scholarly journals The East and the West

Author(s):  
Hye K. Pae

Abstract This chapter reviews the cultural aspects of the East and the West. A wide range of differences between the East and the West is discussed in terms of the extrinsic and intrinsic differences. The extrinsic differences comprise architecture, the mode of clothing, everyday practices, and language and script, while the intrinsic differences consist of culture and value systems, attention and perception (holistic vs. analytic), problem solving (relation vs. categorization), and rhetorical structure (linear vs. roundabout). The locus of these differences is identified with respect to philosophical foundations and the characteristics of Eastern and Western cultures. The prevalent interpretations of the differences between the East and the West center on Diamond’s (1999) guns, germs, and steel, Nisbett’s (2003) geography of thought, and Logan’s (2004) alphabet effects. However, these interpretations cannot explain differences in ideologies, religious practices, and societal values among Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. Therefore, script relativity becomes a new interpretation of the engine behind the differences among the three East-Asian nations and between the East and the West.

Writing from a wide range of historical perspectives, contributors to the anthology shed new light on historical, theoretical and empirical issues pertaining to the documentary film, in order to better comprehend the significant transformations of the form in colonial, late colonial and immediate post-colonial and postcolonial times in South and South-East Asia. In doing so, this anthology addresses an important gap in the global understanding of documentary discourses, practices, uses and styles. Based upon in-depth essays written by international authorities in the field and cutting-edge doctoral projects, this anthology is the first to encompass different periods, national contexts, subject matter and style in order to address important and also relatively little-known issues in colonial documentary film in the South and South-East Asian regions. This anthology is divided into three main thematic sections, each of which crosses national or geographical boundaries. The first section addresses issues of colonialism, late colonialism and independence. The second section looks at the use of the documentary film by missionaries and Christian evangelists, whilst the third explores the relation between documentary film, nationalism and representation.


This book opens a cross-regional dialogue and shifts the Eurocentric discussion on diversity and integration to a more inclusive engagement with South America in private international law issues. It promotes a contemporary vision of private international law as a discipline enabling legal interconnectivity, with the potential to transcend its disciplinary boundaries to further promote the reality of cross-border integration, with its focus on the ever-increasing cross-border mobility of individuals. Private international law embraces legal diversity and pluralism. Different legal traditions continue to meet, interact and integrate in different forms, at the national, regional and international levels. Different systems of substantive law couple with divergent systems of private international law (designed to accommodate the former in cross-border situations). This complex legal landscape impacts individuals and families in cross-border scenarios, and international commerce broadly conceived. Private international law methodologies and techniques offer means for the coordination of this constellation of legal orders and value systems in cross-border situations. Bringing together world-renowned academics and experienced private international lawyers from a wide range of jurisdictions in Europe and South America, this edited collection focuses on the connective capabilities of private international law in bridging and balancing legal diversity as a corollary for the development of integration. The book provides in-depth analysis of the role of private international law in dealing with legal diversity across a diverse range of topics and jurisdictions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
Moulay Rachid Mrani

If the development of technology, means of communication, and rapid transportation have made continents closer and made the world a small village, the outcome of the ensuing encounters among cultures and civilizations is far from being a mere success. Within this new reality Muslims, whether they live in majority or minority contexts, face multiple challenges in terms of relating to non-Muslim cultures and traditions. One of these areas is the status of women and gender equality. Ali Mazrui was one of the few Muslim intellectuals to be deeply interested in this issue. His dual belonging, as an African and as a westerner, enable him to understand such issues arising from the economic, political, and ethical contrasts between the West and Islam. This work pays tribute to this exceptional intellectual’s contribution toward the rapprochement between the western and the Islamic value systems, illustrating how he managed to create a “virtual” space for meeting and living together between two worlds that remain different yet dependent upon each other. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 09 (03) ◽  
pp. 163-167
Author(s):  
Arvind Krishnamurthy ◽  
Siva Shankar Behuria

Abstract Background Esophageal cancers (ECs) are more prevalent in the East Asian countries of the world, wherein squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are the predominant histological subtype. In contrast, the patterns in the West are a bit heterogeneous, with esophageal adenocarcinoma (AC) being the more frequent histological subtype. There is very sparse published Indian data pertaining to the demographic trends of ECs. Materials and Methods Our study was a retrospective analysis of the demographic trends of 917 patients afflicted with ECs who were managed at our center over a 10-year period. Results and Discussion EC accounted for nearly 4.1% of the total cancer burden managed at our center from January 2002 to December 2011. The mean age of our patient cohort was 54.2 years. The male:female ratio was nearly 1.7:1. Tobacco chewing was noted in 25.4%, smoking in 37%, while alcohol consumption was noted in approximately 20% of the patients. SCC was the most common histological subtype (78.3%), while ACs constituted only 9.9%. Eighty-nine percent of our patients presented with locally advanced staged tumors. Definitive chemoradiation was the most common modality of definitive management then; however, over the years, our preferred choice of the management of ECs has shifted to neoadjuvant chemoradiation, followed by surgery in the carefully selected patients of locally advanced resectable ECs. Conclusion Our study clearly shows SCC to be the most common histological subtype among ECs, a trend that has been observed in the vast majority of the East Asian nations. The epidemic rise in the incidence of esophageal ACs as seen in the West is not seen in our study. Periodic monitoring of the demographic trends of ECs is of great importance both for clinicians and policymakers. We hope that our study will enlighten both policy holders and clinicians to better channelize the efforts toward prevention and more effective management of this deadly cancer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison C. Cleary ◽  
Maria C. Casas ◽  
Edward G. Durbin ◽  
Jaime Gómez-Gutiérrez

AbstractThe keystone role of Antarctic krill,Euphausia superbaDana, in Southern Ocean ecosystems, means it is essential to understand the factors controlling their abundance and secondary production. One such factor that remains poorly known is the role of parasites. A recent study of krill diet using DNA analysis of gut contents provided a snapshot of the parasites present within 170E. superbaguts in a small area along the West Antarctic Peninsula. These parasites includedMetschnikowiaspp. fungi,Haptoglossasp. peronosporomycetes,LankesteriaandParalecudinaspp. apicomplexa,Stegophorussp. nematodes, andPseudocolliniaspp. ciliates. Of these parasites,Metschnikowiaspp. fungi andPseudocolliniaspp. ciliates had previously been observed inE. superba, as had other genera of apicomplexans, though notLankesteriaandParalecudina.In contrast, nematodes had previously only been observed in eggs ofE. superba, and there are no literature reports of peronosporomycetes in euphausiids.Pseudocolliniaspp., parasitoids which obligately kill their host, were the most frequently observed infection, with a prevalence of 12%. The wide range of observed parasites and the relatively high frequency of infections suggest parasites may play a more important role than previously acknowledged inE. superbaecology and population dynamics.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edvin Memet ◽  
Feodor Hilitski ◽  
Margaret A Morris ◽  
Walter J Schwenger ◽  
Zvonimir Dogic ◽  
...  

We use optical trapping to continuously bend an isolated microtubule while simultaneously measuring the applied force and the resulting filament strain, thus allowing us to determine its elastic properties over a wide range of applied strains. We find that, while in the low-strain regime, microtubules may be quantitatively described in terms of the classical Euler-Bernoulli elastic filament, above a critical strain they deviate from this simple elastic model, showing a softening response with increasing deformations. A three-dimensional thin-shell model, in which the increased mechanical compliance is caused by flattening and eventual buckling of the filament cross-section, captures this softening effect in the high strain regime and yields quantitative values of the effective mechanical properties of microtubules. Our results demonstrate that properties of microtubules are highly dependent on the magnitude of the applied strain and offer a new interpretation for the large variety in microtubule mechanical data measured by different methods.


2021 ◽  
pp. 932-950
Author(s):  
Vladislav Vyacheslavovich Emelyanov

Every few decades, the world order changes due to various geopolitical, economic and other circumstances. For example, as a result of globalization, the world order has undergone significant changes in the last forty years. Globalization has led to the destruction of the postwar world order, as well as to world leadership by the United States and the West. However, in recent decades, as a result of globalization, the U.S. and the West began to cede their leadership to developing countries, so there is now a change in the economic structure of relations in the world system. Today the center of economic growth is in the East, namely in Asia. There are no new superpowers in the world at the moment, but the unipolar world will cease to exist due to the weakening of the U. S. leadership, which will lead to a change in the world order. A new leader, which may replace the U. S., will not have as wide range of advantages as the USA has. Most likely, the essence of the new order will be to unite the largest countries and alliances into blocks, for example, the USA together with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the EU, etc. The article outlines forecasts of GDP growth rates as well as the global energy outlook; analyzes the LNG market as well as the impact of the pandemic on the global oil and gas market; and lists the characteristics of U. S. geopolitics.


1976 ◽  
Vol 1 (15) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Dorrington Mettam

In March 1972 the author's firm in association with two Portuguese firms of consulting engineers, Consulmar and Lusotecna, were appointed by the Portuguese Government agency Gabinete da Area de Sines to prepare designs for the construction of a new harbour at Sines on the west coast of Portugal. The location is shown in Figure 1. The main breakwater, which is the subject of this paper, is probably the largest breakwater yet built, being 2 km long and in depths of water of up to 50 m. It is exposed to the North Atlantic and has been designed for a significant wave height of 11 m. Dolos units invented by Merrifield (ref. 1) form the main armour. The project programme required that studies be first made of a wide range of alternative layouts for the harbour. After the client had decided on the layout to be adopted, documents were to be prepared to enable tenders for construction to be invited in January 1973. This allowed little time for the design to be developed and only one series of flume tests, using regular waves, was completed during this period. Further tests in the regular flume were completed during the tender period and a thorough programme of testing with irregular waves was commenced later in the year, continuing until August 1974 when the root of the breakwater was complete and the construction of the main cross-section was about to start. The model tests, which were carried out at the Laboratorio Nacional de Engenharia Civil in Lisbon, were reported by Morals in a paper presented to the 14th International Coastal Engineering Conference in 1974. (ref. 2)


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Cidro ◽  
Caroline Doenmez ◽  
Stephanie Sinclair ◽  
Alexandra Nychuk ◽  
Larissa Wodtke ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective In the past few years, increasing numbers of Indigenous doula collectives have been forming across Canada. Indigenous doulas provide continuous, culturally appropriate support to Indigenous women during pregnancy, birth, and the post-partum period. This support is critical to counter systemic medical racism and socioeconomic barriers that Indigenous families disproportionately face. This paper analyzes interviews with members of five Indigenous doula collectives to demonstrate their shared challenges, strategies, and missions. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with members of five Indigenous doula collectives across Canada in 2020. Interviews were transcribed and returned to participants for their approval. Approved transcripts were then coded by all members of the research team to ascertain the dominant themes emerging across the interviews. Results Two prominent themes emerged in the interviews. The first theme is “Indigenous doulas responding to community needs.” Participants indicated that responding to community needs involves harm reduction and trauma-informed care, supporting cultural aspects of birthing and family, and helping clients navigate socioeconomic barriers. The second theme is “Indigenous doulas building connections with mothers.” Participants’ comments on providing care to mothers emphasize the importance of advocacy in healthcare systems, boosting their clients’ confidence and skills, and being the “right” doula for their clients. These two inter-related themes stem from Indigenous doulas’ efforts to counter dynamics in healthcare and social services that can be harmful to Indigenous families, while also integrating cultural teachings and practices. Conclusion This paper illustrates that Indigenous doula care responds to a wide range of issues that affect Indigenous women’s experiences of pregnancy, birth, and the post-partum period. Through building strong, trusting, and non-judgemental connections with mothers and responding to community needs, Indigenous doulas play a critical role in countering medical racism in hospital settings and advancing the resurgence of Indigenous birthing sovereignty.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 9-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Zakirova ◽  
Ye. N. Volodina

Introduction. For over two decades, Russian education has been in a state of permanent reform. Due to the long and unproductive nature of the modernisation process, researchers are paying special attention to systemic factors, noting that system optimisation processes are structured primarily around organisational and technological models derived from industry. The prevalence of the technological component over the axiological results in the consolidation of a pragmatic, narrowly functional, technocratic vector of education development. To overcome this situation and to break this deadlock, a profound reconsideration of the values underlying mechanisms of reform is required, taking into account multifaceted personal, social, national and universal relations, as well as unity of content, forms and means of education.The aims of the research were identified as follows: to analyse the current trends of modernisation in comprehensive schools and higher educational establishments; to justify humanistic mechanisms for improving the modernisation in the context of language education, which performs personally developing and socialising functions under ideological pluralism and opposition of value systems.Methodology and research methods. The research was conducted taking a person-activity-based approach, referring to cultural-historical concepts, ideas of philosophical hermeneutics and traditional principles of pedagogical methodology. The theoretical framework was based on the publications and philosophical foundations of Russian and foreign scholars, who define the key role of humanistic principles and value orientations in education. The following standard research methods were used: comparison, induction, deduction, abstraction, synthesis, specification, structural and logical modelling, content analysis of documents and scientific publications on the stated problem, observation, questioning, peer review and experiment. In addition, non-standard methods and research techniques such as metaphorical modelling, biographical method and interpretational techniques were used.Results and scientific novelty. Modernisation processes in Russian education were considered: regulatory base, purposes, priorities, problems and prospects. The following thesis was proposed: at the new stage of socio-historical transformation, it is necessary to overcome the negative effects of long-term practice in the reform of the national educational system through developing established traditions as well as updating the humanistic potential of education and ensuring its axiological enrichment. The authors consider pedagogical hermeneutics as a potentially productive means and methodological tool. Pedagogical hermeneutics implies a heuristic and poly-variable apperception of reality through education in order to understand and interpret different genres of cultural texts, providing simultaneous support both to the general public and to the individual, on the basis of rational and emotionally intelligent experience accumulated in science, religion, art, language and national traditions – i.e. culture as a whole. It was shown that language education based on principles of pedagogical hermeneutics is capable of establishing humanistic mechanisms of personactivity-based social norms and cultural models. The authors presented a number of modelling options for the realisation of the proposed hermeneutical approach: various experimentally-validated techniques, educational approaches and procedures designed by teacher-researchers were briefly described, focusing on the achievement of qualitative conformance of educational results to the humanistic appeals and urgent needs of society.Practical significance. The use of hermeneutical techniques as educational tools and procedures allows us to decode semiotic information of curricula subjects; in addition, when using meta-language, it is possible to expand the content by adding personal value-sense and dialogical subjectivity, as well as to transform it into a personal sign-symbol or behavioural template. The acquisition of language experience in the process of humanistic-centred education increases the immunity of a student to various manifestations of character defectivity, strengthening identity and resistance to manipulation of consciousness in political and ideological processes and mass media. Moreover, language experience resists the deformation of the communicative sphere and verbal-cognitive processes, encouraging personal self-realisation.


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