Hasil untuk "Languages and literature of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania"

Pengfei Yue, Xingran Zhao, Juntao Chen et al.

Multilingual document and scene text understanding plays an important role in applications such as search, finance, and public services. However, most existing benchmarks focus on high-resource languages and fail to evaluate models in realistic multilingual environments. In Southeast Asia, the diversity of languages, complex writing systems, and highly varied document types make this challenge even greater. We introduce SEA-Vision, a benchmark that jointly evaluates Document Parsing and Text-Centric Visual Question Answering (TEC-VQA) across 11 Southeast Asian languages. SEA-Vision contains 15,234 document parsing pages from nine representative document types, annotated with hierarchical page-, block-, and line-level labels. It also provides 7,496 TEC-VQA question-answer pairs that probe text recognition, numerical calculation, comparative analysis, logical reasoning, and spatial understanding. To make such multilingual, multi-task annotation feasible, we design a hybrid pipeline for Document Parsing and TEC-VQA. It combines automated filtering and scoring with MLLM-assisted labeling and lightweight native-speaker verification, greatly reducing manual labeling while maintaining high quality. We evaluate several leading multimodal models and observe pronounced performance degradation on low-resource Southeast Asian languages, highlighting substantial remaining gaps in multilingual document and scene text understanding. We believe SEA-Vision will help drive global progress in document and scene text understanding.

Hiroyuki Suzuki

Magdalena Malinowska

Nous vivons à présent dans un monde marqué par une crise environnementale de plus en plus grave. Pendant que nous sommes tous touchés par le changement climatique progressant, son impact n’est pas distribué de manière égale. Les régions les plus vulnérables de la planète subissent déjà ce que les Occidentaux redoutent pour l’avenir – un avenir qui s’annonce, lui aussi, inéquitable. Cependant, loin de se cantonner à des discours misérabilistes et a des visions dysphoriques, le présent article explore des récits alternatifs. Plus précisément, il analyse le roman Rouge impératrice de Léonora Miano comme un exemple du contre-discours sur notre avenir global dans l’Anthropocène. En tant que tel, il s’oppose aux discours dominants sur les changements et les migrations climatiques, qui tendent à produire principalement des visions apocalyptiques et à stigmatiser les personnes déplacées. L’afrofuturisme, un courant intellectuel et artistique centré sur les populations subalternes – et dont le roman analysé est un parfait exemple –, s’intéresse particulièrement au devenir du continent africain et, au contraire des fictions climatiques occidentales, propose une vision utopique de ce futur. L’analyse s’articule ainsi autour de trois axes principaux : les discours dominants sur la crise climatique et les réfugiés climatiques, une vision alternative offerte par l’afrofuturisme, et le roman de Miano comme exemple d’un contre-discours porteur d’un projet d’utopie écologique. 

hosein Elyasi Mofrad, hamid motavalizadeh naeini

.Jean Baudrillard, a prominent French philosopher and cultural theorist, is widely known for his critical analyses of contemporary society and his influential concepts such as simulation, hyperreality, and simulacra. Baudrillard's theories challenge traditional notions of reality, suggesting that in the age of media saturation and consumerism, reality has become indistinguishable from its representations. His work examines how signs and symbols have overtaken reality itself, creating a world where the boundary between the real and the imagined is blurred. This study aims to apply Baudrillard's theoretical framework to the novel "The Dreams of the Great Ghoul and the Kingdom of Crows" by Ezzeddin Jalalvaji, examining how the themes of power, media influence, and hyperreality are portrayed in the narrative. This examination is crucial in understanding the broader implications of Baudrillard's theories in contemporary literature and political thought.MethodologyThis research adopts a qualitative methodology, employing a textual analysis approach to dissect the novel through the lens of Baudrillard's theories. The primary texts for analysis include Baudrillard's seminal works on simulation and hyperreality, alongside Jalalvaji's novel. The study focuses on identifying instances of simulacra, the interplay between reality and representation, and the use of symbolism within the narrative. Data were collected through close reading and thematic analysis, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the text in relation to Baudrillardian concepts. This method allows for a deep dive into the text, uncovering layers of meaning and drawing connections between theoretical concepts and literary elements.ResultsThe analysis reveals that the novel heavily incorporates Baudrillardian themes, depicting a society engulfed in hyperreality. Key findings include:Power Dynamics: The central theme of the novel revolves around the struggle for power, which is depicted through the creation of simulacra. The main character's rise to power is facilitated by manipulating symbols and enacting laws that create a false sense of reality among the populace. This manipulation of reality highlights the precarious nature of power and its dependence on the control of perception.Media Influence: The novel portrays the media as a crucial tool for perpetuating hyperreality. Through propaganda and controlled information, the characters shape public perception and maintain their dominance. The omnipresence of media in the novel echoes Baudrillard's view on the media's role in blurring the lines between reality and fiction.Symbolism of the Crow: The crow, a recurring symbol in the novel, represents the manipulation of religious and cultural symbols to gain control. The worship of the crow becomes a simulacrum that distracts the masses from the true nature of their reality. This symbolism serves as a critique of how symbols are co-opted to serve the interests of those in power.Temporary Nature of Hyperreality: The novel also highlights the temporary nature of the hyperreal state. Despite the characters' efforts to maintain control through simulacra, the masses eventually recognize the manipulation and revolt. This uprising reflects Baudrillard's idea that hyperreality is inherently unstable and can be disrupted by a return to a more grounded sense of reality.DiscussionThe findings underscore Baudrillard's assertion that in contemporary society, the line between reality and representation is blurred. The novel serves as a critique of modern political systems, where power is maintained through the creation of hyperreal environments. The use of simulacra in the narrative highlights the ways in which leaders exploit symbols and media to create a controlled, artificial reality. This controlled reality is a fragile construct, constantly at risk of being exposed and dismantled. The temporary nature of this hyperreal state is also significant, as it suggests that the masses, once aware of the manipulation, can revolt and reclaim their sense of reality.Furthermore, the novel's portrayal of the media's role in sustaining hyperreality aligns with Baudrillard's critique of mass media. The media's power to shape public perception and create consensus is depicted as a double-edged sword, capable of both stabilizing and destabilizing regimes. This duality reflects the complex relationship between media, power, and reality.ConclusionJalalvaji's novel, through its exploration of power, media, and symbolism, aligns closely with Baudrillardian theories. The study concludes that the depiction of hyperreality in the narrative serves as a powerful commentary on the political and social dynamics of contemporary society. By examining the novel through Baudrillard's lens, we gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms through which reality is constructed and manipulated. The novel also offers a cautionary tale about the fragility of hyperreal constructs and the potential for societal upheaval when these constructs are exposed.KeywordsEzzeddin Jalawji, Ahlam Al-Ghul Al-Kabeer, Mamleke Al-Ghraab, Jean Baudrillard, hyperreality, simulacra, media influence, power dynamics, symbolism

Kwang-su Kim

This study argues that the Banyamulenge—a Tutsi-descended minority in South Kivu, DRC—have had their ethnic identity historically shaped by migration, contested citizenship, and regional wars. Based on fieldwork in Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC, as well as secondary sources, the article shows how nationality laws, the 1964 Simba Rebellion, the 1994 Vangu Report, and the creation of the Minembwe Commune framed them alternately as insiders and outsiders. While Banyamulenge leaders emphasized territorial belonging to claim Congolese identity, elites and neighboring states politicized it for their own purposes. Interviews reveal that community members, including younger generations, now stress civic belonging and interethnic cooperation, countering depictions of them as outsiders. The study argues that lasting peace in the Great Lakes Region requires inclusive citizenship and accountable institutions rather than ethnic exclusion.  

Kausutua Tjikundi, Jackie Kleynhans, Stefano Tempia et al.

Households play a crucial role in the propagation of infectious diseases due to the frequent and prolonged interactions that typically occur between their members. Recent studies have emphasized the need to include socioeconomic variables in epidemic models to account for the heterogeneity induced by human behavior. While sub-Saharan Africa suffers the highest burden of infectious disease diffusion, few studies have investigated the mixing patterns in the countries and their relation with social indicators. This work analyzes household contact matrices measured with wearable proximity sensors in a rural and an urban village in South Africa. Leveraging a rich data collection describing additional individual and household attributes, we investigate how the household contact matrix varies according to the household type (whether it is composed only of a familiar nucleus or by a larger group), the gender of its head (the primary decision-maker), the rural or urban context, and the season in which it was measured. We show the household type and the gender of its head induce differences in the interaction patterns between household members, particularly regarding child caregiving, suggesting they are relevant attributes to include in epidemic modeling.

Gerda Taljaard-Gilson

Syafrinnissa Azizah, Iwan Marwan

Penelitian makna konotasi dari beberapa lagu Mahalini dalam album Fabula ini memiliki tujuan agar penikmat musik bisa memahami pesan yang ingin disampaikan oleh penulis. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode deskriptif kualitatif dengan mengumpulkan beberapa data dari lirik lagu itu sendiri.  Dari hasil penelitian ini banyak ditemukan lagu yang bergenre pop mellow, sehingga banyak ditemukan makna konotasi negatif dalam penelitian ini. Meskipun banyak terdapat makna konotasi negatif, juga terdapat beberapa makna positif didalamnya.

Albert L. Oyeleye, Adesina B. Sunday, Ibijoke Omole

Existing linguistic studies in Nigeria have focused on investigator’s communicative acts in coercive investigative discourse, with little attention given to non-coercive investigative discourse involving accused rapists (ARs) in correctional centres. This study addresses this gap by analysing the pragmatic strategies ARs employ in crime narratives within Agodi Custodial Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria to offer insights into evidential cues that could impact justice administration. Using Jacob Mey’s Pragmatic Acts Theory as framework, the study adopts descriptive design and purposive sampling to select thirty-nine ARs for interviews. Findings revealed that the ARs deployed identity-framing, identity-reframing, attention-seeking, information-controlling, crime-relabelling and attention diversion strategies to influence investigator’s interpretation. The involvement of minors in the rape cases underscores the severity of the crime and the need for effective justice mechanisms. Additionally, cultural assumptions about intimacy and relationships, driven by patriarchal norms and misconceptions about consent, significantly influence crime narratives. Recognising these contexts is crucial to preventing justice perversion and enhancing forensic discourse in Nigeria.

Faliqul Isbah, M. Fairuz Rosyid, Nilna Uswah Tamama

This article discusses the evaluation of the implementation process of the Arabic Language Intensification Program (PIBA) at UIN K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, analyzes student responses to the program, and explores their expectations regarding the Arabic language learning method at the higher education level. The research approach is qualitative evaluative, aimed at assessing the implementation of the intensive Arabic language program. The evaluation model used is Stake’s Model, which includes three stages: Antecedents (background), Transaction (process), and Outcomes (results). Data were collected from primary sources (teachers and students) and secondary sources (placement test scores, final program grades, and satisfaction survey reports). Data collection was carried out through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results indicate that the program improves Arabic language proficiency, particularly for students with a general education background, although challenges such as varying effectiveness and the need to improve tutor planning remain. Final grades were generally positive, but students expressed a desire for more speaking practice, a more suitable schedule, representative classes, and more varied and interactive teaching methods.

Alessandra D'Alise, Davide Iacobacci, Francesco Sannino

We show that the epidemiological Renormalization Group (eRG) framework is a useful and minimal tool to effectively describe the temporal evolution of the Dengue multi-wave pandemics. We test the framework on the Dengue history of several countries located in both Latin America and Asia. We also observe a strong correlation between the total number of infected individuals and the changes in the local temperature. Our results further support the expectation that global warming is bound to increase the cases of Dengue worldwide. We then move to investigate, via the eRG, the recent outbreak in Fano, Italy and offer our projections.

Youssef Er-Rays, Meriem M'dioud

The study investigated the impact of healthcare system efficiency on the delivery of maternal, newborn, and child services in Africa. Data Envelopment Analysis and Tobit regression were employed to assess the efficiency of 46 healthcare systems across the continent, utilizing the Variable Returns to Scale model with Input orientation to evaluate technical efficiency. The Tobit method was utilized to explore factors contributing to inefficiency, with inputs variables including hospital, physician, and paramedical staff, and outputs variables encompassing maternal, newborn, and child admissions, cesarean interventions, functional competency, and hospitalization days. Results revealed that only 26% of countries exhibited efficiency, highlighting a significant proportion of 74% with inefficiencies. Financial determinants such as current health expenditures, comprehensive coverage index, and current health expenditure per capita were found to have a negative impact on the efficiency of maternal-child services. These findings underscore a marginal deficiency in technical efficiency within Africa's healthcare systems, emphasizing the necessity for policymakers to reassess the roles of both human resources and financial dimensions in enhancing healthcare system performance.

Claude Formanek, Callum Rhys Tilbury, Jonathan P. Shock

South Africa stands at a crucial juncture, grappling with interwoven socio-economic challenges such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, and the looming climate crisis. The government's Just Transition framework aims to enhance climate resilience, achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and promote social inclusion and poverty eradication. According to the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence technologies offer significant promise in addressing these challenges. This paper explores the overlooked potential of Reinforcement Learning (RL) in supporting South Africa's Just Transition. It examines how RL can enhance agriculture and land-use practices, manage complex, decentralised energy networks, and optimise transportation and logistics, thereby playing a critical role in achieving a just and equitable transition to a low-carbon future for all South Africans. We provide a roadmap as to how other researchers in the field may be able to contribute to these pressing problems.

Jiajia Zhu, Chao Qi

The DNS root server system uses Anycast technology to provide resolution through widely distributed root nodes. In recent years, the F-root node has seen astonishing growth and now boasts the largest number of nodes among the 13 root servers. Based on Ripe Atlas measurement data, we examined the availability and query latency of the F-root within the Southeast Asian region historically. The collected data illustrates how latency varies with changes in the number of root nodes, how the geographic distribution of responding root nodes changes in different periods, and examines the most recent differences between countries in terms of latency distribution. This study sheds light on the evolving landscape of DNS infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

Yousuf A. Khan, Clarisse Hokia, Jennifer Xu et al.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to 1.1 million deaths in the United States, despite the explosion of coronavirus research. These new findings are slow to translate to clinical interventions, leading to poorer patient outcomes and unnecessary deaths. One reason is that clinicians, overwhelmed by patients, struggle to keep pace with the rate of new coronavirus literature. A potential solution is developing a tool for evaluating coronavirus literature using large language models (LLMs) -- neural networks that are deployed for natural language processing. LLMs can be used to summarize and extract user-specified information. The greater availability and advancement of LLMs and pre-processed coronavirus literature databases provide the opportunity to assist clinicians in evaluating coronavirus literature through a coronavirus literature specific LLM (covLLM), a tool that directly takes an inputted research article and a user query to return an answer. Using the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19), we produced two datasets: (1) synCovid, which uses a combination of handwritten prompts and synthetic prompts generated using OpenAI, and (2) real abstracts, which contains abstract and title pairs. covLLM was trained with LLaMA 7B as a baseline model to produce three models trained on (1) the Alpaca and synCovid datasets, (2) the synCovid dataset, and (3) the synCovid and real abstract datasets. These models were evaluated by two human evaluators and ChatGPT. Results demonstrate that training covLLM on the synCovid and abstract pairs datasets performs competitively with ChatGPT and outperforms covLLM trained primarily using the Alpaca dataset.

Jing Liu, Xiaofan Tang, Junji Xia et al.

This paper utilized the high temporal and spatial resolution temperature profile data observed by the multi-channel microwave radiometer at the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) on the eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau from February to May and August to November 2021, combined with the ERA5 reanalysis data products for the whole year of 2021, to study the daily, monthly, and seasonal variations of the atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH). The results are as follows: (1) The ABLH on sunny days showed obvious fluctuations with peaks and valleys. The ABLH continued to rise with the increase of surface temperature after sunrise and usually reached its maximum value in the afternoon around 18:00, then rapidly decreased until sunset. (2) The average ABLH in April was the highest at about 1200 m, while it was only around 600 m in November. The ABLH fluctuated greatly during the day and was stable at around 400 m at night. The ABLH results obtained from ERA5 were slightly smaller overall but had a consistent trend of change with the microwave radiometer. (3) The maximum ABLH appeared in spring, followed by summer and autumn, and winter had the lowest value, with all peaks reached around 14:00-15:00. These results are of great significance for understanding the ABLH on the eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau, and provide reference for the absolute calibration of photon numbers of the LHAASO telescope and the atmospheric monitoring plan, as well as for evaluating the authenticity and accuracy of existing reanalysis datasets.

Hannah Kerner, Catherine Nakalembe, Adam Yang et al.

Satellite Earth observations (EO) can provide affordable and timely information for assessing crop conditions and food production. Such monitoring systems are essential in Africa, where there is high food insecurity and sparse agricultural statistics. EO-based monitoring systems require accurate cropland maps to provide information about croplands, but there is a lack of data to determine which of the many available land cover maps most accurately identify cropland in African countries. This study provides a quantitative evaluation and intercomparison of 11 publicly available land cover maps to assess their suitability for cropland classification and EO-based agriculture monitoring in Africa using statistically rigorous reference datasets from 8 countries. We hope the results of this study will help users determine the most suitable map for their needs and encourage future work to focus on resolving inconsistencies between maps and improving accuracy in low-accuracy regions.

Hiroyuki Suzuki

This chapter examines issues of language naming and language recognition practised by local Tibetans and scholars in the eastern Tibetosphere and discusses how and why Tibetans border their various speeches actively by naming them in various ways. It focuses on three cases: ‘Tibetic’, ‘logs-skad’, and ‘mixed language’ as separate instantiations of language recognition. Firstly, the term ‘Tibetic’ triggers controversy both amongst linguists and between linguists and the Tibetan community. Secondly, the use of the Tibetan term ‘logs-skad’ marks the recognition of unintelligible speeches to mainstream Tibetans. Thirdly, the label of ‘mixed language’ can be a crucial part of speakers’ identity. The chapter argues that linguists have a responsibility to balance their commitments to specifijicity with Tibetans’ practice of naming languages.

Yan Wang, Moussa Gueye, Steven J. Greybush et al.

Rainfall is an important variable to be able to monitor and forecast across Africa, due to its impact on agriculture, food security, climate related diseases and public health. Numerical Weather Models (NWM) are an important component of this work, due to their complete spatial coverage, high resolution, and ability to forecast into the future. In this study, we seek to evaluate the spatiotemporal skill of short-term rainfall forecasts of rainfall across Africa. Specifically, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-Global Forecast System (NCEP-GFS) forecast models are verified by Rainfall Estimates 2.0 (RFE2) and African Rainfall Climatology Version 2 (ARC2), which are fused products of satellite and in-situ observations and are commonly used in analysis of African rainfall. We found that the model rainfall forecasts show good consistency with the satellite rainfall observations in spatial distribution over Africa on the seasonal timescale. Evaluation metrics show high spatial and seasonal variations over the African continent, including a strong link to the location of the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and topographically enhanced precipitation. The rainfall forecasts at one week aggregation time are improved against daily forecasts.

Anthony C. Diala, Sonya R. Cotton

In its quest to restore land to millions of its citizens dispossessed under colonial and apartheid regimes, South Africa adopted a Restitution of Land Rights Act and set up a Land Claims Court in 1994 and 1996, respectively. This article uses select judgments of the Land Claims Court to critique the interpretative mindset of judges and the ideological neutrality of certain definitions in the Restitution Act. It argues that the colonial legacy of legal positivism and 20th century anthropological imagery inhibits the access to justice of dispossessed Africans living on the periphery of land rights. It uses the word ‘chained’ to describe communities whose restitution of land rights depends on their ability to (re)imagine themselves through a judicial prism of fossilized colonial ideas of traditional structures, lineage, and unbroken practices. The article recommends measures for promoting a South African legal culture that is sensitive to legal pluralism, mindful of indigenous law’s flexibility, and distrustful of undue standardization that stifles people’s access to justice.