Monday, March 12, 2012
Mike Nova: Russian Orthodox Church became the Ideology Department for Putin’s ruling United Russia Party - Wall Photos: “He is Beautiful. ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥...”
Mike Nova shared Andrey Nikolskiy's photo.
http://www.rosbalt.ru/moscow/2012/03/22/960327.html By: Andrey Nikolskiy
Activists stage a protest against the law prohibiting the "propaganda of homosexuality" in St. Petersburg in November. 
March 12, 2012
Russian Orthodox Church Backs 'Homosexuality Propaganda' Ban
by RFE/RL's Russian ServiceA leading official in the Russian Orthodox Church has called on Russian lawmakers to adopt a national law prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality among minors.
Father Dmitry Pershin, head of the church's youth council, has called for the State Duma to approve "without delay" a law that would make it a crime to promote homosexuality to people younger than 16.
His statement came after the governor of Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, signed into law a new measure calling for fines of up to $33,000 for propagating "homosexuality among minors."
Gay rights activists have protested, saying the law could be used to ban public demonstrations by Russia's embattled gay and transgender community.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but antigay sentiments among many Russians remain strong.
With AP and Interfax reports
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty © 2012 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved. *
Mike Nova
"Второе нарушение предписанной чекистской инструкции «Поменьше шума!», Георгий Полтавченко совершил 11 марта, подписав так называемый «Закон о запрете пропаганды мужеложства, лесбиянства, бисексуализма, трансгендерности и педофилии среди несовершеннолетних». Здесь, конечно, чувствуется влияние на петербургского губернатора патриарха РПЦ. Недаром на следующий день, 12 марта эксперт комитета Госдум...ы РФ по вопросам семьи, женщин и детей иеромонах Димитрий заявил, что «в РПЦ считают, что этот закон должен действовать по всей России, а не только в Петербурге… Согласно церковному учению, для подобных людей путь в рай закрыт.»
Трудно сказать со всей определенностью, закрыт ли для представителей сексуальных меньшинств путь в рай. Зато теперь, похоже, можно сказать, что в случае выборов Георгию Полтавченко определенно закрыт путь в губернаторское кресло Петербурга.
Оппозиция не простит.
Надо было соблюдать инструкцию."
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Две роковых ошибки губернатора Петербурга. www.svobodanews.ru Губернаторы - люди подневольные. Им прикажут, они выполнят. Но за последствия ответят. Так и живем... * Mike Nova's starred items
Wall Photos He is Beautiful. ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥
via Starred & Shared's Facebook Wall by Starred & Shared on 3/10/12 Wall PhotosHe is Beautiful. ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥
Wall PhotosHe is Beautiful. ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥
Wall PhotosHe is Beautiful. ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥...
Wall Photosyou makes me happyWe are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥
via Starred & Shared's Facebook Wall by Starred & Shared on 3/10/12 Wall Photosyou makes me happyWe are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥
Wall Photosyou makes me happyWe are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥
Wall Photosyou makes me happyWe are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥...
Wall Photosbest! ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥
via Starred & Shared's Facebook Wall by Starred & Shared on 3/10/12 Wall Photosbest! ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥
Wall Photosbest! ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥
Wall Photosbest! ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥...
Wall PhotosHey Boy, I love you. You know it ? ♥We are gays.
via Starred & Shared's Facebook Wall by Starred & Shared on 3/10/12 Wall PhotosHey Boy, I love you. You know it ? ♥We are gays.
Wall PhotosHey Boy, I love you. You know it ? ♥We are gays.
Wall PhotosHey Boy, I love you. You know it ? ♥We are gays. ♥ We are best. ♥...
5:28 PM 3/12/2012 - Mike Nova's starred items
via RUSSIA and THE WEST - РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД by Mike Nova on 3/12/12Mike Nova's starred items
mikenov: 10:41 AM 3/12/2012: Liberty and free thinking is in your genes! http://t.co/0K3c76ER
via Twitter / mikenov on 3/12/12 mikenov: 10:41 AM 3/12/2012: Liberty and free thinking is in your genes! http://t.co/0K3c76ERmikenov: 12:51 PM 3/12/2012: Deception: Spies, Lies and How Russia Dupes the West by Edward Lucas - Эдвард Лук... http://t.co/7kybwXUe
via Twitter / mikenov on 3/12/12 mikenov: 12:51 PM 3/12/2012: Deception: Spies, Lies and How Russia Dupes the West by Edward Lucas - Эдвард Лук... http://t.co/7kybwXUemikenov: Mike Nova: Russian Orthodox Church became the Ideology Department for Putin’s ruling United Russia Party http://t.co/iBEDXpJ6
via Twitter / mikenov on 3/12/12 mikenov: Mike Nova: Russian Orthodox Church became the Ideology Department for Putin’s ruling United Russia Party http://t.co/iBEDXpJ612:51 PM 3/12/2012: Deception: Spies, Lies and How Russia Dupes the West by Edward Lucas - Эдвард Лукас | Daily Mail: Ваши соседи - шпионы: как Путин наводнил Запад тайными агентами под маской обывателей
http://www.amazon.com/Deception-Spies-Russia-Dupes-ebook/dp/B00746TV4O
Эдвард Лукас | Daily Mail
Ваши соседи - шпионы: как Путин наводнил Запад тайными агентами под маской обывателей
Молодая, дерзкая, идущая напролом Анна Чапман символизирует образ современной России, который хотел бы популяризировать Путин, утверждает в своей новой книге, отрывки из которой опубликованы Daily Mail, обозреватель Эдвард Лукас. Книга "Обман: шпионы, ложь и то, как Россия дурит Запад" (Deception: Spies, Lies and How Russia Dupes the West by Edward Lucas) выходит 15 марта.
"На Западе на похождения Анны реагируют с изумленным пренебрежением, смешанным с благодушием", - замечает автор. По его мнению, она была никудышной шпионкой: "фирма, которую она учредила в Лондоне в качестве прикрытия, писала с ошибками свой подложный адрес в официальных документах".
"Но, не воспринимая шпионаж Анны и ей подобных всерьез, мы сами себе вредим. Российский режим тираничен, преступен, кровожаден, ничуть не менее параноидален и хищен, как его предшественник - СССР. Он считает Запад двуличным, высокомерным и алчным и хочет заполучить наши секреты - хоть военные, хоть деловые, хоть политические. Чтобы ими завладеть, он использует подпольную армию шпионов, живущих здесь, чье самое могущественное оружие - их заурядность", - говорится в статье. По мнению Лукаса, этих людей можно встретить у школьных ворот, в офисе среди сослуживцев или среди жителей соседнего дома.
По мнению Лукаса, обман - краеугольный камень современной России, поскольку страной управляют "шпионы советских времен", они же siloviki - "криминальная шайка заговорщиков, намеренных обогатиться". Имеет место захват и разграбление успешных фирм. "Люди, которые утром являются министрами, после обеда - председатели коммерческих предприятий", а реальная цель этих предприятий - "откачивать деньги для частных махинаций инсайдеров". Нигде больше гангстеризм и власть государства в такой мере не совпадали, считает Лукас.
По мнению автора, у этой новой элиты две основные черты - алчность и желание восстановить статус России в мире, не позволить Западу вновь эксплуатировать ее слабость. "В центре этого заговора стоит ФСБ" - государство в государстве, причем "его дурное влияние не останавливается у границ России", утверждает Лукас. По его мнению, в распоряжении ФСБ безграничное богатство и ресурсы государства от спутников-шпионов до подлодок. "Оно обзавелось беспрецедентными средствами шпионажа и манипуляций", - утверждает автор.
Главной статьей российского экспорта стала коррупция: "российские грязные деньги вызывают коррозию финансовых систем, культуры бизнеса и политики в странах, куда попадают", считает Лукас.
Автор выявил три способа кремлевского шпионажа:
1. красивые молодые женщины из России и Восточной Европы "вешаются" на немолодых мужчин из "малоизвестных", по мнению Лукаса, организаций типа ПАСЕ. "Не может быть совпадением, что политики, у которых они работают, иногда рабски одобряют аргументы и стратегии голосования России", - полагает автор.
2. Колоссальное число эмигрантов, перебравшихся за границу: "они или их соседи по квартире или сексуальные партнеры могут знать тайны страны, где поселились".
3. Настоящие нелегалы - специально обученные шпионы, внедренные в западное общество с прицелом на будущее. Автор напоминает об агентах, арестованных ФБР наряду с Чапман.
Западное общество - рай для шпиона, предостерегает Лукас: "мы почти самоубийственно доверчивы, когда речь идет о защите наших тайн и процесса принятия наших решений". Британская MI-5 расходует на контрразведку лишь 4% своего бюджета - почти все остальное идет на борьбу с терроризмом. Между тем неясно, сколько нелегалов продолжает незаметно жить "в Британии, Европе и Америке", как выражается автор, и сколько агентов они завербовали.
Лукас советует не терять бдительности: любой новый знакомый может оказаться врагом. Он приводит совет экс-директора ЦРУ Джеймса Вулси: если вы разговоритесь с русским топ-менеджером в костюме за 3 тыс. долларов, который свободно изъясняется по-английски, учтите: он может оказаться и топ-менеджером, и разведчиком, и членом ОПГ. "Но самый интересный вариант - что он совмещает все три ипостаси", - добавляет Вулси.
Западным правительствам следует ужесточить свою позицию, советует Лукас: "мы имеем дело с решительным, злопамятным и параноидально-мыслящим врагом".
Источник: Daily Mail
http://inopressa.ru/article/12Mar2012/dailymail/spy.html
Deception: Spies, Lies and How Russia Dupes the West by Edward Lucas – Google Search
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10:41 AM 3/12/2012: Liberty and free thinking is in your genes! Mike Nova shared a link: “Culture–gene coevolution of individualism–collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene” - rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org: “Culture–gene coevolutionary theory posits that cultural values have evolved, are adaptive and influence the social and physical environments under which genetic selection operates. Here, we examined the association between cultural values of individualism–collectivism ...”
Liberty and free thinking is in your genes!
Spread them around, for the true victory of Democracy!
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Cultural stereotypes may be deep rooted in our genetic makeup, say scientists.
Common traits like British individualism and Chinese conformity could be attributed to genetic differences between races according to a new study.
The study, by the department of psychology at Northwestern University in Illinois, suggests that the individualism seen in western nations, and the higher levels of collect...ivism and family loyalty found in Asian cultures, are caused by differences in the prevalence of particular genes.
'We demonstrate for the first time a robust association between cultural values of individualism–collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene,' said Joan Chiao, from the department of psychology at Northwestern University.
Chiao and her colleagues combined data from global genetic surveys, looking at variations in the prevalence of various genes. The findings were matched with other research which ranked nations by levels of individualism and collectivism.
The team focused their attentions on the gene that controls levels of serotonin, a chemical in the brain which regulates mood and emotions.
Their studies found that one version of the gene was far more common in western populations which, they said, was associated with individualistic and free-thinking behaviour.
Another version of the same gene, which was prevalent in Asian populations, they said was associated with collectivism and a greater willingness to put the common good first.
People with this gene appeared to have a different response to serotonin.
If they are confirmed, the findings made by Chiao and her colleagues would suggest that races may have a number of inherent psychological differences — just as they differ in physical appearances.
Chiao suggests that the version of the gene predominating in Asian populations is associated with heightened anxiety levels and increased risk of depression.
She adds that such populations respond by structuring their society to ward off those negative effects.
The success of such social structures would then ensure that the gene would spread.
She added the findings showed how culture could exert a powerful influence on human genetics and evolution.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2113350/Why-individualism-free-thinking-genes-British-people.html#ixzz1oudNyUfy
Why individualism and free-thinking may be in the genes for British people
Common traits like British individualism and Chinese conformity could be attributed to genetic differences between races according to a new study.
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Cultural traits or genetic ones?
- by: Dominic Tobin, The Sunday Times
THEY may seem like cultural stereotypes, but the traits of rugged British individualism compared with Chinese conformity may be rooted in genetic differences between races, say scientists.
Their study suggests that the individualism seen in western nations, and the higher levels of collectivism and family loyalty found in Asian cultures, are caused by differences in the prevalence of particular genes.
The scientists looked at a gene that controls levels of serotonin, the brain chemical which regulates mood and emotions. They found one version of the gene was far more common in western populations where, they said, it was associated with individualistic and free-thinking behaviour.
The other version, which was prevalent in Asian populations, was associated with collectivism and a greater willingness to put the common good first. People with this gene appeared to have a different response to serotonin.
If confirmed, the findings would suggest that races may have a number of inherent psychological differences — just as they differ in physique and appearance. “We demonstrate for the first time a robust association between cultural values of individualism–collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene,” said Joan Chiao, from the department of psychology at Northwestern University, in Illinois.
Chiao and her colleagues combined data from global genetic surveys, looking at variations in the prevalence of various genes. The findings were matched with other research which ranked nations by levels of individualism and collectivism.
The findings, published in a paper, and in a new book called Pathological Altruism, found that Asian nations, including China, Japan and Korea tended to have higher proportions of the “collectivist” gene in their population.
Such findings will need further confirmation but could provide a tentative explanation of why the Japanese economy, for example, tends to be based around large companies showing high levels of loyalty between managers and employees. Economists often contrast such enterprises with the hire-and-fire culture of the West.
The key questions are: how can one gene have such an effect? And why should it spread in some populations and not others?
Chiao suggests that the version predominating in Asian populations is associated with heightened anxiety levels and increased risk of depression. She adds that such populations respond by structuring their society to ward off those negative effects. The success of such social structures would then ensure that the gene would spread.
Chiao said the findings showed how culture could exert a powerful influence on human genetics and evolution.
Reported with: Jonathan Leake
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/genes-and-character/story-e6frgcjx-1226296914206
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Американские ученые обнаружили у людей ген либерализма и свободомыслия, сообщает The Daily Mail.
Открытие принадлежит специалистам американского Северо-западного Университета штата Иллинойс (the Northwestern University in Illinois). Обнаруженный ген регулирует активность серотонина - химического вещества, осуществляющего передачу электрических импульсов в головном мозге. Известно, что именно серотонин отвечает за эмоции и настроение человека.
"Мы впервые продемонстрировали наличие тесной взаимосвязи между социально-культурными ценностями либерального общества с тем, как "работает" ген, отвечающий за скорость и характер действия серотонина", - заявила руководитель работ Джоан Чиао. (Joan Chiao).
Примечательно, что ученые обнаружили, что данный ген ведет себя по-разному у представителей западных и восточных народов. Так, активность гена более характерна для представителей народов, создавших современные демократические общества в Европе и Северной Америке. В результате исследователи сделали вывод о "генетической природе" свободомыслия. Таким образом, данный ген способен объяснить такие культурные различия, как стремление западных людей к либерализму и приверженность восточных народов к традициям.
Why the British are free-thinking and the Chinese love conformity: It's all in the genes claim scientists - The Daily Mail, 11.03.2012
http://vesti.kz/progress/98700/
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Ген либерализма и свободомыслия обнаружили специалисты из американского Северо-западного Университета штата Иллинойс. Об этом сообщает в понедельник британская телерадиокорпорация BBC.
В ходе исследований научная группа установила, что существует особый ген, регулирующий активность серотонина - химического вещества, осуществляющего в головном мозге передачу электрических импульсов. Именно серото...нин, как передает ИТАР-ТАСС, влияет на эмоции и настроение человека.
Американские ученые обнаружили, что данный ген характерен для представителей народов, которые создали современные демократические общества в Европе и в Северной Америке. В результате они сделали вывод о "генетической природе" либерализма и свободомыслия.
"Мы впервые продемонстрировали наличие тесной взаимосвязи между социально-культурными ценностями либерального общества с тем, как "работает" ген, отвечающий за скорость и характер действия серотонина", - заявила руководитель работ Джоан Чиао
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Американские ученые открыли ген, объясняющий стремление людей к демократии
"Ген либерализма и свободомыслия" регулирует активность серотонина в головном мозге и влияет на эмоции и настроение человека. Он присущ народам, создавшим современные демократические общества, утверждают специалисты из штата Иллинойс.
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Joan Chiao - Cultural Neuroscience: Bridging Cultural and Biological Sciences
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Psychology Faculty Profiles
Joan Y. Chiao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Brain, Behavior, and Cognition; Social Psychology
Office: Swift 113
Phone: (847) 467-0481
E-mail: jchiao@northwestern.edu
Links
Research Interests
How do cultural and biological forces give rise to everyday emotion and social interaction? I use a 'cultural neuroscience' framework to investigate how cultural factors influence basic psychological and neural processes underlying social behavior and emotion processing, using functional neuroimaging (fMRI), event-related potentials (ERP), genotyping and behavioral paradigms. Research in my lab also examines how high-level factors, such as race, gender and age, affect basic cognitive, perceptual and emotional processes. At a broader level, I'm interested in integrating psychology and neuroscience research with public policy and population health issues.
Selected Publications
Chiao, J.Y. (in press). Cultural neuroscience: A once and future discipline. Progress in Brain Research.
Chiao, J.Y. & Blizinsky, K.D. (in press). Culture-gene coevolution of individualism-collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Harada, T., Li, Z., Chiao, J.Y. (in press). Differential dorsal and ventral medial prefrontal representations of the implicit self modulated by individualism and collectivism: an fMRI study. Social Neuroscience.
Chiao, J.Y. (Ed). (in press). Cultural neuroscience: Cultural influences on brain function. Progress in Brain Research, Elsevier Press.
Chiao, J.Y., Mathur, V.A., Harada, T., Lipke, T. (2009). Neural basis of preference for human social hierarchy versus egalitarianism. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Kuhnen, C.M. & Chiao, J.Y. (2009). Genetic determinants of financial risk-taking. PLoS ONE.
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Culture–gene coevolution of individualism–collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene
rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org
Culture–gene coevolutionary theory posits that cultural values have evolved, are adaptive and influence the social and physical environments under which genetic selection operates. Here, we examined the association between cultural values of individualism–collectivism ...
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Culture–gene coevolution of individualism–collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/277/1681/529.full
+ Author Affiliations
- 1 Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- 2 Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- *Author for correspondence (jchiao@northwestern.edu).
Abstract
Culture–gene coevolutionary theory posits that cultural values have evolved, are adaptive and influence the social and physical environments under which genetic selection operates. Here, we examined the association between cultural values of individualism–collectivism and allelic frequency of the serotonin transporter functional polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) as well as the role this culture–gene association may play in explaining global variability in prevalence of pathogens and affective disorders. We found evidence that collectivistic cultures were significantly more likely to comprise individuals carrying the short (S) allele of the 5-HTTLPR across 29 nations. Results further show that historical pathogen prevalence predicts cultural variability in individualism–collectivism owing to genetic selection of the S allele. Additionally, cultural values and frequency of S allele carriers negatively predict global prevalence of anxiety and mood disorder. Finally, mediation analyses further indicate that increased frequency of S allele carriers predicted decreased anxiety and mood disorder prevalence owing to increased collectivistic cultural values. Taken together, our findings suggest culture–gene coevolution between allelic frequency of 5-HTTLPR and cultural values of individualism–collectivism and support the notion that cultural values buffer genetically susceptible populations from increased prevalence of affective disorders. Implications of the current findings for understanding culture–gene coevolution of human brain and behaviour as well as how this coevolutionary process may contribute to global variation in pathogen prevalence and epidemiology of affective disorders, such as anxiety and depression, are discussed.
- culture–gene coevolution
- serotonin transporter gene
- 5-HTTLPR
- mood disorders
- individualism–collectivism
- cultural neuroscience
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Figure 2.
Results from correlation analysis between Hofstede's individualism–collectivism index (reverse scored) and frequency of S allele carriers of the 5-HTTLPR across 29 nations. Collectivistic nations showed higher prevalence of S allele carriers (r(29) = 0.70, p < 0.0001).
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This Article
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Published online before print October 28, 2009, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1650 22 February 2010 vol. 277 no. 1681 529-537
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4. Discussion
Here, we demonstrate for the first time a robust association between cultural values of individualism–collectivism and allelic frequency of the serotonin transporter gene, controlling for associated economic and disease factors. Geographical regions characterized by cultural collectivism exhibit a greater prevalence of S allele carriers of the serotonin transporter gene, even when cultural regions rather than nations served as the unit of analysis. Additionally, we show that global variability in historical pathogen prevalence predicts global variability in individualism–collectivism owing to genetic selection of the S allele of the serotonin transporter gene in regions characterized by high collectivism. Importantly, we also reveal a novel and surprising negative association between individualism–collectivism, frequency of S allele carriers of the serotonin transporter gene and global prevalence of anxiety and mood disorder. Across nations, both collectivism and allelic frequency of the S allele negatively predict global prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders. Critically, our results further indicate that greater population frequency of S allele carriers is associated with decreased prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders due to increased cultural collectivism.
The current findings suggest a novel demonstration of culture–gene coevolution of human behaviour. Emphasizing social norms that increase social harmony and encourage giving social support to others, collectivism serves an ‘anti-psychopathology’ function by creating an ecological niche that lowers the prevalence of chronic life stress, protecting genetically susceptible individuals from environmental pathogens known to trigger negative emotion and psychopathology. These findings complement notions that cultural values of individualism and collectivism are adaptive and by-products of evolution, more broadly. For instance, recent evidence suggests that cultural values of collectivism also serve an ‘anti-pathogen defence’ whereby behavioural manifestations of collectivism, such as conformity and parochialism, function as buffers against the transmission and increased prevalence of disease-causing pathogens (e.g. malaria, typhus and tuberculosis) (Fincher et al. 2008). Our results provide novel evidence that geographical regions characterized by collectivistic cultural norms have a higher historical and contemporary prevalence of infectious diseases due, at least partially, to genetic selection of S allele carriers (Fincher et al. 2008). Taken together, these findings dovetail nicely as two examples of how cultural values serve adaptive functions by tuning societal behaviour so that social and environmental risk factors are reduced and physical and mental health of group members is maintained. Importantly, in the current study, we found that population frequency of the serotonin transporter gene was a singular predictor of cultural values of individualism–collectivism across nations, even when controlling for historical and contemporary pathogen prevalence. Hence, our findings illustrate that gene frequency plays a unique role in explaining global variation in the adoption of cultural norms and is fundamental to any comprehensive understanding of culture.
A central claim of culture–gene coevolutionary theory is that once cultural traits are adaptive, it is likely that genetic selection causes refinement of the cognitive and neural architecture responsible for the storage and transmission of those cultural capacities (Boyd & Richerson 1985). Extending this logic to the current findings, we speculate that S and L allele carriers of the serotonin transporter gene may possess at least two kinds of information processing biases in the mind and brain that enhance their ability to store and transmit collectivistic and individualistic cultural norms, respectively. Affective biases in attention and cognition may serve as likely candidate information processing mechanisms involved in the storage and transmission of cultural values of individualism and collectivism. One possibility is that positive and negative information processing biases may serve to facilitate individualistic and collectivistic cultural norms. Recent behavioural evidence indicates that individuals carrying the S allele exhibit stronger attentional bias for negative words (Beevers et al. 2007) and pictures (Osinsky et al. 2008), whereas individuals carrying the L allele demonstrate a stronger attentional bias towards positive pictures and away from negative pictures (Fox et al. 2009). By extension, S allele carriers may be more likely to demonstrate negative cognitive biases, such as engage in narrow thinking and cognitive focus, which facilitate maintenance to collectivistic cultural norms of social conformity and interdependence, whereas L allele carriers may exhibit positive cognitive biases, such as open, creative thinking and greater willingness to take risks, which promote individualistic cultural norms of self-expression and autonomy (Isen et al. 1987; Fredrickson 2001). Future research in cultural psychology may examine whether or not cultural values of individualism–collectivism are associated with affective biases towards positive and negative information, respectively, and if so, the process by which affective biases in perception and cognition facilitate the storage and transmission of cultural values and culturally congruent behaviours (e.g. attending to others versus asserting one's self).
Neural activity within brain regions innervated by serotonergic neural pathways, such as the human amygdala, may serve as another likely information processing mechanism involved in the storage and transmission of cultural values of individualism and collectivism. For instance, recent evidence from imaging genetics demonstrates that individuals carrying the S allele show greater amygdala response to emotional stimuli (Hariri et al. 2002; Munafò et al. 2008), which is likely due to increased amygdala resting activation (Canli et al. 2005) and decreased functional coupling between the amygdala and subgenual cingulate gyrus (Pezawas et al. 2005), relative to individuals carrying the L allele. Recent cross-cultural neuroimaging evidence demonstrates cultural specificity in amygdala response to fear faces (Chiao et al. 2008) as well as modulation of medial prefrontal response during self-relevant processing as a function of individualistic and collectivistic cultural values (Chiao et al. 2009a,b). Future research in cultural neuroscience (Chiao in press) may investigate the extent to which cultural values of individualism–collectivism are associated with neural response within brain regions regulated by serotonergic neurotransmission, and if so, the process by which these activity within neural pathways supports the storage and transmission of cultural values and related behaviours.
The current evidence for culture–gene coevolution of individualism–collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene may provide further novel insight into the functional significance of endophenotypes associated with the serotonin transporter gene across cultural contexts. Both of the putative information processing mechanisms that facilitate the storage and transmission of cultural values of individualism and collectivism described above are considered intermediate phenotypes or endophenotypes of affective disorders (Canli et al. 2006; Caspi & Moffitt 2006). Individual differences in anxiety and depression are associated with robust selective attention (Ohman & Mineka 2001), as well as increased amygdala response (Bishop 2007), to negative information, even in normal populations. We suggest that these endophenotypes may confer varying degrees of advantage or disadvantage to individuals depending on the cultural context. For people living in collectivistic cultures, heightened selective attention and increased amygdala response to negative information may be advantageous to achieving collectivistic cultural norms, such as maintaining social harmony. For instance, greater vigilance to negative information may be useful for early detection of another person's anger or fear as well as foreshadowing and avoiding actions or interpersonal situations that may induce negative emotional states in others. Also, greater vigilance to negative information may encourage a stronger narrow thinking and cognitive focus, enabling one to effectively conform to social norms. By contrast, for people living in individualistic cultures, heightened selective attention and increased amygdala response to negative information may be disadvantageous to achieving individualistic cultural norms of self-expression and assertion of self-interests. For instance, greater vigilance to negative information may make one hesitant to express their thoughts and feelings in social contexts or behave in an assertive manner, making it difficult to form and maintain meaningful social relationships in individualistic societies, a social behaviour critical to reducing the risk of affective disorders for genetically susceptible individuals. At the same time, heightened biases for positive information may be advantageous in individualistic cultures. For instance, positive information biases have been shown to encourage creative thinking and openness to novelty and risk-taking (Isen et al. 1987; Fredrickson 2001), which may in turn encourage independent, assertive social behaviour and increase the likelihood of social connection with others. Hence, the functional utility of endophenotypes associated with the serotonin transporter gene may systematically vary as a function of cultural context. Future research is needed to further determine the role that endophenotypes play in the transmission and maintenance of cultural values, practices and beliefs.
A possible limitation of the current study is the reliance on cross-national epidemiological reports for estimates of mental illness prevalence, which may be vulnerable to response biases. For instance, individuals living in collectivistic nations, such as East Asia, are known to exhibit higher levels of stigma towards mental illness, relative to individuals living in individualistic nations, due to increased cultural pressures to save face and conform to social norms (Ng 1997). Hence, it is possible that decreased prevalence of mental illnesses in East Asia may be due, in part, to response biases. Importantly, in the current study, divergent validity analyses indicated that cultural values and allelic frequency of the serotonin transporter gene predicted global prevalence of anxiety and mood disorders, but not impulse control and substance abuse. If response biases were evident in the current cross-national estimates of mental health disorder prevalence, it is likely that they would influence the cross-national prevalence estimates of all of the disorders, not only anxiety and mood disorders. Hence, we suggest that the observed relationship between cultural values, gene frequency of the serotonin transporter gene and affective disorders is not likely due to response biases.
Understanding the aetiology of mental health disorders, such as anxiety and mood disorders, is vital to relieving the substantial emotional and economic burdens associated with their onset and treatment (Kessler & Ustun 2008). Behavioural genetics studies examining the association between polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene and affective disorders (Uher & McGuffin 2008) as well as the association between environmental interactions with the serotonin transporter gene and affective disorders (Munafo et al. 2009; Risch et al. 2009) within a given population often produce inconsistent results, suggesting a more complex path from gene to disease. The importance of considering GxE interactions in understanding the aetiology of complex psychiatric disorders has become more widely acknowledged (Caspi & Moffitt 2006; Canli & Lesch 2007; Munafo et al. 2009), yet the association between specific cultural and genetic factors underlying affective disorders across human populations has been largely unexplored until now. The present work provides macro-scale evidence for how cultural values play an adaptive role in buffering genetically vulnerable populations from a potentially heightened epidemiological prevalence of mental health disorders. Our cross-population findings complement recent evidence from a within-population study conducted in urban Brazil showing an adaptive benefit of cultural values in buffering genetically vulnerable individuals from depressive symptoms (Dressler et al. 2009). Taken together, these studies underscore the utility of incorporating cultural traits, such as individualism–collectivism, in macro- (e.g. cross-population) and micro-scale (e.g. within-population) models of GxE factors underlying complex affective disorders and the importance of culture–gene coevolutionary theory for understanding typical and atypical human behaviour, more broadly construed.
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Professor Emeritus - Geert Hofstede
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Publication list of Prof.Dr. G. Hofstede
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Meeuwesen, L., Brink-Muinen, A. van den, & Hofstede, G. (2009). ... Deschepper, R., Grigoryan, L., Lundborg, C.S., Hofstede, G., Cohen, J.W., Kelen, G. van der, ...
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II G. Hofstede
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II G. Hofstede. Motivation, Leadership and Organization: Do American Theories Apply Abroad? 1. From Organizational Dynamics, summer 1980, pp. 42-63 ... -
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Hofstede's Culture Dimensions
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Hofstede, G. (1979). Value systems in forty countries: Interpretation, validation, and consequences for theory. In L. H. Eckensberger, W. J. Lonner, & Y. H. ...
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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Cultural constraints in management theories. Hofstede ...
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Ailon finds several inconsistencies at the level of both theory and methodology, and cautions against an uncritical reading of Hofstede's cultural dimensions.
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By REUTERS Saudi Arabia's foreign minister told Russia on Saturday that its veto of a UN Security Council resolution that condemned the Syrian government had allowed violence to continue and called on Moscow to back Arab efforts to end the crisis in ...
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Medvedev: Russia Opposes Foreign Interference in Syria's Internal Affairs No ...Syrian Arab News Agency
UN: Russia rejects "unbalanced" Syria draftThe Muslim News
Bikya Masr -News24 -Atlanta Journal Constitution
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via Russian news, all the latest and breaking Russia news by Tom Parfitt on 3/10/12
Russia's political opposition has called for a civil rights campaign against Vladimir Putin over his victory in the presidential election.
Russian opposition rallies: for or against? - The Voice of Russia
via Russia - Google News on 3/10/12
Russian opposition rallies: for or against?
The Voice of Russia
Russia's opposition plans to gather 1 mln participants in the May 1 rally in Moscow. However, this turnout is improbable as the March 11 rally on Novy Arbat central street saw less than 50000. Despite calls for unification, protesters split up and far ...
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Russians Rally Against Putin, But in Smaller Numbers - Voice of America
via Russia - Google News on 3/10/12
Russians Rally Against Putin, But in Smaller Numbers
Voice of America
March 10, 2012 Russians Rally Against Putin, But in Smaller Numbers VOA News | Moscow Thousands of Russian demonstrators converged on central Moscow Saturday, protesting President-elect Vladimir Putin's third term in office amid allegations of election ...
Protests are held in Russia over Vladimir Putin's presidential election victoryBBC News
Smaller crowds challenge Putin after Russia pollReuters
Thousands in Russia protest Putin's election winWashington Times
DesMoinesRegister.com -CTV.ca
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via Russian news, all the latest and breaking Russia news by Telegraph Staff on 3/10/12
Election monitors across Russia reported alleged vote fixing in the presidential poll. Irina Levinskaya saw it happen.
Russia protesters hear pragmatic new message - Washington Post
via Russia - Google News on 3/10/12
Russia protesters hear pragmatic new message
Washington Post
With fewer chants of “Russia without Putin” and more calls for individual action, protest leaders began pointing toward the direction ahead and reflecting on the difficulty of change as they seek new leaders and build institutions.
Russians Rally Against Putin, But in Smaller NumbersVoice of America
Protests in Russia against Putin appear to lose some steamUSA TODAY
Smaller crowds challenge Putin after Russia pollReuters
New York Times
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Russia: First Woman in Space Turns 75 Years Old - Global Voices Online
via Russia - Google News on 3/10/12
Russia: First Woman in Space Turns 75 Years Old
Global Voices Online
This post is part of RuNet Echo, a Global Voices project to interpret the Russian language internet. All posts · Learn more Just days before the world celebrated International Women's Day last week, Valentina Tereshkova - the first woman to enter space ...
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Pussy Riot vs Vladimir Putin: the feminist punk band jailed for cathedral protest
via World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk by Kevin O'Flynn on 3/10/12
Supporters at anti-Putin rally in Moscow call for release of alleged members of band
Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot, two of whose alleged members face up to seven years in jail for a "punk prayer" they staged in Moscow's main cathedral, have received unexpected backing from a group of Orthodox Christians who say they are being too harshly punished.
The group's performances have seen them appear in masks in a range of unexpected places to sing anti-government songs.
Part of the growing protest movement against Vladimir Putin, who was elected to a third term last Sunday, the group sang an obscenity-strewn song in Christ the Cathedral Saviour last month, including an appeal to the "Holy Mother, Blessed Virgin," asking her to "chase Putin out".
The Russian Orthodox Church condemned the stunt and called for the group to be punished. Days after the performance the group's alleged members were arrested and two, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, have been charged with hooliganism. The pair, both of whom have young daughters, have been refused bail. Neither has admitted being part of the group.
Lina Moniava, a charity worker and Orthodox Christian, sent a petition to the head of the church appealing for them to ask for the criminal case to be closed. What the group did was "intolerable" said the letter, but "what is more intolerable is the reaction to the events".
One of the anti-Putin movement's leaders, Alexei Navalny, also called for the women to be released, saying the act was "idiotic" but that they were not dangerous. Pussy Riot performed a concert on the roof of the detention centre where Navalny was held after the first large protest in December and Navalny, also an Orthodox Christian, held a one-person picket outside police headquarters in Moscow, where the women are being held, last week.
There was plenty of support for the jailed pair at yesterday's opposition rally in Moscow, which saw up to 15,000 gather in the city centre.
"Pussy vs Putin" said one sign in English at the demonstration while another called for "Pussy Riot for the Eurovision". One protester held up the female torso of a shop dummy with "Free Pussy Riot" written on the back. The two women were included in a list of political prisoners read out from the stage.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Paper trails of revolutions past in Russia's St. Petersburg - The Seattle Times
via Russia - Google News on 3/10/12
Paper trails of revolutions past in Russia's St. Petersburg
The Seattle Times
Hundreds of paper lanterns, lit with candles, take to the sky after being launched by a flash mob in front of one of Russia's iconic churches. By Kristin R. Jackson DMITRY LOVETSKY / AP Hundreds of paper lanterns, lit with candles, take to the sky ...
Russian billionaire Leon Max and his six-foot tall blonde muse Katia Elizavora - Daily Mail
via Russia - Google News on 3/10/12
Russian billionaire Leon Max and his six-foot tall blonde muse Katia Elizavora
Daily Mail
By Charlotte Eagar Leon Max is one of a clutch of rich Russians buying up chunks of Britain. And now, he is is launching an assault on the country's smart set Leon Max (right in the first picture) with his gamekeeper-cum-head groundsman Roy Goodger ...
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Russia protests push Putin towards economic reform - AFP
via Russia - Google News on 3/10/12
Russia protests push Putin towards economic reform
AFP
Russia's "urban middle classes have evolved from being consumers to being members of a civil society," note the economists at New York's Citigroup. "The key question, then, is whether signs that Putin's popularity is slipping will trigger a wave of ...
Smaller crowds challenge Putin after Russia pollChicago Tribune
PRESS DIGEST - Russia - March 11Reuters
Insightful book details Putin's rise in RussiaBend Bulletin
Calgary Herald -Voice of America
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Arabs urge Russia to back Syria peace plan - Chicago Tribune
via Russia - Google News on 3/10/12
Arabs urge Russia to back Syria peace plan
Chicago Tribune
CAIRO (Reuters) - Gulf Arabs told Russia in blunt language on Saturday its failure to take a tough line on Syria had allowed killing to continue and urged Moscow to back an Arab peace effort that includes a call for Russian ally President Bashar ...
France Expects Russia to Block UN Resolution on Syria Cease-FireBloomberg
Russia, Arabs call for end to Syria violenceKurdish Globe
Russia to critics: We're not protecting SyriaUSA TODAY
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Protest leaders weigh new tactics as anti-Putin rallies shrink
via Russia News Headlines - Yahoo! News on 3/10/12
Thousands of Muscovites demonstrated against Vladimir Putin's disputed election victory on a downtown square Saturday, indicating that the protest movement born after allegedly fraudulent Duma elections three months ago is far from finished.
Russia's Domodedovo airport secures 165 mln euro loan - Reuters
via Russia - Google News on 3/11/12
Russia's Domodedovo airport secures 165 mln euro loan
Reuters
MOSCOW, March 11 (Reuters) - Domodedovo, the operator of Russia's largest airport, secured 165 million euros ($216.5 million) in a five-year syndicated loan for general corporate purposes, one of the arrangers said in a statement on Sunday.
Journalistic death toll in Putin's Russia
via World news: Russia | guardian.co.uk by on 3/11/12
Peter Preston, in today's Observer, catalogues the deaths of journalists in Russia in the dozen years since Vladimir Putin came to power.
It makes for grim reading, but it merits repeating by as many journalists outside Russia as often as possible:
"In 2011, three journalists dead (including newspaper editor Khadzhimurad Kamalov, shot 14 times as he left his office).
In 2010, two killed; in 2009, five more (including a young reporter from Novaya Gazeta, caught in a hail of bullets). Add four for 2008, one in 2007 and then 2006 as Anna Politkovskaya, the most famous victim of them all, is murdered.
But she wouldn't forget Yevgeny Gerasimenko – found in his Saratov flat with a plastic bag pulled over his head and computer missing – and nor should we.
Two Russian journalists died in 2005, and three in both 2004 and 2003; but 2002 was a wicked year, with eight lost (including Valery Ivanov, battling editor, shot in the head) and 2001 added another victim.
Putin's reign of power in 2000 began with six dead reporters and editors: a grim portent, looking back, of bad things to come."
Preston concludes: "He is elected time and again. Yet a free press seems to mean pitifully little to him. You investigate? You report? You die, unavenged."
Source: The Observer
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Is NATO luring Russia into summit trap? - RT
via Russia - Google News on 3/11/12
Is NATO luring Russia into summit trap?
RT
Washington's election-year offer to share data on a US-built European missile defense system with Russia will likely fail to address Moscow's objections to the project, a Russian security expert says. Vladimir Kozin, a senior researcher at the Russian ...
Chinese 'Mighty Dragon' doomed to breathe Russian fire - RT
via Russia - Google News on 3/11/12
Chinese 'Mighty Dragon' doomed to breathe Russian fire
RT
While Beijing is proudly leaking more images of J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, China continues to buy Russian military jet engines and spare parts, which might indicate China is in a technological deadlock. China is making an attempt to ...
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Russia's Saint Petersburg governor signs 'anti-gay' law - Times of India
via Russia - Google News on 3/11/12
Russia's Saint Petersburg governor signs 'anti-gay' law
Times of India
SAINT PETERSBURG: The governor of Russia's second city Saint Petersburg signed a new law against "homosexual propaganda", in defiance of protests that it discriminates against gays, the city said Sunday. Saint Petersburg governor Georgy Poltavchenko ...
St. Pete Governor Signs Homosexuality LawRadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
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Russia Seeks Trial of Browder With Dead Hermitage Lawyer for Tax Evasion - Bloomberg
via Russia - Google News on 3/11/12
Russia Seeks Trial of Browder With Dead Hermitage Lawyer for Tax Evasion
Bloomberg
Russia plans to try William Browder, head of London-based Hermitage Capital Management Ltd., for tax evasion, along with Sergei Magnitsky, the fund's lawyer who died in custody in 2009, RIA Novosti said. “Magnitsky and Browder are both accused of ...
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Smaller crowds challenge Putin after Russia poll - Chicago Tribune
via Russia - Google News on 3/10/12
Smaller crowds challenge Putin after Russia poll
Chicago Tribune
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Thousands of Russians chanting "Time for change" challenged Vladimir Putin's presidential election victory on Saturday but their numbers were far fewer than in previous weeks. People who demonstrated in bright sunshine in central ...
Russia protests push Putin towards economic reformAFP
PRESS DIGEST - Russia - March 11Reuters
Insightful book details Putin's rise in RussiaBend Bulletin
Calgary Herald -The Voice of Russia
all 1,036 news articles »
Russia's radicals try to seize protest initiative - Khaleej Times
via Russia - Google News on 3/11/12
Russia's radicals try to seize protest initiative
Khaleej Times
MOSCOW - The mass rallies in Russia painted a picture of unity among the country's opposition, with masked nationalists standing together with pro-Western liberals calling for free elections. But now after numbers dwindled and divisions in unity ...
Smaller crowds challenge Putin after Russia pollChicago Tribune
Russia protests push Putin towards economic reformAFP
Where does Russia's opposition go from here?Aljazeera.com (blog)
Reuters -Bend Bulletin
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St. Petersburg Governor Signs Law Against 'Homosexual Propaganda'
via Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty on 3/11/12
The governor of Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, has signed a new law against "homosexual propaganda" -- defying complaints that it discriminates against gays.
Vladimir Putin: A Symptom of Russia's Greater Problems - Forbes
via Russia - Google News on 3/11/12
Vladimir Putin: A Symptom of Russia's Greater Problems
Forbes
Yet, when the Russian electorate helped its compellingly autocratic president to a cleverly arranged constitution-skirting third term, we are shocked, shocked. And placeholder-in-chief Medvedev obediently ducks back into the PM position.
Putin's Opposition Seeks New TackWall Street Journal
Russia's radicals try to seize protest initiativeKhaleej Times
Smaller crowds challenge Putin after Russia pollChicago Tribune
AFP -Aljazeera.com (blog)
all 1,077 news articles »
Russian protesters face challenge after Putin win
via Reuters: Top News on 3/11/12
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian opposition leaders on Sunday called for a clear agenda and a grassroots focus on local elections to re-energize a protest movement running out of steam after Vladimir Putin convincingly won a six-year presidential term.
Russian protesters face challenge after Putin win
via Reuters: World News on 3/11/12
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian opposition leaders on Sunday called for a clear agenda and a grassroots focus on local elections to re-energize a protest movement running out of steam after Vladimir Putin convincingly won a six-year presidential term.
UK's Hague faces suit over Pakistan drone strikes
via Reuters: World News on 3/11/12
LONDON (Reuters) - Lawyers for the family of a man killed in a U.S. drone attack in Pakistan said they would begin legal action against Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday, accusing him of complicity in strikes they say broke international laws.
America Is Stealing the World’s Doctors
via NYT > World by By MATT McALLESTER on 3/10/12
Who wants to practice medicine in a country where they use power tools in surgery? The dilemma of doctors in the developing world.
Gregory Davidzon, a Kingmaker of Brooklyn’s Little Russia
via NYT > Global Home by By MICHAEL POWELL on 3/11/12
In Jewish areas of south Brooklyn, Gregory Davidzon galvanizes Russian voters and treats his endorsements of political candidates as if they were a blood guarantee.
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