Hasil untuk "Asian. Oriental"

E. J. Miers

Nathan Bowler, Winfried Hochstättler, Stefan Kaspar

Is it possible to define cryptomorphic axiom systems for infinite oriented matroids by lifting some of the axiom systems for finite oriented matroids to the infinite setting while not losing duality in the process? We show that the answer to this question is a twofold "no". First, lifting the circuit axioms neither preserves duality nor inheritance of strong circuit elimination in minors. Second, although duality is kept intact by translating the orthogonality axioms and an axiom system based on the Farkas Lemma, the classes of infinite oriented matroids obtained in this way have the property that one is a proper subclass of the other.

Irena Penev, S Taruni, Stéphan Thomassé et al.

We study the existence of oriented paths with two blocks in oriented graphs under semidegree conditions. A block of an oriented path is a maximal directed subpath. Given positive integers $k$ and $\ell$ with $k/2\le \ell < k$, we establish a semidegree function that guarantees the containment of every oriented path with two blocks of sizes $\ell$ and $k-\ell$. As a corollary, we show that every oriented graph with all in- and out-degrees at least $3k/4$ contains every two-block path with $k$ arcs. Our results extend previous work on Stein's conjecture and related problems concerning oriented paths.

Kevin Hsu, Valerie King

This paper addresses the problem of finding fair orientations of graphs of chores, in which each vertex corresponds to an agent, each edge corresponds to a chore, and a chore has zero marginal utility to an agent if its corresponding edge is not incident to the vertex corresponding to the agent. Recently, Zhou et al. (IJCAI, 2024) analyzed the complexity of deciding whether graphs containing a mixture of goods and chores have EFX orientations, and conjectured that deciding whether graphs containing only chores have EFX orientations is NP-complete. We resolve this conjecture by giving polynomial-time algorithms that find EF1 and EFX orientations of graphs containing only chores if they exist, even if there are self-loops. Remarkably, our result demonstrates a surprising separation between the case of goods and the case of chores, because deciding whether graphs containing only goods have EFX orientations was shown to be NP-complete by Christodoulou et al. (EC, 2023). In addition, we show the EF1 and EFX orientation problems for multigraphs to be NP-complete.

Mohammad Reza Mohammadi

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, many countries with a multidimensional and strategic view of regionalism and related issues paid special attention to securing, guaranteeing, and maximizing their national interests. Following the international developments that emerged in the atmosphere after the 1979 revolution, the political elites of the Islamic Republic of Iran —taking into account the historical experience and the cold relations with the West— tried to create deep political and economic constructive cooperation and interaction based on the East Look strategy with resource centers and revisionist countries in competition with America’s new order. This approach was reflected in official documents such as the Twenty-Year Vision, General Policies document approved by the Assembly, the Expediency Discernment Council and the Constitutional Law. Many practical and theoretical views have been expressed following the East Look strategy, which takes a strategic approach to regions beyond Iran’s northeastern, eastern, and southeastern borders, especially China and Russia. The first existing point of view, which is largely pragmatic, provides clear and codified definitions of the geographical, spatial, and identity characteristics of the Eastern region, especially China, and believes in establishing converging relations in the form of bilateral and multilateral coalitions. The second point of view, which does not have a geographical view and is mainly based on values, views the East as an ideological geography that can challenge the Western values and norms governing the field of international politics. A third point of view, reminiscent of the bipolar era, assigns a completely ideological role to the Eastern sphere in front of the Western world, from the standpoint of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Of course, there is another point of view which, contrary to the prevailing opinion of experts who consider the East Look strategy to be effective from economic and cultural links and civilizational fields, argues that, due to the increasing pressures of the West, and especially America, towards the Islamic Republic of Iran, the political elites are trying to find strategic allies, including China, to increase national security and manage sanctions imposed by the West in the anarchic international system. Iran's East Look policy is one of the strategic policies aimed at balancing political and economic relations with both Western and East Asian countries, considering their potential capacities. However, under the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s foreign policy, while remaining committed to general policies, tried to create special intellectual and principled foundations to govern its behavior and orientation toward Iran’s diplomatic system. This orientation, under the influence of America’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), once again brought regionalism, neighborhood policy, and the East Look strategy to the forefront of the new Iranian government’s foreign policy agenda. Therefore, in recent years, to consolidate and achieve its national interests through redefining the traditional East Look strategy, the Islamic Republic of Iran has paid special attention to establishing close relations and interaction with the countries present in the Indo-Pacific strategic region. Accordingly, the article answers, with a descriptive-analytical approach, and by applying the assumptions of constructivist theory, the question: what are the motivations for being in the Indo-Pacific in Iran’s East Look strategy? Based on the hypothesis that this engagement is affected by the challenges imposed by Western sanctions against Iran, and given the special position that the Indo-Pacific strategic area has in the post-Cold War geopolitical equations, Iran’s diplomatic apparatus has strong incentives to be present in the Indo-Pacific within the framework of the East Look strategy, which is expected to play a significant role in the future. The case study of Iran within the framework of its East Look strategy and its engagements in the Indo-Pacific region holds substantial theoretical importance for discussions on foreign policy and state identity formation. First, Iran represents a unique case as a state in which identity has been shaped at the intersection of revolutionary, religious, and nationalist discourses, making it an ideal subject for examining how identity translates into strategic foreign policy actions. Second, the study demonstrates how marginalized states in the international system (such as Iran, which faces Western sanctions and isolationist policies) employ identity-driven mechanisms to redefine national interests and strategic alliances. Analyzing Iran from this perspective provides a comparative framework for understanding the behavior of other states such as North Korea, Venezuela, or even Russia, which have adopted similar strategies due to their distinct political identities and peripheral positions. Third, focusing on the Indo-Pacific as a discursively constructed space allows for an exploration of how non-material variables (such as civilizational narratives or anti-colonial norms) shape states’ foreign policy preferences. Consequently, this study not only enriches constructivist literature in International Relations but also offers practical insights into the logic of action employed by challenger states within the international order. The element of oriental authenticity as an identity-creating factor is rooted in Iranians’ sense of belonging to the great and ancient Eastern civilization. As bearers of one of Asia’s richest cultural and civilizational heritages, Iranians have long associated their identity with historical ties to the East, resulting in centuries of cultural interaction and trade with other Eastern nations. The research findings suggest that a core component of Iran’s Indo-Pacific orientation involves deepening ties with Beijing. This is evident in areas such as transportation and transit, scientific and technological diplomacy, and energy security. The development of Iran-China relations can be analyzed through key variables: global power shifts, US-Iran tensions, civilizational affinities between Iran and China, and Iran’s unique economic and energy role. Economically, it is necessary to pay attention to cooperation with China in the form of a twenty-five-year comprehensive strategic plan because the two countries are involved in wide-ranging issues such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) megaproject, the complementary economies of the two countries, and cooperation in the field of energy (petroleum and petrochemicals). Cooperation in the field of technology and infrastructure, bilateral currency agreements, dollarization, and China’s macro strategy in the global financial field have many commonalities. Applying constructivism to international relations, Iran’s East Look strategy can be understood as a socially constructed response to shifting geopolitical narratives, where regional identities and intersubjective understandings of power dynamics influence foreign policy choices. The Indo-Pacific, in this context, is not merely a geographic space but a socially constructed arena where norms, historical narratives, and identity politics shape Iran’s strategic engagements. In short, it can be said that the revival of the South-South foreign policy orientation, the consolidation of Iran’s presence in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as well as the sustainable supply of energy, the acquisition of modern technologies, and the establishment of a location along international corridors are the main motivations for Iran to be present in the Indo-Pacific region in the future. Also, this article argues that the analysis of Iran’s East Look policy can be understood from the perspective of structuralist theory, the role of identity components and shared intersubjective norms and values, and the rooting of some of Iran’s foreign policy behaviors and actions and national interests pursued in the Indo-Pacific region.

Nikos Christofis

Koubková, Evelyne

This article examines how the exorcist (āšipu/mašmaššu), the main purification expert in first-millennium Mesopotamia, established and maintained his purity, despite frequent exposure to pollution in the performance of his job. Juxtaposing his self-presentation with that of the diviner (bārû) reveals the unique confidence the exorcist projects about his purity. I show how the exorcist’s self-presentation in his ritual speech shifts attention away from the process of self-purification to establish his purity as absolute owing to his close relationship with the gods. The unquestioned nature of his purity has further implications for the exorcist’s social status, as the one with unlimited access to the gods and in control of the rules to approach them.

Julia Fröhlich

Fizza Batool

Manuel Bodirsky, Santiago Guzmán-Pro

For a fixed finite set of finite tournaments ${\mathcal F}$, the ${\mathcal F}$-free orientation problem asks whether a given finite undirected graph $G$ has an $\mathcal F$-free orientation, i.e., whether the edges of $G$ can be oriented so that the resulting digraph does not embed any of the tournaments from ${\mathcal F}$. We prove that for every ${\mathcal F}$, this problem is in P or NP-complete. Our proof reduces the classification task to a complete complexity classification of the orientation completion problem for ${\mathcal F}$, which is the variant of the problem above where the input is a directed graph instead of an undirected graph, introduced by Bang-Jensen, Huang, and Zhu (2017). Our proof uses results from the theory of constraint satisfaction, and a result of Agarwal and Kompatscher (2018) about infinite permutation groups and transformation monoids.

Sercan Çınar

This article presents a transnational history of left feminism in Turkey between 1974–1979 when international women’s movements gained momentum on a global scale with the designation of 1975 as International Women’s Year (IWY). With this article, my aim is to go beyond methodological nationalism in the established historiography on women’s movements in Turkey. I study in particular the local and international activities of the international activities of the Progressive Women’s Association (İlerici Kadınlar Derneği, IKD), the mass left-feminist organisation between 1975 and 1980 that engaged in left-wing women’s activism all around Turkey. I explore the bilateral relations, connections, exchange, interaction, and collaboration between the IKD and international women’s movements, particularly the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), which was a global coalition of women of the anti-fascist, pro-communist left. I use the term left feminism that, in my opinion, expands the definition of feminism by going beyond the liberal political goal of individual emancipation. Against the overarching premise that women’s agency cannot be actualised under state-socialism or within communist-socialist women’s organisations, my article shows the overlapping issues between communism and feminism as well as the diverse agendas that constitute history of feminism in twentieth-century Turkey from a transnational perspective.

Aditya K. Kakati

The Nagaland government’s July 2020 announcement of a ban on the sale of dog-meat stimulated a flood of articles on various aspects of the debate. The war of words pitted animal rights activists against the defenders of cultural rights. This article highlights the persistent circulation of ‘culture’ and unpacks its strategic potential for resistance due to its fluidity in the dog-meat debate and in other issues affecting present-Nagas and Northeast India. We trace and disambiguate the use of ‘culture’ in resistance narratives which have circulated through binary oppositions and racialized caricatures to re-animate discussions on race, cultural nationalism and citizenship politics. While anthropology has critiqued culture, we identify how the concept still circulates as a strategic resource and as a trope in contemporary Naga social history. We identify new itineraries of culture’s circulation that are otherwise muddled in recent public debates, which received an impetus after the reinvigoration of discussions on racism in mid-2020. This was sparked by the dog-meat ban and the release of a film in mid-2020, and the global anti-Asian racism triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic that year. We highlight the contestations in the domain of race, representation, and citizenship that have emerged in Northeast Indian Himalayan contexts in the last decades, due to twenty-five years of indefinite ceasefires with major armed groups. Tensions arise with the regional aspirations, engaging their position of belonging within India but also globally oriented agendas fuelled by new forms of capital and mobility. Such tensions are playing out in the domain of food-politics and human-animal relations that straddle different rights regimes. We underline this caution around culture’s essentialism and its circulation as a historical trope due to its divisive potential in scripting narratives of social history and minority citizenship, at a time when Indian nation-building projects in the region are changing.

Nikita Simpson

Outwardly, most Gaddi people refute the relevance and danger of witchcraft in present times. At another level, however, rumors of jadu (witchcraft, or spells and curses performed by a witch) and opara (black magic, or curses that may be performed by anyone) circulate in particular places, caste neighborhoods, and households. This article argues that the study of the discourses of witchcraft—anxieties, rumors, suspected afflictions—provides a window into the changing shape of tribal belonging in the Gaddi community. Drawing on the theory of witchcraft developed by Nancy Munn (1986), the article suggests that witchcraft is an intersubjective practice that generates and manipulates space-time. In the Gaddi case, this manifests in a temporal split. On the one hand, Gaddi people eschew their reputation for witchcraft, rooted in British colonial stereotypes, to break from stigmatizing and marginalizing assumptions about their religious and social practices as they strive for tribal dignity. On the other, the persistent rumors of witchcraft within the Gaddi community articulate a struggle over the contours and values of tribal belonging as it is bound with caste distinction, class mobility, and gendered generational change. Focusing on the complexities of the Gaddi case, this article suggests that witchcraft—when understood through a politics of space-time—remains a valuable tool for South Asian anthropologists as they investigate the nexus of tribe, caste, and class relations.

Tésits, Róbert, Wilhelm, Zoltán

The Hungarian public considers Sándor Kőrösi Csoma to be the father of Tibetan studies, and sees him as an example who has inspired countless Hungarians on the path of Oriental research. At the same time, hundreds of our compatriots visit the tomb of the Hungarian role model of perseverance, dedication and Oriental research in Darjeeling, India. Sándor Kőrösi Csoma “attracted” numerous prominent Hungarian personalities to the subcontinent, many of whom made a lasting impression in the region. The names of many of our compatriots who once performed remarkably in South Asia have been forgotten or are completely unknown to the public, even though many scientists, artists, travelers and businessmen have visited and lived in the subcontinent, creating a bridge between Hungary and the South Asian countries. In order to recall their memory and nurture their intellectual legacy, the Center for Asia at the University of Pécs, together with the Modern Geographical Foundation, applied to the National Cultural Fund, requesting the financial background of a memorial conference. A selection of peer-reviewed, edited articles from the conference lectures is published in the current thematic issue of Modern Geográfia.

Anisa Bhutia

This article elaborates on the story of churpi and Kalimpong Cheese. In the mainstream media Kalimpong Cheese becomes the cheese of the Himalayas, whereas churpi gets forgotten. Kalimpong Cheese is kept in the stores, whereas churpi is found in the haat. Things found in the stores cater the product to a particular audience, and items found in the haat are considered ordinary. The haat, even if mundane, is a central part of everyday life in Kalimpong. It is how the public of Kalimpong town receives its fresh produce. The haat, in a way, has become a tradition of the town and my family. Taking a personal narrative of kitchen spaces and food cooked in my home, I engage with the two types of cheese. One has a historical record of how it was started, and the other is primarily considered the staple diet of the people in the Himalayas. Though both are cheese, when one uses the term ‘Kalimpong Cheese,’ there is a specific image that the product invokes. This image is often associated with the missionaries in the region and presents an exotic image that is essential to differentiate and market the product. Churpi doesn’t have such a detailed documented history, as it is mainly made by women locally. By exploring the circulation of both products, I engage with how different customers impact the image of these cheese. Finally, I also elaborate on how taste has an essential role in the whole image-making process of these two kinds of cheese.

Ayça Baydar

Geoff Childs, Melvyn Goldstein, Puchung Wangdui

not needed

Min He, Lufei Li, Ying Xu et al.

The Chinese pear (Pyrus spp.) exhibits typical gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI), which inhibits self-crossing and promotes out-crossing, similar to other fruit species in the Rosaceae family. Thus, S-compatible cultivars are required in pear orchards to ensure successful pollination and stable yields. In this study, 84 native Chinese pear accessions were genotyped by allele-specific PCR using one pair allele consensus primers and 29 pairs of S-allele-specific primers that were designed in this study. After cloning and sequencing the PCR products, the S-genotypes of all 84 pear accessions, including wild and cultivated accessions, were determined. The reported 34 S-alleles and a novel S-allele were isolated from these pear accessions. These S-alleles were expressed specifically in the style. Sequence analysis identified that six pear cultivars originated in China shared the same S-RNases with P. communis (Pc). These findings supported the hypothesis that oriental and occidental Pyrus spp. may share the same pool of alleles at the S-locus. A novel S-RNase was isolated in ‘Putiandouli’, ‘Daguoshanli’, ‘Yunhongli 1′, and ‘Dianli’ and deposited as S67-RNase under accession number MT773568. Furthermore, the deduced amino acid sequences exhibited high similarity (99.56%) to S32-RNase in Malus. The high similarity between S-RNase in Pyrus and Malus indicated that the existence of S-RNase could have predated speciation between Pyrus and Malus. Furthermore, S-allele information was rearranged in Asian and European pears to provide information for selecting the best pollinator for widely cultivated pear cultivars in China. This information is useful for pear production, cross-breeding, and understanding the mechanism of the self-incompatibility reaction.

Lok C. D. Siu, Claire Chun

ABSTRACT:The essay examines the rise of anti-Asian aggression within the converging vectors of the pandemic, the escalation of the U.S.-China trade war, and the growing concerns about cyber- and techno-security. By analyzing the techniques and effects of race-making in the current pandemic moment and connecting them to historical antecedents, we trace the persistence of the yellow peril ideology across different contexts. We argue that the yellow peril ideology, now configured within a techno-Orientalist imaginary where China is posited as the chief enemy-threat, is powerfully animating the racial logics and racial affect mediating the multiple terrains of public health, technology, and global trade.

Dan M. Kotliar