Suchergebnisse

Most South Korean male adults smoke. Korean Protestant Christianity regarded smoking as 'sinful' and it was forbidden. However the Protestants in Korea today do not consider the consumption of tobacco as sinful, although they tend to avoid alcohol and tobacco as they hinder the teachings of the Bible. In accordance with the Constitution and laws, the Korean government permits smoking by recognizing the inherent right of human beings, although smoking is prohibited in public places such as schools and hospitals or restricted to certain places. Unfortunately, the number of smokers is rising in all spheres of society, including the Church. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to facilitate the conversion of smoking cessation into a purification movement in Korean society by presenting measures to prevent it.

In this paper I explicate polyrhythm in the context of traditional West African music, framing it within a more general theory of polyrhythm and polymeter, then compare three approaches for the visual representation of both. In contrast to their analytical separation in Western theory and practice, traditional West African music features integral connections among all the expressive arts (music, poetry, dance, and drama), and the unity of rhythm and melody (what Nzewi calls "melo-rhythm"). Focusing on the Ewe people of south-eastern Ghana, I introduce the multi-art performance type called Agbekor, highlighting its poly-melo-rhythms, and representing them in three notational systems: the well-known but culturally biased Western notation; a more neutral tabular notation, widely used in ethnomusicology but more limited in its representation of structure; and a context-free recursive grammar of my own devising, which concisely summarizes structure, at the possible cost of readability. Examples are presented, and the strengths and drawbacks of each system are assessed. While undoubtedly useful, visual representations cannot replace audio-visual recordings, much less the experience of participation in a live performance.

This brief overview examines Japan's enduring relationship with the small screen and television broadcasting, a surprisingly faithful relationship in a time of upheavals in media consumption. Television connects all 126 million inhabitants, informing, persuading, relaxing, befriending, and providing topics for discussion and ways of contextualising events, brands, people and world-views. It is now virtually impossible to escape the worlds of the screens in any way in Japan, meaning it is also impossible to escape the manufactured content on these screens. The driving force behind this promulgation of screens is at its most basic level a self-promotion, a need to perpetuate consumerism and brandism, to ensure that screens continue to be bought and continue to integrate into everyday life, providing a direct conduit between products and consumers. These products range from the television screens themselves, everyday consumer goods, through to opinions and worldviews, selections and slices of life for consumption by audiences eager to absorb and consume and connect.

PurposeThis study into cultural usability aims to identify whether the importance of usability attributes varied between nationalities, and whether this variance was related to cultural dimensions.Design/methodology/approachA total of 144 subjects from four countries were surveyed on the importance they placed on the usability attributes of cell phones. Results were compared by country, and relationships with cultural dimensions were investigated.FindingsFor each country, usability attributes were not rated equally. Across countries, no difference in the rating of effectiveness was found, while ratings of efficiency and satisfaction varied significantly. In addition, the study identified significant relationships between the importance given to efficiency and satisfaction and cultural dimensions identified by Hofstede and the World Values Survey, with values relating to task‐orientation influencing efficiency, and non‐task oriented values affecting the importance users place on satisfaction.Practical implicationsProduct designers and usability practitioners need to consider these cultural differences when designing products and when evaluating, measuring, and making recommendations on product usability.Originality/valuePrevious studies in this area have shown the existence of differences in preference for usability attributes based on nationality. No studies known to the authors have connected this to cultural dimensions. Understanding of this connection supports usability practitioners in their work not just in specific countries but also in cultural regions. It also allows the more precise modeling by researchers of culture's interaction with usability.