The Islamist Challenge in the Greater Mediterranean

The article examines and analyzes the spread of Islamism or Political Islam movements in the Greater Mediterranean and their increasing influence on the socio-political situation in 2011-2021. The historical factors, which contributed to the emergence of the hearths of Islamic culture in the countries which entered the Arab Caliphate in the Greater Mediterranean parallel with the Antique centers of European civilization, are retrospectively exposed. The Islamist ideologues called the Ottoman Imperia the heir of the Arab Caliphate. The main doctrinal conceptions of Political Islam and its more influential movement Muslim Brotherhood (forbidden in Russia) are discovered. The factor of the Arab Spring, which considerably influenced the strengthening of the Islamist movements, as well as its continuation of the protests in the Arab countries in 2018-2021, is examined. The main attention is allotted to analyzing the actions of the Islamic movements in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and in the Libyan and Syrian conflicts too. The influence of external actors, the most active of which was Turkey, is revealed. The author also analyzes the situation in the Arab-Muslim communities in the European Mediterranean on the example of France, where social-economic problems, aggravated by COVID-19, have contributed to the activation of radical Islamist elements. It is concluded that confronting the Islamist challenge is a complex and controversial task. Its solution depends on both forceful opposition to radical groups and an appropriate foreign policy. An important negative factor is the aggravation of socio-economic problems and crisis phenomena in the institutions of Western democracy, in response to which the ideologues of Islamism preach an alternative world order in the form of an Islamic state. At the moment the Western society and the countries which repeat its liberal model do not give a distinct response to this challenge.

Domains in the Encyclopedic Semantics of some English and Arabic Equivalent Culture-Specific Words

The present study aims at finding interpretations for some inquiries in the field of encyclopedic semantics. It is an academic reflection of language exchange between English and Arabic which is one of the most prevalent interests of the recent cognitive linguistic researches. Particularly, it analyzes the way culture-specific words of two different languages can comparatively be understood. The single-method is adopted for the methodological approach of the study. The data collection is conducted according to a content analysis by extracting some CSWs that are referred to in some comparative culture-specific studies of English and Arabic. It is found that (1) there can be more than one domain matrix for equivalent CSWs; (2) the exact comparison between CSWs lies in the profile-base organization (3) the two or multi-dimensional domains are configurational; (4) the culture-specific standards locate the diversity between the domain matrixes of equivalent CSWs. Some key conclusions to draw is that (1) the domain matrix of a CSW depends on to the culture-specific norms; (2) the distinctive point of the tripartite (profile, base and concept) is the profile rather than the base; (3) image-schematic domains indicate the object material domains; (4) culture-specific norms are affected by religious and historical factors which control the inventory knowledge for the CSWs.

The Systematization and Preservation of Cultural Heritage of National Minorities in the Context of the Postmodern Philosophy

The article studies the Jewish cemetery which provides a significant amount of historical information about various aspects of the life of the Jewish community which have long been out of focus. The objective of the research lies in proving the relevance of marginal culturally significant objects in the context of postmodern philosophy, as well as explaining and analyzing the compositional ways and peculiarities of plastic images of the facades of the gravestones in Kremenets, one of the Volyn areas of the Jewish culture in the 18th century – the early 19th century. The article focuses on the most common method of studying the monuments of Jewish gravestone epigraphy. The methodology of the research is based on the regionalist approaches to the problem and the application of culturological, retrospective comparative-historical methods and the use of critical analysis. For the first time, the artistic and style peculiarities of the memorial plastic arts of Jewish cemetery in Kremenets are analysed and the historical factors that influenced them are explicated. It was proved that the historical and cultural value of the Jewish necropolis in Kremenets lies in its originality. The cemetery is one of the oldest in Europe and contains unique information on the history, customs and culture of the Jewish people. It can become a promising object of visit for postmodern consumers, interested in unpopular and marginal tourist artefacts.

Area, isolation and climate explain the diversity of mammals on islands worldwide

Insular biodiversity is expected to be regulated differently than continental biota, but their determinants remain to be quantified at a global scale. We evaluated the importance of physical, environmental and historical factors on mammal richness and endemism across 5592 islands worldwide. We fitted generalized linear and mixed models to accommodate variation among biogeographic realms and performed analyses separately for bats and non-volants. Richness on islands ranged from one to 234 species, with up to 177 single island endemics. Diversity patterns were most consistently influenced by the islands’ physical characteristics. Area positively affected mammal diversity, in particular the number of non-volant endemics. Island isolation, both current and past, was associated with lower richness but greater endemism. Flight capacity modified the relative importance of past versus current isolation, with bats responding more strongly to current and non-volant mammals to past isolation. Biodiversity relationships with environmental factors were idiosyncratic, with a tendency for greater effects sizes with endemism than richness. The historical climatic change was positively associated with endemism. In line with theory, we found that area and isolation were among the strongest drivers of mammalian biodiversity. Our results support the importance of past conditions on current patterns, particularly of non-volant species.

On Cooperation and Im/politeness in French Interactions

In Culpeper’s (2009) extensive study of how impoliteness-related terms are used, especially in relation to people’s expectations in public-service contexts, the term “french” occurs twice, along with “doorman,” “bouncer,” “bartender,” “waitress,” “waiter,” “yorker,” “staff.” Based on this, could one suppose that, in daily interactions in French, the principles of cooperation (Grice, 1975) and politeness come into conflict, leading to the characterization of speakers as impolite? If this is the case, why? How does it occur? Is this characterization specific to public-service contexts, or does it extend to other domains of social life? Aiming to provide answers to these questions, this study draws on the framework of conversation analysis using a socio-pragmatic approach (from Austin, 1962, to Kerbrat-Orecchioni, 2010, and Culpeper, 2021). Guided by socio-cultural and historical factors (Bourdieu, 1984; La Bruyère, 1688), it explores the concept of linguistic im/politeness (Culpeper, 2009, 2021; Curtin, 1995; Meier, 1995) in its interaction with Grice’s (1975) principles of cooperation. To this end, we examine the ritual of greeting, in particular the exchange of “bonjour” in daily social interactions in a French-speaking context, using an authentic data corpus (Reddit, 2014). The results of our analysis show that, in certain situations, when the symmetry of this ritual is broken and the act fails, French speakers attribute to what is understood as politeness a rating higher than they do to cooperation, giving rise to the opposite phenomenon, impoliteness.

Assessment of Recidivism Risk in Sex Offenders: A Pilot Study in Central Italy

Knowing the risk factors of recidivism in sex offenders is important in order to prepare effective preventative interventions and treatment in custody. In this regard, the following paper shows the results of a pilot study carried out in the prisons of central Italy in which 44 sex offenders participated. These participants were given the following tests: Historical Clinical Risk Management-20-version 3 (HCR20v3), Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and Personal Inventory Dimensional (PID-5). The results show a high positivity in the factors of the sub-scales H (historical factors) and C (clinical factors) of HCR20v3; the average total score of the PCR-L is 16.47, with five subjects who are in the “high psychopathy” range (X ≥ 30); with regard to PID-5, the most positive domain is negative affectivity (56.10%).

Problems of linguo-cultural analysis of phraseological units in the French and Uzbek languages

This article is devoted to the study of linguistic and cultural problems of toponymic component phraseologies in French and Uzbek languages. The article pays special attention to the emergence of toponymic component phraseologies on the basis of extralinguistic factors. It examines the national and cultural features of phraseology, their role in enhancing the methodological color of the work of art and the theoretical aspects of the translation of these units, as well as the views of linguists on the linguistic and cultural nature of phraseology. Factors of emergence of toponymic component phraseology in the article 1) phraseology based on socio-historical factors; 2) phraseology, the origin of which is associated with folk art; 3) phraseology related to everyday life, customs and traditions of people; 4) analyzed on the basis of mastered phraseology. Also, a quantitative analysis of the sources of origin of phraseological units with a component of national-cultural toponyms in French and Uzbek languages was conducted. The studied toponymic component phraseologies were studied in their own layer and foreign layer, and their quantitative analysis was carried out. In French and Uzbek, the meaningful objects of phraseological units with a toponymic component are studied separately by linguocultural description.

Specific cultural and political challenges in cross-border public participation

The Site Selection Act (StandAG) regulates the individual procedural steps for a scientifically sound, participatory and transparent search and selection of a site for the safe final disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The result should be supported by a broad social consensus; those affected should be able to tolerate the outcome. For Germany, as the European country with the most neighbouring states, it is likely that some of the sub-areas, siting regions and possible sites defined in the selection procedure will be located on or in the immediate vicinity of one or more national borders; however, in the construction of a repository for high-level radioactive waste, “affectedness” does not stop at national borders, so that the public (citizens and other stakeholders) from neighbouring countries must be involved in the participation processes at an early stage and on an ongoing basis. The focus of this presentation lies on the challenges of cross-border participation based on previous experience in other subject areas and specific cultural and political framework conditions in neighbouring countries. We therefore address the following questions: What risks and obstacles must be taken into account in cross-border public participation and how can these be overcome? What specific cultural and political framework conditions exist in neighbouring countries and to what extent can these have an effect? The literature on cross-border cooperation describes that regions that cooperate across borders face particular challenges because they are each integrated into different national, institutional and legal systems in which responsibilities and competences may be assigned differently (cf. Beck, 2018; Scherer and Zumbusch, 2011; UNECE, 2009). Identifying and implementing success factors is a major challenge and can at the same time be an important prerequisite for successful transboundary participation in the search for a repository. Indications in this respect can be derived from other cross-border procedures between Germany and neighbouring states (cf. Abromeit, 2007; Nijsten and Paulussen, 2004; Saxenhofer et al., 2017). Participation and its manifestation within a state, a region or a specific place is strongly dependent on the respective cultural and political framework conditions. Nation states have different characteristics in their political systems as well as political cultures (Rogoff, 2015; Enserink et al., 2007). In Western Europe they differ primarily in terms of their democratic model, i.e. whether, for example, they are more parliamentary-representative or direct-democratic and whether there are more centralised or decentralised responsibilities and decision-making powers. The political culture is primarily determined by the way state and non-state actors interact and cooperate with each other, which is also reflected in the way public participation in decision-making is handled. Historical factors play an important role here. In certain thematic fields or issues, there can be a long tradition of cooperative processing and solving of problems. The research project HErüber (Sperfeld et al., 2021), which is commissioned by the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), analyses specific risks and obstacles, as well as cultural and political framework conditions. Based on a literature review, first results are presented.

Number and territorial distribution of the Ukrainians of Moldova in the beginning of the XXI century

The article presents a general description of the demographic situation in the Republic of Moldova at the beginning of the XXI century (negative population growth), a comparative analysis with the previous period is carried out, the main factors contributing to the deterioration of demographic indicators are analyzed: a decrease in the birth rate, an increase in mortality rates – causes and effects, migration outflow of the population of working and reproductive age, negative tendencies in nuptiality (reduction in the number of marriages, postponement of marriages to a later date, a sharp increase in the number of divorces), deterioration in the health of the population, reduction in life expectancy. In general, the deterioration of demographic indicators is a consequence of political instability, a high level of corruption, a severe economic crisis, resulting in the decline of living standards, increase of unemployment, degradation of social security systems, education, culture, science, etc. All these negative processes were reflected in the Ukrainians of Moldova. The most compact Ukrainians live in the northern regions and on the left bank of the Dniester, which is due to historical factors.