

A brief consultation of English Arabic dictionaries and encyclopedias shows that there is no one single standard Arabic translation of the English concept 'democracy'. Arab authors use, instead, a series of multiple terms that need clarification if the first term is to be clear. In many cases, they tend to localize the term into Arabic using various orthographic forms; at other times, they run a rather lengthy analysis to elucidate the concept that seems to be an essentially contested term. This paper aims to inquire into the reasons for the confusion and inconsistency in the translation of the concept 'democracy', as well as the underlying arguments for advocating the localization rather than translation of this political concept. This will be followed by a discussion of the implications of this study for lexicographers and translators. Given the fact that ideology is of non-Arabic origin, English perceptions of this fluid concept might help account for its lack of clarity in Arabic translations since Arabic is highly influenced by English in various spheres of life. It would thus be wise first to check the perceptivity of English authors of the concept. To better serve the purpose of this study, the author distinguishes here between 'translation' and so-called 'localization'. The term 'translation' is concerned with finding an existing term in the target language with an equivalent meaning for a foreign word, whereas localization involves taking the foreign term and making it linguistically and culturally appropriate to the target language, by subjecting it to the morphological and syntactic rules of Arabic to be used as if it were originally Arabic.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.19
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• pp.205-232
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• 2010

The purpose of this paper is to examine the possibility of application of some French and German movies to teaching of multi-culture in elementary, middle and high schools. Three different films are selected. (2005), a French animation film directed by B?n?dicte Galup and Michel Ocelot, is appropriate for the education of understanding cultural relativity and improving multi-cultural sensitivity in elementary school. is a French short film directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomaso and included in omnibus style film (2006). This short film relating a story of an immigrated woman who leaves her baby in a cr?che and travels through Paris to work for a bourgeois mother can be used for developing a bond of sympathy between natives and immigrants. It is recommended for the class of junior high school. Finally (2007), a German film directed by Fatih Akin, provide a learning model for the education of multi-culture in high school classrooms. The cinematographic aesthetic of this film is focused on a process of reconciliation with others over the cultural, racial, national and generational differences. Analyzing the structure of the film and being guided by teachers the students can understand better in improving abilities to understand others.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.39
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• pp.355-380
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• 2015

China has been experiencing a series of changes after gradually opening up its society. Such changes have now seeped into almost every sector of the society, leading to overall change. While the political system has been maintained without much change, the structure of life for Chinese has undergone a shift, especially in the sectors related to industry or the economy. The Chinese have adopted capitalism in their own way, leading to fast growth in their industries. Those who were born in the 1980s amidst such change (so-called the post-80s generation) are now playing a major role in Chinese society. Understanding this generation can help understand some of the most important phenomena in today's China. Therefore the language used by this generation is in particular meaningful as language often reflects the society it is used in. This study focuses on the newly created words arising from the lifestyles of the post-80s generation to better understand how the China's move towards a more open society over the past three decades have brought about changes. The work culture and consumption styles of the post-80s generation are also showing some collective characteristics. As such, a review of newly created Chinese words related to this generation is expected to increase understanding of the overall Chinese society and Chinese culture of today.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.20
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• pp.295-321
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• 2010

The trend of globalization has sharpened the debate on interculturality, which scholars examine from different and often conflicting points of view ('content' vs. 'practice', 'culture-specific' vs. 'universal', 'communication (meta)theory' vs. 'communication practice', 'individual' vs. 'collective', etc.). Whereas all these approaches are necessary to describe the multiple dimensions of interculturality, their dichotomous nature does not help to account for its internal complexity, which cannot be dissociated from the connections that exist among all these dimensions. The difficulty posed by the essentialist interpretations that tend to result from these dichotomies is compounded by the fact that in postmodern debates priority has been given to approaches that emphasize individual or collective agency over structural constraints which have to do with political economy or with cultural and linguistic codes and traditions. This paper aims mainly at suggesting that the dissolution of the boundaries that exist between these approaches should be pursued in order to get a fuller and richer approach to their common object of study. After discussing, by way of illustration, content-based and practice-based perspectives, we suggest that one way of getting beyond these dichotomies consists in focusing on the 'interactional' dimension of interculturality, which means laying emphasis on intersubjectivity and, particularly, on the individual subjects considered as members of different cultural communities who strive to transcend their sociocultural boundaries in order to reach harmonious interactions in a world in which inequality and the de-territorialization of people and cultures are central features.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.37
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• pp.131-156
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• 2014

This article attempts to explore the literature of Catherine the second, focusing on her comedies in the light of anti-freemasonry in the late 18th-centuryof Russia. Her main idea towards social morals was consistently expressed from in her early comedies during 1770s, such as 'Oh! times!'(1772), to her late counterparts during 1880s, such as so called 'anti-freemason trilogy,' which includes 'the deceiver'(1785), 'the deceived one'(1785) and 'Siberian shaman'(1786). By depicting antagonists-freemasons in her own trilogy, only as alchemists, shamans, fallacious chemists, hypocritical medical doctors, and so on, Caterine the second intended to undermine the mason influence against Russian Empire, which had ideationally attracted Russian nobles and intellectuals and furthermore to reinforce her political control over the intellectuals as well as the public. The above literacy attempts by Catherine can be said to aim to found morals of her own era through the utilization of social discourse, rather than through the political or governmental control.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.28
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• pp.37-53
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• 2012

This paper examines 'an active nihilism' in Suk-je Sung's novels in detail. The focus of this study is formed from the critical mind in a critical perspective that in Korean novels before and after 2000s, characters who embody 'problematic individuals' of $Luk{\acute{a}}cs$ have disappeared and those close to 'active nihilists' has become the mainstream. The most representative example of this phenomenon is Suk-je Sung's novels. 'Active nihilists' in his novels are described as 'ascetics' who mastered various spheres such as 'billiard', 'baduk gambling', 'alcohol', 'dance', and 'book collecting', and so on. In the sense that they reject the transcendental conditions of the modern world and live in the space and time of play in which they can display their passion and potentiality to the maximum, they beings jumping over the 'reality principle'. Also, what they want to repeat is not the endless exchange of labor and capital according to the capitalist system of exchange but rather the repeated existence of their power and passion. This 'anthropology of power and passion' is 'active nihilism' which could be expressed as the 'subject of creating new value' and 'Dionysian affirmation' by Nietzsche. Suk-je Sung's novels sharply prove the stylistic essence of 'a novel' which has to create its own form every time, constantly renewing the narrative style of the past ideal model. In this respect, they are very problematic and his innovation of a form draws the attention. Further, this will certainly be the important object of research in the diachronic dimension of contemporary Korean novel.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.29
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• pp.201-232
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• 2012

In the world history in the rein of totalitarianism cultural project of government had been activated, and consequently of it official culture had been organized. But at the same time on the other side of it people('narod'), who didn't have cultural means for active expression of own opinion on the reality, had expressed world-view and judgement informally in everyday language. In the literature of autocracy, subjected to censorship, had been expressed and fixed mythically idealized image of sovereign and his works. But in the folklore the image of ruler had been created by liberal fantasy of people. This article examined russian literature and folklore texts of 18 century, when russian people suffered from rapid and dramatic changes, caused by Peter I. Although russian literature of 18 century had gone over to the new literary regime, it still accepted political mechanism as dominant of age, and consequently in the literary texts of this century Peter I was represented as ideal person and great monarch. But various images in folklore texts show that people's opinion on ruler and his activities couldn't be controlled. In other worlds, diverse images of Peter I in folklore texts reflect clear and plain historical consciousness of people. This analysis reveals not only difference between mechanism of idealization of government and historical consciousness of people, but also meaning of cultural memory as indicator of historical reality.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.29
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• pp.233-256
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• 2012

This paper aims to look into various symbolic meanings of the body shown in the film, Avatar (2009, James Cameron), and to ponder over a variety of media strategies carried by the pursuit of the corporality shown in this film. In a nutshell, the body in Avatar is a symbol of primitiveness rather than civilization, and the body language is a fundamental and effective means of communication much better than verbal language. A variety of physical contacts that appeared in many scenes of the movie emphasizes the role of the body as a means of real communication. Also, in the composition of the film dominated by the confrontation of civilization, numerous creatures in the planet Pandora with a variety of colors as well as a number of agencies and large body sizes express primitive richness. The narrative of the film telling the story of a 'moving' body ultimately emphasizes the superiority of the body with respect to consciousness, unlike the narrative of conventional movies dealing with the problems of the body. In addition, the corporality pursued by this film implies several important media strategies. It may reveal a self-reflection of the material civilization and the imperialism, or, on the contrary, an attempt to conceal or dilute them. It may also represent a self-reflection of the overdeveloped media technology, or simply the dilution of it. Finally, it may be an attempt to recover the feeling of "presence", not fully supported by the 3D technology, by the identification of the spectator's body and the character's body.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.25
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• pp.185-212
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• 2011

The faith in St. Mary of Guadalupe is supposed to be concerned not as reminiscence of historical events or legends, but organic product of having nowness. It's an organism that can not be stay in a fixed type. From the perspectives of syncretism the coexistence of heterogeneous elements (Symbiosis) between Catholicism and Aztec's religion has been changed constantly depending on the necessity and function of the subjects who have dreamed the social integration. It's fundamentally clear that the faith in St. Mary of Guadalupe is still valid phenomenon in the modern Mexican society and that the faith is an aspect of popular catholicism which includes the remaining elements of the religion of the Aztecs. This is to understand the meanings of the perception of the contemporary mexicans on the phenomenon for the faith in St. Mary of Guadalupe. Through in-depth interviews, it is revealed that a high rate of sharing of the information does not mean the proportional acceptance of the history. It's a interesting point to see that the mexicans consider the faith in St. Mary of Guadalupe catholic belief, having a feeling of strong tie between themselves and the Aztec's religion. In spite of the historical conflicts over the veracity of St. Mary of Gaudalupe, the majority of the contemporary mexicans consider the faith positive element to consolidate the nationality and socio-cultural identity of $M{\acute{e}}xico$ against the socio-political and ethnic conflicts in the Mexican Society.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.432-444
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• 2014

Purpose: This descriptive study was conducted in order to investigate the research trends of past nursing studies related to disasters in Korea, and to identify the direction of future research. Methods: Fifty studies conducted from July 1995 to June 2014 were analyzed according to general characteristics, disaster phase, disaster type, and research theme based on the four areas and 10 domains of the ICN Framework of Disaster Nursing Competencies. Results: The majority of studies were designed using quantitative methods (29). In disaster type, 12 studies explored natural disasters, and 14 explored manmade disasters. Disaster responders were the subject of 31 studies. In relation to research topics, the majority of studies were in the area of preparedness competencies of the ICN Framework (26). The studies were concentrated in the domain of education and preparedness (24). Conclusion: The total number of studies on disasters had increased over the years, while the topics failed to deal with all domains of the ICN Framework. The results indicate that the future direction of nursing research on disasters is to be vitalized through the flexibility of research design, systematic approach based on global perspectives, research on emergency responders and vulnerable people, and research relating to community-based disaster nursing.