The Bullet in the Brick: The Materiality of Conflict in Museum Objects

Tangible traces of conflict in visual artefacts can take viewers uncomfortably close to the realities of war—violence, destruction and fatalities. This article questions the evidential force of objects associated with conflict and their eventual display in exhibitions. Through a study of the display of a brick in which is embedded a bullet that is said to have passed through the body of Francis Sheehy Skeffington when he was executed by firing squad during the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, this article explores the historical configuration of the brick and analyses its public display in the National Museum of Ireland (NMI). By examining the actions carried out by the NMI in collecting and archiving the object and analysing the narrative strategies of its display, this article considers how the visual aspects of exhibition displays can perpetuate a particular version of historic events and accredits objects with assumed authenticity.     

The Trump effect downunder: U.S. allies,Australian strategic culture,and the politics of path dependence

Donald Trump’s election precipitated a debate in Australia about the value of retaining close alliance ties with the United States. Similar dynamics are discernible in other U.S. allies as the negative impact of Trump administration policies becomes clearer. Yet despite this “Trump effect,” we argue Australia is unlikely to distance itself from the United States because at the core of Australia’s strategic culture is a very positive “cultural orientation” toward the United States that is highly institutionalized in treaties, formal bilateral ties, Track 2 diplomacy, and public opinion. Such institutionalized ties have powerful path dependent effects. Accordingly, we conclude that the Trump effect does not constitute a powerful enough “exogenous shock” to move Australia off its well-worn grand-strategic path. But this alliance relationship is marked by both high cultural affinity and high institutionalization: American policy-makers should seriously consider whether other U.S. allies can tolerate similar levels of “stress.”     

兵团文学是兵团先进文化的有力支撑

兵团文化是社会主义先进文化在新疆兵团屯垦戍边实践中的具体体现,兵团文学作为兵团文化系统中的子系统,其系统功能、特征受到兵团文化的影响和制约,伴随着兵团文化发生重大变革,在兵团文化中不断释放出绚丽的艺术魅力。兵团文学的健康发展有利于兵团文化先进性的快速提升。     

和谐文化视野中的教育民主

凡是促进社会和谐、有利于建设社会主义和谐社会的文化,都可以统称为和谐文化。本文立足于和谐文化的视野,探讨了教育民主的本质和内涵、发展教育民主的意义、当前教育中存在的教育民主问题等几方面的内容,在此基础上提出了和谐文化视野下教育民主的蓝图。     

浅谈在营区规划中对营区文化的塑造

当前在军队工程建设中,对营区规划的主导思想已形成基本一致的认识,但多从物质技术层面去理解,就营区规划单位而言,尚没有广泛认识到营区文化也是规划中的重要内容以及在营区现代化建设中起着不可替代的作用。本文针对此情况重点论述了营区文化的主要内容和重要作用,并提倡通过对营区空间形态的创造来塑造有特色的营区文化,最终创造出一个充满凝聚力的,有利于长期发展的营区环境。     

Meanings of military ranks

This paper studies what kinds of meanings reserve officers ascribe to military ranks. The study builds on existing literature on reserve forces and hypothesizes that military ranks among reserve officers are subject to rendering the ranks with multiple meanings, and which are bound to create ambiguity of interpretation. To elaborate these theoretical insights a survey among Finnish reserve officers was conducted (N = 6193). The data was analyzed using factor analysis and correlation analysis. The results show that military ranks are ascribed, in addition to the functionalistic, hierarchical meaning, also with meanings of prestige, proficiency, and identity. The main theoretical contribution of the paper is in complementing the previous literature on ambiguity of military ranks by specifying four different meanings in the interpretation of the ranks.     

西点军校管理文化特点及启示

西点军校管理文化,是西点在200多年的发展过程中形成的行为方式、管理制度、价值标准和道德规范。西点军校管理文化的特点集中体现在：造就国家精英的目标文化、落后必遭淘汰的竞争文化、没有任何借口的执行文化、英雄就在身边的激励文化、决不容忍欺骗的诚信文化、团结就是力量的团队文化等方面。借鉴西点管理文化,我军院校应注重素质培养、造就一流人才,突出思想教育、提升职业品格,健全体制机制、强化管理效果,不断改善我军院校管理,真正担负起培养高素质军事人才的重任。     

跨文化交际与大学英语教学

我国传统英语教学由于忽视对学生跨文化差异意识的培养,导致其跨文化交际能力普遍较低。有必要提高学生跨文化交际能力的培养。其方法包括:授课教师要转变观念、采用对比教学法,结合词汇文化内涵进行词汇解释、注意中西文化习俗、价值观念和思维方式等差异比较,引导学生广泛接触西方文化材料。     

Factors influencing military recruitment in South Africa: the voices of Cape Town high school learners

This research sets out to establish how the youth in South Africa view military service, and what factors affect the ability of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to attract suitable recruits to staff its modern, technologically advanced military. Due to high levels of youth unemployment, South Africa has sufficient persons volunteering for military service. The problem lies with recruiting sufficient quality personnel with the right profile and abilities. To establish what affects enlistment, focus group discussions were conducted with learners from eight schools to determine what influences their career choices, what deters them from or attracts them to military service, their perception of the military profession, their knowledge of the military, and the influence of factors such as race and gender. The conclusion is reached that the SANDF is not considered an employer of choice due to poor service conditions, a decline in the prestige of the military, unfavourable aspects associated with military culture, a growing ‘knowledge gap’ and disconnect between the military and South African society, the estrangement of certain race groups, and the masculine nature of the military. These aspects need to be addressed if the SANDF wishes to attract learners with good academic credentials.     

也谈军事训练文化

文章研究军事训练文化作为引导、教化和推动军事训练向能力聚焦,向实战靠拢的精神财富,既有对过去训练实践的凝练、对当前训练实践的反思,也有对未来训练实践的探索,对军队训练活动具有不可替代的指导意义。提出,需要在理解基本蕴涵,把握共性特点、认清表现形式和明确发展路径的基础上廓清相关理论认识。