The Empire in the Southwest

Author(s):  
Avraham Faust

In light of the information provided in the previous chapters, Chapter 7 (‘The Empire in the Southwest: Reconstructing Assyrian Activity in the Provinces’) examines the way the empire operated in the southwestern provinces, including the activity of the local governors, the deportation of some of the population, and the settling of foreign deportees. The evidence shows that indications for Assyrian administration are lacking from most of the provinces’ areas, and that they were not of much significance for the imperial authorities, which concentrated their efforts on the frontiers facing the flourishing clients. It is only in these regions that we find evidence for significant imperial activity. Combining the archaeological and textual evidence also shed light on the status of Dor, which appears to have been managed by Tyre, and indicate that parts in the coastal plain (including the anchorages) were administered by the clients.

Moreana ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (Number 181- (3-4) ◽  
pp. 9-68
Author(s):  
Jean Du Verger

The philosophical and political aspects of Utopia have often shadowed the geographical and cartographical dimension of More’s work. Thus, I will try to shed light on this aspect of the book in order to lay emphasis on the links fostered between knowledge and space during the Renaissance. I shall try to show how More’s opusculum aureum, which is fraught with cartographical references, reifies what Germain Marc’hadour terms a “fictional archipelago” (“The Catalan World Atlas” (c. 1375) by Abraham Cresques ; Zuane Pizzigano’s portolano chart (1423); Martin Benhaim’s globe (1492); Martin Waldseemüller’s Cosmographiae Introductio (1507); Claudius Ptolemy’s Geographia (1513) ; Benedetto Bordone’s Isolario (1528) ; Diogo Ribeiro’s world map (1529) ; the Grand Insulaire et Pilotage (c.1586) by André Thevet). I will, therefore, uncover the narrative strategies used by Thomas More in a text which lies on a complex network of geographical and cartographical references. Finally, I will examine the way in which the frontispiece of the editio princeps of 1516, as well as the frontispiece of the third edition published by Froben at Basle in 1518, clearly highlight the geographical and cartographical aspect of More’s narrative.


SUHUF ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-214
Author(s):  
Afifur Rochman Sya'rani

Most of traditional Muslim exegetes interpret Q. 4:34 in terms of maintaining the superiority of men over women. Some progressive Muslim scholars then insist a contextual approach to the verse to criticize gender inequality. Among some progressive Muslim scholars, this article comparatively examines the interpretations of Amina Wadud and Mohammed Talbi of Q. 4:34. Although both of them propose a contextual reading of the verse, they have different intellectual background, approach and method in interpreting the Qur’ān. The questions are to what extent the similarities and differences of both Wadud’s and Talbi’s interpretation of Q. 4:34 and how far their interpretations reflect their respective intention and perspective? Applying Gadamer’s hermeneutical approach, the article concludes that [1] Both Wadud and Talbi argue that the verse does not establish the superiority of men over women, but acknowledges duties division among married couple; [2] the difference among their interpretations is on the status of relationship among married couple; [3] Wadud’s and Talbi’s interpretations represent their respective hermeneutical situations and the way they define ontologically the nature of  interpretation and Qur’anic hermeneutics affect on producing the meanings of the verse.


Author(s):  
Derek Parfit

This third volume of this series develops further previous treatment of reasons, normativity, the meaning of moral discourse, and the status of morality. It engages with critics, and shows the way to resolution of their differences. This volume is partly about what it is for things to matter, in the sense that we all have reasons to care about these things. Much of the book discusses three of the main kinds of meta-ethical theory: normative naturalism, quasi-realist expressivism, and non-metaphysical non-naturalism, which this book refers to as non-realist cognitivism. This third theory claims that, if we use the word ‘reality’ in an ontologically weighty sense, irreducibly normative truths have no mysterious or incredible ontological implications. If instead we use ‘reality’ in a wide sense, according to which all truths are truths about reality, this theory claims that some non-empirically discoverable truths — such as logical, mathematical, modal, and some normative truths — raise no difficult ontological questions. This book discusses these theories partly by commenting on the views of some of the contributors to Peter Singer's collection Does Anything Really Matter? Parfit on Objectivity.


Author(s):  
Jenny Andersson

Alvin Toffler’s writings encapsulated many of the tensions of futurism: the way that futurology and futures studies oscillated between forms of utopianism and technocracy with global ambitions, and between new forms of activism, on the one hand, and emerging forms of consultancy and paid advice on the other. Paradoxically, in their desire to create new images of the future capable of providing exits from the status quo of the Cold War world, futurists reinvented the technologies of prediction that they had initially rejected, and put them at the basis of a new activity of futures advice. Consultancy was central to the field of futures studies from its inception. For futurists, consultancy was a form of militancy—a potentially world altering expertise that could bypass politics and also escaped the boring halls of academia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-99
Author(s):  
Lukas Hermann

AbstractIn its peritext, Thomas Mann’s Entstehung des Doktor Faustus is described as a “Roman eines Romans”. The essay reasons that this description of its genre as well as structural aspects of its composition mark it as an autobiographical text. Instead of following most studies on the Doktor Faustus, which regard the Entstehung simply as a documentary source for exposing autobiographical intricacies of Mann’s novel, textual evidence for the Entstehung’s autonomy is given. The analysis focuses first on the structural frame of the Entstehung in order to show Mann’s central techniques of autobiographical self-stylization. In this context auto-fictional elements can also be identified. Exemplary passages from two longer sections are taken into account based on these findings. While the Doktor Faustus is a recurrent topic in these passages, it is not, by any means, the only one. Combined with varying autobiographical writing techniques, the Entstehung is thus displaying continuous independence from the Faustus. Based on these insights, future Mann studies on both works may reevaluate the role of the Entstehung for the reception of the Faustus and the status of autobiographical literature in the works of Thomas Mann.


2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-520
Author(s):  
Nicola Pozza

AbstractNumerous studies have dealt with the process of globalization and its various cultural products. Three such cultural products illustrate this process: Vikas Swarup’s novel Q and A (2005), the TV quiz show Kaun banega crorepati? (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?), and Danny Boyle’s film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). The novel, the TV show and the film have so far been studied separately. Juxtaposing and comparing Q and A, Kaun banega crorepati, and Slumdog Millionaire provides an effective means to shed light on the dialogic and interactive nature of the process of globalization. It is argued through this case study that an analysis of their place of production, language and content, helps clarify the derivative concepts of “glocalization” and “grobalization” with regard to the way(s) contemporary cultural products respond to globalization.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian G. Kern

Researchers employ triangulation to increase the validity of inference in qualitative and quantitative research. Leuffen, Shikano, and Walter have presented guidance as to which strategies to use when triangulating data sources. In this article, I explore how their findings can be translated for practical research purposes. I offer an illustrative application concentrating on the political power of traditional political authorities in Uganda and Tanzania. I analyze the status quo of political power and the preferred political power of traditional leaders. To triangulate, I use three sources: (1) constitutional-legal texts, (2) the Afrobarometer survey, and (3) in-depth interviews. I shed light on possible problems and analytical strategies for triangulation in practice, with a specific focus on convergence and divergence of sources.


2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (04) ◽  
pp. 447-493
Author(s):  
BALÁZS VASZKUN

Japan is going through a transformation, yet it is difficult to judge which model should be chosen as a direction to go in with corporate reforms. Badly needed initiatives seeking to replace outdated managerial habits by new best practices in Japanese firms are being jeopardized by organizational members whose goal is to maintain the status quo — in terms of both political power and everyday work routines. Yet managerial habits and behaviours need to change if Japanese firms are to be entrepreneurial and innovative. According to institutionalism, blocking new initiatives is normal, and societal support is needed for major reform attempts. The focus of this paper is to shed light on how society in Japan is divided when it comes to large firms altering practices with which they have been traditionally managed. Our proposition is that complex, multi-element reform packages — having a potentially opposing dominant coalition, which is the case of Japan — ought to be implemented following a well-defined, prioritized listing of elements. After examining an attitude survey carried out in Japan, our findings revealed two clusters with a particularly high level of support for traditional management. Moreover, out of the two, one appeared to be extremely passive and resistant to any sort of change. In order to fight general resistance and reform outdated practices, our survey shows that Japan could move further towards a system compensating performance rather than seniority and giving more chance to women, discarding mass-recruitment, slow promotion whilst also maintaining the most deeply-rooted traditional values such as job security, paternalism or harmony in corporate life.


Author(s):  
Clara Rübner Jørgensen

On the basis of data collected during fieldwork in the city of León, Nicaragua, this article discusses the paradox of many Nicaraguan parents describing their children’s school as being free of charge despite the fact that they are frequently asked to pay for it. The article shows that, in spite of the constitutional definition of education as free and equal for all Nicaraguans, parents are often asked for economic contributions. By analysing the values surrounding the school I suggest that values of responsibility and solidarity influence the way that parents conceptualize their school expenditures and, in relation to this, confirm the status of the school as free. Furthermore, the article describes how Nicaraguan parents often compare the school to their home and describe the relation between teacher and students by using family terms. Inspired by the theory of the American sociologist James Carrier, I argue that this comparison, in addition to the values of responsibility and solidarity, further influences the way Nicaraguan parents and children experience their economic contributions. Finally, I argue that even though the users of the school describe it as free of charge, it remains necessary to recognize its economic aspects, since a lack of recognition can turn out to have important individual and social consequences for the people involved, especially, for the most economically marginalized families.  


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Yifan Wang

 Against the backdrop of growing national strength and rapid economic development, the government has placed more emphasis on education. In recent years, remarkable achievements have been registered in terms of education in China, which lays a solid foundation for cultivating comprehensive professionally-trained personnel in the new era. However, the current education system is ridden with many setbacks and problems. This paper conducts an analysis of the specific conditions of education both at home and abroad, status quo of education in China, makes some reflections on the direction and measures of China's education reform based on the practical reality of education in China. Measures should be taken to inject personalities into the traditional, exam-oriented education system, which keeps pace with the new era. As is known to all, it's important to strike a balance between public education and non-government funded education in a scientific and reasonable manner. The overhauling of traditional education policies will pave the way for China's educational renaissance and realize the great blueprint of the Chinese dream. 


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