Abstract: African religions have a long and influential history, and seashells are not only a form of currency in the lives of African people, but also play an important role in their religious lives, thus possessing the attribute of a medium connecting the secular and spiritual worlds of African people. This article mainly explores the role and significance of seashells in daily life and religious activities, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of local African religious phenomena and contributing to a deeper understanding of the inner world of African people. Read More

Abstract: In vocational undergraduate education, applied English programs place strong emphasis on English writing abilities that can be directly transferred to workplace communication. However, classroom practice indicates that many applied English majors continue to experience difficulties when completing workplace-oriented English writing tasks. Drawing on authentic student writing collected from an English writing course and supplemented by classroom observation, this study examines common challenges in workplace-oriented English writing, with particular attention to task understanding, organizational coherence, and register control. Rather than adopting an experimental intervention, the analysis is grounded in naturally produced classroom texts. The findings suggest that these challenges are closely related to exam-oriented writing habits and limited familiarity with workplace genres. Based on the analysis, practical teaching responses are proposed to support more effective workplace-oriented English writing instruction in applied English programs. Read More

Abstract: In the context of modernizing the cultural governance system, art institutions, as the core carriers of public cultural services, are transforming from "elite led" to "public participation". Public participation oriented operational innovation is the key to breaking through the homogenization dilemma and expanding audience coverage for art institutions, and it is also an important support for improving cultural governance efficiency. This article is based on the theory of cultural governance and public participation practice, combined with the transformation practice of domestic art institutions. It systematically analyzes the inherent relationship between the two from five aspects: transformation logic, innovation dimension, empowerment mechanism, practical difficulties, and optimization path. It explores how to strengthen the public service attributes of art institutions through innovation such as spatial openness, content co creation, and channel expansion, and achieve precision, diversification, and sustainability of cultural governance. Research has shown that building an operational system of "government guidance, institutional leadership, public participation, and social collaboration" can deeply integrate art institutions into social governance, becoming an important force in consolidating cultural consensus, cultivating cultural ecology, and enhancing social civilization. Read More

Abstract: The dominance of meritocracy-driven, in-volutional competition is reshaping young people's emotional practices, giving rise to the phenomenon of "inability to love". This study employs a three-dimensional isomorphous analysis framework of "occupational burnout–emotional exhaustion" to reveal three manifestations of this inability among youth: emotional depletion and inability to invest, dehumanisation and the instrumentalisation of romance, alongside low personal accomplishment and crises of self-identity.This paper contends that through mechanisms such as time compression, meritocracy supremacy, and inflated instrumental rationality, the competition of the 'involution' constrains young people's emotional investment in marriage and romance, reflecting the paradoxes of modernity within the process of individualisation. Read More

Abstract: In the context of deep media society, digital intimacy has become one of the core forms of social media user interaction. As a group of content creators relying on emotional needs, the emotional connection and trust relationship built on youtube and tiktok platforms has typical research value. Supported by digital intimacy theory, use and satisfaction theory and post subculture theory, this paper compares and analyzes the content production logic, interaction mechanism and trust building path of the two platforms. It is found that through the transformation of "local knowledge", algorithmic adaptive content design, ritual interaction and personalized modeling, fortune telling influencers build differentiated digital intimacy in two scenarios of fragmentation and deep immersion; Trust building has experienced a progressive process from emotional resonance, value recognition to decision dependence, accompanied by the potential risk of algorithmic alienation. The conclusions provide an empirical reference for understanding the new form of emotional labor in the social media era and the construction logic of digital intimacy. Read More

Abstract: Under the policy framework of Guangdong Province's "High-Quality Development Project for Hundreds of Counties, Thousands of Towns, and Tens of Thousands of Villages" and the "Double Hundred Initiative" in higher education institutions, the implementation of rural revitalization strategies and the high-quality development of county-level cultural tourism economies have significantly increased demand for interdisciplinary talents with both theoretical depth and practical innovation capabilities. However, current applied undergraduate institutions' cultural tourism faculty face challenges such as theoretical-practical disconnection and weak research-to-education conversion capabilities, which hinder the efficiency of the "Double Hundred Initiative". Taking Zhaoqing University as a case study, this research establishes an "Integration of Research and Teaching" model to explore pathways for cultivating faculty's research-to-education conversion capabilities: breaking the inertia of "research-heavy but teaching-light" through a "mutually recognized" system for teaching-research integration; promoting bidirectional convergence between industrial practice and research topics, as well as transforming research outcomes into teaching resources; and building collaborative innovation platforms for teachers and students to form a closed-loop chain of "industrial practice → research topics → teaching content → innovation and entrepreneurship projects". This model significantly enhances faculty's research capabilities and students' innovation and entrepreneurship skills, providing replicable experiences for applied undergraduate institutions to serve the high-quality development of local cultural tourism economies. Read More

Abstract: As the process of global economic integration continues to advance, open cooperation between regions has become a vital means of driving economic growth and development. As a key economic entity in Northeast China, Liaoning Province faces pressures to undergo transformation and upgrading while pursuing high-quality development. Against this backdrop, Liaoning has proposed the strategic positioning of the ‘New Six Areas,’ with one significant objective being to establish itself as a hub for open cooperation in Northeast Asia. As a key gateway for Northeast Asia's external engagement, Liaoning still encounters challenges in its opening-up and cooperation efforts, including insufficient coordination between land and sea strategies, inadequate momentum for opening-up, and imperfect institutional frameworks for external engagement. Therefore, Liaoning should anchor its objectives by: - Building a Northeast Land-Sea Corridor through the development of a digital and intelligent regional port cluster; - Cultivating new productive forces via a distinctive marine industrial system; - Fostering a new ecosystem for high-level opening-up through a rule-of-law-based business environment. These measures will collectively propel the comprehensive, high-quality development of Liaoning's marine economy. Read More

Abstract: The study examines the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and its regulatory frameworks in the context of Central Asian countries in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as these countries drive their economic and technological development. The main objectives of this study will be to analyze and compare normative acts, strategies of the inherent states and policy documents, to reveal how effective regulation and AI governance can facilitate the regional development, how governance systems of regulation can enable the AI to develop rapidly, and how regional zones of innovation will promote the economic growth and development of the infrastructure of countries of the region as well as the competitiveness of the technology. Another objective is to show that the sectors of innovations will promote AI startups, foster their development, and strengthen international connections to build innovation ecosystems. Drawing on China’s expertise in AI governance system reveals opportunities where collaboration with the other parties could enliven the digital economy of the Central Asia region, create jobs and new opportunities in the health care and education sectors. This study illustrates how important adaptive regulatory frameworks are to facilitate AI and support economic development. It encourages the rapid adoption of targeted normative act for the AI systems and investment in AI education and training to address the lack of expertise so that the technological benefits are widely available. By analyzing the interplay between regulation, innovation zones, and international partnerships, this study provides valuable observations and policy recommendations to support decision-making on effective practices of regulatory strategies for the field of AI system to sustainable economic and technological growth. Read More