Volume 88

In Chinese-language cinema, maternal figures have long been depicted through ideals of self-sacrifice and unwavering devotion, reflecting cultural expectations of the "good mother". These portrayals, deeply rooted in traditional kinship ethics, often position women as both moral and emotional anchors within the family. However, the rise of feminist critique and rapid changes in family structures have contributed to increasingly diverse cinematic representations of mothers. On screen, mothers are now depicted with personal desires, internal contradictions, and vulnerabilities, particularly in narratives exploring mother-daughter relationships. Rather than following linear trajectories of conflict or sacrifice, these bonds are portrayed as dynamic, reciprocal, and emotionally nuanced. This paper examines Eat Drink Man Woman, Hi, Mom, and Her Story through close textual reading in dialogue with gender theory. It identifies three recurring maternal typologies--absence, idealization, and negotiation--each corresponding to distinct modes of mother-daughter interaction and highlighting broader cultural tensions such as the substitution of maternal functions, the disciplining of affect, and the reshaping of intimacy. Rather than proposing a singular resolution, this paper demonstrate that maternal representation in Chinese-language cinema is historically situated, emotionally layered, and open to ongoing cultural debate rather than bound by a single framework.

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With the rapid development of digital technology, traditional English learning methods increasingly face limitations such as insufficient personalized guidance and inefficient feedback mechanisms. This study explores how artificial intelligence (AI) tools can optimize the English learning process and enhance learning outcomes.This study employs a mixed-methods approach, incorporating a survey of 200 English language learners (aged 18-25) and a 12-week experimental comparison. The experimental phase assesses the performance of learners utilizing AI-driven tools (e.g., intelligent tutoring systems, AI-based language assessment platforms) against a control group employing conventional pedagogical techniques. The research data were derived from questionnaires, learning progress tracking records, and post-experiment language proficiency assessments. The findings indicate that 78% of AI-assisted learning participants demonstrated statistically significant enhancements in vocabulary retention and grammatical precision, with a mean test score 15.3% higher than that of the traditional learning cohort. The research conclusion holds that artificial intelligence technology, through personalized learning paths and real-time feedback, effectively addresses individual differences in English learning and enhances overall learning efficiency.

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In the context of new media, although Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera and others have been included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and dominate the national list in China, Cantonese opera is still trapped in the predicament of a shrinking market and a gap in the audience. This study takes the digital reproduction of the imperial daughter flower as the core case, uses literature analysis and deeply describes the "AI Cantonese Opera Spatio-temporal Theater", combines the theories of media convergence, cross-cultural communication, cultural adaptation and innovative diffusion, systematically sorts out the protection policies of intangible cultural heritage operas, the literature on the dissemination and technological application of Cantonese opera, and dissects the paths such as virtual set production, real-time motion capture, multilingual subtitles and immersive interaction. The results show that this set of technology can translate stylized operas into cross-media, cross-language and cross-cultural digital narratives, and promote the diffusion of technological innovation to cultural identity through digital collectibles and trend derivatives. It can thus be concluded that digital technology not only "reproduces" but also "reinterprets" the core essence of traditional opera. This has enabled Cantonese Opera to achieve a transition from a "local intangible cultural heritage" to a "global cultural language," providing a replicable paradigm for addressing challenges such as geographical limitations, language barriers, and cultural discount.

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Macau is a city located in the southeastern part of China. It has a colonial history under Portuguese governance for about 450 years. This has made great contributions to Macau for forming a linguistic landscape with three literatures and four languages, which is different from Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland. Existing studies have drawn some conclusions and clarified the situation in this field, but most of the relevant literature focuses on the overall landscape of Macao’s linguistic landscape, with no specialized research targeting specific regions or industries. This study, based on the theoretical framework of geographical semiotics, explores the commercial linguistic landscape in the historic center of Macau, which is situated on Macau Peninsula. The collected data indicate that the cultural and national identity are the factors with the most contribution to the linguistic landscape while the industry pillars, the important group of customers and the official linguistic policy are also aspects that have brought impact to it. This study contributes to filling the academic gap of the research on the linguistic landscape research in the historic center and provide some reference to the lawmakers for introducing proper linguistic policy.

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As a significant genre of film and television culture, historical dramas not only serve an entertainment function but also profoundly influence the public's perception of history and the shaping of gender concepts. However, characters in historical dramas are often influenced by gender stereotypes, a phenomenon that has sparked extensive discussion in academia and society. This study begins by exploring the manifestations and social impacts of gender stereotypes in historical dramas, taking the female-themed drama Shi Liang as its research object. This drama focuses on the life of Shi Liang, a renowned modern Chinese female lawyer and pioneer of the women's movement. Using content analysis and literature analysis methods, this research systematically analyzes the attempts and limitations of this female-led historical drama in breaking through gender stereotypes. The study finds that while Shi Liang is groundbreaking in presenting female subjectivity and professional achievements, it is still constrained by certain traditional gender narrative frameworks. Through comparative analysis with similar works domestically and internationally, this study further reveals the universal issues and cultural roots of gender representation in historical dramas.

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Paranoia is commonly linked to psychiatric disorders, yet evolutionary psychology views suggest it may be an adaptive trait for survival in high-threat environments. This study divided 200 participants into high and low groups and used fMRI to test their neural responses to prehistoric threat or neutral stimuli. The results show that when the high-paranoia group was faced with threats, their amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex were much more active. These findings support the evolutionary role of paranoia, demonstrating it is not merely a pathological construct, and highlight its adaptive significance in uncertain contexts. Nonetheless, this detection mechanism seems maladaptive in the current low-threat society. Ultimately, this study may reframe paranoia as an evolutionary protective mechanism.

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Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) presents heterogeneous symptom dimensions, which involve contamination/cleaning, harm/checking, and symmetry/ordering. Despite their apparent similarities, compulsions probably have different dimensions maintained by separate cognitive and motivational mechanisms. OCD repetitive behaviors are often explained through instrumental learning deficits, most notably diminished goal-directed regulation and habitual responses. Evidence for threat-related compulsions comes from multiple paradigms, such as outcome devaluation, slips-of-action, avoidance learning, and Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer tasks. However, these paradigms fall short in capturing ordering compulsions, which are motivated more by internal sensory discomfort and "not just right" experiences than by external threats. This review emphasizes the necessity for tasks that operationalize interior discomfort and criticizes the propensity to generalize instrumental-learning models across all dimensions. Theoretical models of OCD are advanced by acknowledging this variability, which also implies that treatments should be customized to different motivational profiles. For example, addressing internal discomfort in symmetry/ordering and concentrating on avoidance processes in contamination and checking are two examples of how this might be done.

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The Nadam Fair, a traditional Mongolian festival, holds profound significance in Mongolian culture as a symbol of ethnic identity, community cohesion, and historical continuity. Originating from ancient pastoral practices, it has evolved amid social changes, highlighting the need to study its cultural transformations in the context of modernization and globalization. This paper explores the evolution of Nadam Fair’s cultural symbols and social functions, tracing its transformation from a ritualistic gathering into a multifaceted event. Employing literature review and qualitative analysis methods, the study draws on historical and contemporary sources to examine these dynamics. The findings reveal that Nadam Fair’s core symbols, such as the “three manly arts” (wrestling, horse racing, and archery), have been solidified as key markers of ethnic identity, while its social functions have expanded from fostering community integration to promoting tourism and cultural heritage. However, challenges such as commercialization pose a threat to its authenticity. This research underscores Nadam Fair’s adaptability, providing insights for preserving Mongolian heritage and informing strategies for other minority cultures in sustaining traditional festivals amid societal shifts.

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From the perspective of cross-cultural comparison, this paper compares and studies the images of Lin Daiyu in "Dream of Red Mansions" and Jane Eyre in "Jane Eyre". The study mainly analyzes the similar growth experiences and different personality traits formed by the cultural differences between China and the West: Lin Daiyu is talented, sensitive and thoughtful, self-expression is implicit and introverted. Although she pursues ideological emancipation and freedom of love, she has always been deeply bound by Confucian etiquette and patriarchal system in the cultural context; Jane Eyre lived in the background of the British Industrial Revolution, she was able to be rational and independent, courageous to fight, defend her self-dignity through straightforward expression and decisive action, and pursue the equality of the soul, reflecting the influence of the awakening of women's consciousness in the social context. The difference in image between the two is essentially the result of the difference between traditional Chinese and Western cultural values in literary works.

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Music is among the most expressive and subjective of art forms, which makes its evaluation uniquely difficult. Traditional rule-based methods that rely on objective features such as pitch, rhythm, and audio quality often fail to capture the richness of human perception, particularly when it comes to subjective qualities like creativity, emotion, and cultural context. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence, researchers have begun exploring new approaches for music evaluation that better align with human judgment. This paper surveys the three major strands of work in this emerging field: human-grounded datasets for preference learning, embedding- and distribution-based metrics, and learned predictors and foundation-model evaluators. Each category is examined in detail, with representative works introduced alongside their respective strengths and limitations. The paper then compares these approaches, identifies challenges common across the field, and discusses possible future directions. By analyzing existing research and future prospects, this paper highlights the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform music evaluation into a more reliable, inclusive, and scalable process.

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