Topic Review Video Peer Reviewed
The Human Passion for Music
Music is a universal feature of human societies, which suggests that an evolutionary perspective should help people understand the appreciation. The reward (pleasure) system of the brain offers a suitable framework. The primary evolutionary advantage is probably related to the importance of language; features of sound, such as purity, harmony, complexity, and rhythmicity, are useful for facilitating oral communication. One would expect evolution to associate rewards with these qualities in order to stimulate the development of brain regions involved in interpreting and producing relevant sounds. There are additional adaptive aspects of music, such as relaxation, social coherence, and sexual selection. Music can be regarded as a superstimulus that accentuates and exploits rewards associated with hearing. As such, music is not necessarily adaptive in a biological sense, but serves the purpose of improving quality of life. 
  • 931
  • 09 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Working Memory Models in Language and Bilingualism Research
Working memory (WM) generally refers to our ability to ‘mentally maintain information in an active and readily accessible state while concurrently and selectively processing new information’. WM, as the primary memory, plays a fundamental role in multiple facets of human cognitive life, including language learning and processing.
  • 1.4K
  • 09 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Developing Indoor Temperature Profiles of Albanian Homes
Oversimplifying occupant behaviour using static and standard schedules has been identified as a limitation of building energy simulation tools. Three statistically different profiles were developed for each summer and winter, indicating that homes are used in different ways, as well as revealing possible comfort requirements. A statistically significant association was found between the presence of children and the clusters in winter, suggesting that families with dependents use more energy. Building-related factors including building type, building age, and wall insulation were found to be statistically significantly associated with clusters in summer. 
  • 540
  • 08 Jun 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Louis XI of Valois (1461–1483)
Louis XI (1461–1483) was the sixth king of the Valois branch of the Capetian dynasty in France; he ruled from 1463 until his death in 1483. Louis was the son of Charles VII (1403–1461) and Marie of Anjou (1404–1463). While Dauphin, he married first Margaret of Scotland (1424–1445) and then Charlotte of Savoie (c.1441–1483), who bore him four surviving children: Anne de France, Jeanne de France, François de France, and the future Charles VIII. Louis’ key challenge as monarch was to pick up the pieces of a kingdom ravaged by the Hundred Years War between England and France (1337–1453). His legacy was to have repaired the kingdom’s depleted coffers through a combination of frugality and territorial expansion. His historiography paints him as a paranoid, manipulative, and obsessively pious ruler, a simplistic portrait that is undermined by a close examination of his artistic patronage. This entry will focus on the iconography he employed across a variety of media to promote the sacred legitimacy of his rule and to unify the peoples of France’s newly acquired territories. 
  • 2.6K
  • 07 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Religiosity and Subjective Well-Being among Middle-Aged Korean Women
Existential consciousness and savoring beliefs were positively correlated with the subjective well-being of middle-aged women, whereas their intrinsic religiosity was not significantly correlated with subjective well-being because it was positively correlated with negative emotions, as well as with life satisfaction and positive emotions. In middle-aged women, the direct effect of intrinsic religiosity on savoring beliefs was negatively significant after adjusting for indirect effects through existential consciousness. The sequential indirect effect of existential consciousness and savoring beliefs on the intrinsic religiosity and subjective well-being of middle-aged women was significant.
  • 342
  • 06 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Digital Preservation of Cultural Heritage
The intensifying effects of climate change are becoming one of the main threats to cultural heritage, posing risks of degradation or destruction. Climate change is bringing complexity and uncertainty to ensuring the resilience of cultural heritage, and among risk mitigation measures digitalisation is regarded as a promising tool. However, the infrastructure required for the digitalisation process exerts significant pressures on the environment contributing to climate deterioration.
  • 2.0K
  • 06 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Intervention Program to Reduce Religious Prejudice in Education
In a plural society, education has an important role in preparing students to be able to live together with differences, including religious differences. In the context of education, various terminology can be used to describe a prejudice reduction intervention program as a combination of the terms interfaith or inter-religious with learning, education, and dialogue. There are four forms of interfaith learning in educational settings, namely formal academic, informal academic, formal social, and informal social. Intervention program activities can be one or a combination of two or more forms of interfaith learning. Contact theory hypotheses can be applied in interfaith learning in educational settings to reduce religious prejudice through changes in knowledge, attitudes, and skills/behaviors. To obtain a wider impact of intervention programs on educational settings, intervention programs can be integrated with existing learning/curriculum so that they are compulsory for all students.
  • 842
  • 02 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Eternals and Western Mythology
Marvel’s 2021 film Eternals presents a new mythology for a new century, for an audience grappling with the complexity of postcolonialism and concerned about resurging white nationalism. Its mythology, while rooted in Western narratives, presents a utopia in the form of a multicultural pantheon, presented by a carefully selected, diverse class. While Marvel undoubtedly has commercial concerns, its careful construction of this new mythology and the considered adaptation process show a moral vision for the future. Importantly, this vision presents a direct contrast to the resurgence of the appropriation of classical mythology as justification for white supremacy. Marvel’s Eternals therefore can be seen as utopian: it offers the perfection of moral predictability, of good triumphing over evil. However, it simultaneously undercuts its story by couching it in the genre of a comic book superhero fantasy adventure–the reality Eternals offers, even fictionally, is beyond ordinary, mortal humans.
  • 433
  • 28 May 2022
Topic Review
Gamified English Vocabulary Applications
Learning vocabulary through mobile applications has gained momentum in recent years. The use of smart mobile devices was getting increasingly widespread as the mobile Internet develops at a rapid pace, and numerous English vocabulary learning applications were developed to help learners expand their English vocabulary through mobile learning. English vocabulary learning apps were generally incorporated with gamification to assist users in acquiring and recollecting new vocabulary. Time constraints, rewards, feedback, characters, and challenges were all universal game components in vocabulary learning applications, allowing the process to be enjoyable and game-like.
  • 726
  • 27 May 2022
Topic Review
The Urban Realm in the Digital Era
Digitalisation and the future city paradigm are becoming a trend in recent research and practices. Literature discusses digitalisation and its applications as the main gear in the transformation to the ideal future city vision. Yet, the concept of digitalisation is articulated in many interpretations and presented in different applications in the built environment.
  • 742
  • 26 May 2022
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