Hasil untuk "Asia and Eurasia, Africa, Pacific Area, and Antarctica"

Ferhat Durmaz

I. V. Florinsky, S. O. Zharnova

Geomorphometric modeling and mapping of ice-free Antarctic areas can be applied for obtaining new quantitative knowledge about the topography of these unique landscapes and for the further use of morphometric information in Antarctic research. Within the framework of a project of creating a physical geographical thematic scientific reference geomorphometric atlas of ice-free areas of Antarctica, we performed geomorphometric modeling and mapping of two, partly ice-free mountainous areas of the eastern Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica. These include the Belgica Mountains and Yamato (Queen Fabiola) Mountains. As input data, we used two fragments of the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA). For the two ice-free areas and adjacent glaciers, we derived models and maps of eleven, most scientifically important morphometric variables (i.e., slope, aspect, horizontal curvature, vertical curvature, minimal curvature, maximal curvature, catchment area, topographic wetness index, stream power index, total insolation, and wind exposition index). The obtained models and maps describe the ice-free topography of the Belgica Mountains and Yamato (Queen Fabiola) Mountains in a rigorous, quantitative, and reproducible manner. New morphometric data can be useful for further geological, geomorphological, glaciological, ecological, and hydrological studies of these areas.

Shirikalova Alisa A.

The article examines the evolution of South Korean Internet culture from the late 1990s to the 2020s and its role in shaping gender conflicts and the electoral preferences of the young generation in the Republic of Korea. The main purpose of the study is to analyze the factors contributing to the formation of the youth political agenda in contemporary South Korea, with a focus on the role of Internet culture, digital discourse, and gender conflicts. Since the late 1990s, South Korean Internet culture has evolved from spontaneous anonymous online discussions into a significant factor in the country’s socio-political life. Internet neologisms, which initially emerged as a form of satirical expression, have gradually transformed into ideological markers and a means of articulating collective sentiment. By the early 2020s, online conflicts and their language, as well as digital activism, have significantly influenced the transformation of youth identity and political self-determination, gradually becoming part of populist politics. The 2022 and 2025 presidential elections demonstrated the growing polarization of the electoral behavior of the young generation, which is associated with the candidates’ statements on issues relevant to youth, including gender discrimination. Social networks and online platforms have contributed to the intensification of gender polarization in South Korean society, while simultaneously providing young people with new forms of political participation. The use of digital communities and the rhetoric of “justice” by political leaders such as Yoon Suk-yeol and Lee Jun-seok illustrates the institutionalization of Internet discourse within electoral politics and the transformation of “online” identities into a tangible political force.

Ryuji Hattori, Sam Baron, Ryan Hartley

Throughout much of the twentieth century, Japan maintained a “special relationship” with Myanmar, often bucking the policy approach of Western countries to provide financial and political support to the country’s military leaders. Following the February 2021 coup d’état in Myanmar, however, Japan’s policy approach toward the country notably shifted in response to domestic and international pressures. Utilizing declassified documents from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and other Japanese-language sources, this study examines how Japanese diplomacy toward Myanmar evolved in response to the coup. Through a structured assessment of Japan’s geopolitical strategy, bureaucratic politics, and the influence of informal actors, the study demonstrates how these interconnected factors prompted Tokyo to “rethink” certain aspects of its relationship with Myanmar while maintaining distinctive elements of its previous approach.

Kon’ I.R.

The fragmentation of the world economy and the associated reconfiguration of global production networks have been discussed in academic and business literature for a relatively long time, but the topic of the division of the world into geopolitically determined trade and production blocs has received the most attention in the last 7 years, since the beginning of the trade confrontation between the US and the PRC. This study focuses on quantifying the change in the US indirect dependence on the PRC over the period from 2017 to 2023 due to the US government-initiated process of increasing trade and production ties with Vietnam (friendshoring). The change in indirect dependence refers to the change in the share of value added of a geopolitical adversary country in the structure of value-added exports of a geopolitical ally or neutral country to the initiating country of friendshoring. The information base of the study is the latest multiregional input-output tables released by the Asian Development Bank in 2024, based on which the value-added structure of Vietnam's exports to the US for 2015–2023 was calculated. The findings show an increase in the indirect dependence of the US on the PRC, expressed in the increase in the share of Chinese value added in Vietnam's exports to the US, over 2017–2023 by 4.5 p. p., but there is а sectoral and temporal specificity. The share of Chinese value- added in Vietnam's exports was highest in 2021, and among the top five sectors of the Vietnamese economy in terms of absolute increase in exports to the US, the increase in Chinese value-added share in their exports is the highest in the only high-tech sector among them. Consistent factors that may have influenced the increasing share of Chinese value-added in Vietnamese exports to the US are suggested. Among them are spatial proximity, economic differences in the level of development between Vietnam and the PRC, and socio-cultural ties.

Popkova Tatyana D.

The article aims to provide a cultural understanding of park culture and the urban environment of China, where sculptures depicting children or story compositions on the theme of childhood are presented. This phenomenon of Chinese culture has remained largely unexplored. For 10 years, the author collected material on this topic in different cities of China, which was recorded in interviews with artists and sculptors, as well as in a collection of photographs. It served as the basis for systematizing and generalizing ideas about the Chinese value system for children and the principles of moral education. The study of this unique way of materially visualizing the Chinese tradition of love for children allows us to identify the features of the national cultural codes of “childhood” and “education”. The author comes to the conclusion that the phenomenological context of park culture reflects the aesthetic, evaluative and playful reality of the Chinese mentality.

Yujin J. Jung

This study examines the evolution of populism in South Korea by analyzing the rhetoric of its two mainstream political parties, the People Power Party (PPP) and the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), from 2012 to 2022. Utilizing a longitudinal content analysis of party statements and employing advanced large language models (LLMs) for classification, the findings reveal three key trends. First, populist rhetoric has increased over time across both parties. Second, its usage intensifies during election periods and when parties are in opposition. Third, among different forms of populism, sectarian populism, marked by moral polarization and hostility toward political opponents, emerges as the most prominent. These findings contribute to the broader understanding of populism’s role in third-wave democracies, illustrating its implications for democratic stability and the entrenchment of political sectarianism.

Anika Rahman, Mst. Taskia Khatun

This study analyzes and predicts air pollution in Asia, focusing on PM 2.5 levels from 2018 to 2023 across five regions: Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asia. South Asia emerged as the most polluted region, with Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan consistently having the highest PM 2.5 levels and death rates, especially in Nepal, Pakistan, and India. East Asia showed the lowest pollution levels. K-means clustering categorized countries into high, moderate, and low pollution groups. The ARIMA model effectively predicted 2023 PM 2.5 levels (MAE: 3.99, MSE: 33.80, RMSE: 5.81, R: 0.86). The findings emphasize the need for targeted interventions to address severe pollution and health risks in South Asia.

I. V. Florinsky, S. O. Zharnova

Geomorphometric modeling and mapping of ice-free Antarctic areas is promising for obtaining new quantitative knowledge about the topography of these unique landscapes and for the further use of morphometric information in Antarctic research. Within the framework of a project of creating a physical geographical thematic scientific reference geomorphometric atlas of ice-free terrains of Antarctica, we performed geomorphometric modeling and mapping of key ice-free areas of the Sôya Coast (the east coast of Lützow-Holm Bay, Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica). These include the Flatvaer (Ongul) Islands, Langhovde Hills, Breidvågnipa, Skarvsnes Foreland, Skallen Hills, and Skallevikhalsen Hills. As input data for geomorphometric modeling and mapping, we used five fragments of the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica. For the six ice-free areas and adjacent glaciers, we derived models and maps of eleven most scientifically important morphometric variables (i.e., slope, aspect, horizontal curvature, vertical curvature, minimal curvature, maximal curvature, catchment area, topographic wetness index, stream power index, total insolation, and wind exposition index). The obtained models and maps describe the ice-free topography of the Sôya Coast in a rigorous, quantitative, and reproducible manner. New morphometric data can be useful for further geological, geomorphological, glaciological, ecological, and hydrological studies of this region.

Samuel Cahyawijaya, Holy Lovenia, Joel Ruben Antony Moniz et al.

Southeast Asia (SEA) is a region of extraordinary linguistic and cultural diversity, yet it remains significantly underrepresented in vision-language (VL) research. This often results in artificial intelligence (AI) models that fail to capture SEA cultural nuances. To fill this gap, we present SEA-VL, an open-source initiative dedicated to developing high-quality, culturally relevant data for SEA languages. By involving contributors from SEA countries, SEA-VL aims to ensure better cultural relevance and diversity, fostering greater inclusivity of underrepresented languages in VL research. Beyond crowdsourcing, our initiative goes one step further in the exploration of the automatic collection of culturally relevant images through crawling and image generation. First, we find that image crawling achieves approximately ~85% cultural relevance while being more cost- and time-efficient than crowdsourcing. Second, despite the substantial progress in generative vision models, synthetic images remain unreliable in accurately reflecting SEA cultures. The generated images often fail to reflect the nuanced traditions and cultural contexts of the region. Collectively, we gather 1.28M SEA culturally-relevant images, more than 50 times larger than other existing datasets. Through SEA-VL, we aim to bridge the representation gap in SEA, fostering the development of more inclusive AI systems that authentically represent diverse cultures across SEA.

Kim En Un, Samsonova V.G., Fedyunina M.A.

The article is devoted to the 28th conference of Korean studies experts from Russia and the CIS countries, which took place on March 28-29, 2024 in the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia RAS (Moscow). The korean scholars from leading scientific institutions in Russia and the CIS countries examined a wide range of political, economic, cultural, and historical issues related to the Korean Peninsula. The article highlights the main theses presented at the conference by the speakers, the number of whom exceeded 30 people this year. It is noted that much attention was paid to the analysis of the current political situation on the Korean Peninsula; prospects for cooperation between the Russian Federation and the DPRK; economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea under sanctions; analysis of the domestic and foreign policy of the current administration of the Republic of Korea; relations between the PRC and both Korean states. A separate plenary session was devoted to the topic of Koryoin, as well as works on the study of Korean culture and art.

Korneev K.A., Kistanov V.O.

Japan has a number of specific interests in the Arctic region, which in their current form emerged near the end of the 2000s. Firstly, the authors discuss using the transport capabilities of the Northern Sea Route, which can potentially have a significant positive effect on the development of the Japanese economy not only by diversifying hydrocarbon supply routes, but also as a shorter logistics leg for the export of goods, mainly to European countries. Secondly, the exploitation of the natural resources of the Arctic is of great importance for Japan – whereas it is a resource-deficient country, participation in such projects is always relevant. It is obvious that Japanese interests in the Arctic region will be far from practical implementation without interaction with Russia, despite the serious deterioration of bilateral relations due to Japan’s accession to anti-Russian sanctions imposed by Western countries in connection with the Special military operation in Ukraine. Cooperation with Russia in the Arctic region is still ongoing, mostly within the framework of the joint implementation of the Arctic LNG-2 energy project. However, there are other areas, which will also be discussed in this article.

Borodich V.F.

The article examines the monopoly of the CPC on power as a system-forming political institution of the PRC, which showed its ineffectiveness in the active phase of the C ultural Revolution, was then restored in the fight against its proponents, and met competition from supporters of the democratization of the system of government in the late 1970s. Part of the political leadership of the PRC, represented mainly by relatively young party and state officials, considered the democratization of the system of government as a condition for transforming the system of domination into a system of democratic politics that would ensure the country's comprehensive development. This position was welcomed and support ed by the intelligentsia, urban educated youth and some of the cadres of the party and state apparatus, but met powerful res istance from the “veterans” of the Communist Party, concerned about the threat of losing control over the political activity of the masses. On March 30, 1979, Deng Xiaoping proclaimed the “four basic principles,” which became a factor in the consolidation of the CPC leadership on a “protective” position and defined a “corridor of opportunity” for pursuing a course of “reform and opening-up” for decades to come. At the same time, one of the four principles – “upholding the leadership of the Communist Party” – turned into the ideological basis of the institution of the CPC monopoly on power, which to this day plays a key role in the institutional political design of the PRC.

Tjaart P. J. Krüger

This report is a serious call to scientists, innovators, investors, and policymakers to invest in the development of biophysics in Africa. The complex problems of our day demand multidisciplinary approaches, and biophysics offers training in much-needed multi- and cross-disciplinary thinking. Biophysics is a research field at the forefront of modern science because it provides a powerful scientific platform that addresses many of the critical challenges humanity faces today and in the future. It is a vital source of innovation for any country interested in developing a high-tech economy. However, there is woefully little biophysics educational and research activity in Africa, representing a critical gap that must be addressed with urgency. This report suggests key research areas that African biophysicists should focus on, identifies major challenges to growing biophysics in Africa, and underscores the high-priority needs that must be addressed.

Abdul-Hakeem Omotayo, Mai Gamal, Eman Ehab et al.

Computer vision is a broad field of study that encompasses different tasks (e.g., object detection). Although computer vision is relevant to the African communities in various applications, yet computer vision research is under-explored in the continent and constructs only 0.06% of top-tier publications in the last ten years. In this paper, our goal is to have a better understanding of the computer vision research conducted in Africa and provide pointers on whether there is equity in research or not. We do this through an empirical analysis of the African computer vision publications that are Scopus indexed, where we collect around 63,000 publications over the period 2012-2022. We first study the opportunities available for African institutions to publish in top-tier computer vision venues. We show that African publishing trends in top-tier venues over the years do not exhibit consistent growth, unlike other continents such as North America or Asia. Moreover, we study all computer vision publications beyond top-tier venues in different African regions to find that mainly Northern and Southern Africa are publishing in computer vision with 68.5% and 15.9% of publications, resp. Nonetheless, we highlight that both Eastern and Western Africa are exhibiting a promising increase with the last two years closing the gap with Southern Africa. Additionally, we study the collaboration patterns in these publications to find that most of these exhibit international collaborations rather than African ones. We also show that most of these publications include an African author that is a key contributor as the first or last author. Finally, we present the most recurring keywords in computer vision publications per African region.

Harald Sippel

Trotz der im Kalenderjahr 2021 bestehenden Pandemielage und der damit einhergehenden Einschränkungen in vielen Lebensbereichen konnte die Gesellschaft für afrikanisches Recht e.V. ihren Aufgaben nachkommen und neben der Herausgabe der Zeitschrift sowie der Bereitstellung der Internetseite nach der vorjährigen Zwangspause insbesondere wieder die Jahreskonferenz veranstalten.

Skvortsova E.M.

This review is based on the materials published in July – September 2022 in various media of East Asian countries, which cover the most relevant topics for the region during this period. The review describes the assassination of the former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, the reaction of the Japanese public and the impact of his death on the results of parliamentary elections. It also covers the course and results of the visit of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan and the growing tension between the United States and China. The results of the meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers and the organization's position on key regional and global issues are considered. Finally, it describes the SCO summit held in Samarkand and the agreements reached there.

Koledenkova N.N.

The article analyzes the problems of the development of China’s manufacturing industry in the context of the state development strategy aimed at turning the country into one of the most powerful industrial countries. Special attention is paid to the development of high-tech industries and the latest types of production based on scientific and technical achievements. The achievements based on increasing the technological and innovative potential of new strategic industries are considered. The author notes that the new strategy for the development of China’s manufacturing industry during the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025) involves further strengthening high-tech industries through the development and improvement of both domestic and foreign technologies and innovations.. The task is to contribute to the digital transformation of key industries. Special attention will be paid to key projects that create new opportunities for breakthrough solutions in the field of technology.

Uta Bilow, Kenneth Cecire

International Masterclasses (IMC) enable high school students and teachers to work with particle physicists to analyze authentic data from contemporary experiments and experience being "physicists for a day". The IMC program has a worldwide reach, including several universities and research institutes in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Sao Tom'e and Principe, and South Africa. As technical infrastructure in Africa improves, there is a great opportunity for many more African institutes to offer IMC on their premises. The authors will discuss the advantages of IMC to Africa, how institutes may join, and ways to overcome obstacles.

S. Ramaila

This contribution highlights challenges afflicting physics education in Africa and provides a reflection on key areas for intervention to strengthen capacity building.