Layers of Meaning and Evolution of Cultural Identity: The Case of Wind Towers in Dubai

Place identity is an important constituent of general cultural identity, in that it provides its share of continuity, sustainability, and character to the built environment. The image of cultural heritage is stored knowledge that reflects the identity of a specific culture. In the formation of a place, some features gain identity with the environment. This study aims to explore the evolving image formation of wind towers in Dubai, and how this image is related to the concept of meaning and cultural identity of the place. This study focuses on the process of place identity formation and its relation to the evolving cultural values of society, as well as how it is applied to the changing meaning of cultural heritage objects. Based on the value assessment approach, different examples of wind towers, taken from either traditional houses or contemporary buildings influenced by the local architecture in Dubai, the author attempted to study how the interpretation and meaning of wind towers has evolved through time, thus influencing the cultural identity of Dubai city. This study is based on qualitative research. It concludes that a wind tower, as a cooling device, represents a unique example of an evolving creative process of architectural expression, resulting from the social and cultural complexity of the Persian Gulf in the early twentieth century. They were introduced through commercial exchange, adapted by the mercantile community, and integrated into local cultural systems—thus creating new architectural features and urban character—and reintroduced as a modern symbol of cultural identity for Dubai and the UAE.

India, Russia and Iran: a New Study on “North — South” International Transport Corridor

The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) has made impressive progress in making boat, street, and rail courses that transport cargo between India, Iran and Russia and countries of the European Union and Central Asia. It connects India Ocean, Iran, the Persian Gulf nations, through the nations of the Caucasus and Central Asia with Russia and mainland Europe. This task was a reaction to Eurasian coordination, “Extraordinary Eurasian Partnership” (Russia, 2011) including “One Belt, One Road” (China, 2013) and The Silk Road. By rethinking the Integration and Economic Potential of the INSTC and its importance for the partaking nations, it is feasible to utilize the rationale of the aggregate game plan of the Eurasian space in light of a legitimate concern for all member states. However, the first trail train via INSTC, departing from Helsinki on June 21, 2021, arrived at its destination at twice the speed of the existing Suez Canal route, proving the timeliness and competitiveness but missing rout in Iran Rasht-Astara railway line still remain the challenging problem for the Iranian government as well as for India and Russia.

The study of a severe dust storm over Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean with two operational dust forecasting models

Introduction: The entry of dust particles into water areas, which has increased sharply in recent years, causes a lot of environmental damage. The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are among the water areas that are covered with dust many times of the year. Materials and methods: In this study, a severe dust from July 27 to 31, 2018 is analyzed, in which a large part of the Persian Gulf, Oman Sea and the western part of the Indian Ocean was involved. To study this phenomenon from different perspectives, satellite products, visibility from synoptic stations and synoptic maps were analyzed and the output of two numerical dust models of NASA-GEOS and DREAM8-MACC were examined. To qualitative and quantitative evaluate of the model outputs, the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) of TERRA/MODIS was used. Results: Satellite imagery shows that in this case study, parts of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman were affected by dust, and on July 30, dust particles entered the western half of the Indian Ocean. Comparison of model outputs with satellite data resulted that both models underestimate the AOD values, especially over water, and do not show well the entrance of dust particles into the eastern part of the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the western half of the Indian Ocean. Conclusion: Qualitative and quantitative comparison of AOD output of the two models with satellite data showed that the NASA-GEOS model had better performance and its output correlation with observational data was higher.

The Historical Background to Japan’s Peacekeeping Policy from the Early Postwar Era to the Establishment of the PKO Act 1945–1992

In this chapter, we will review the evolution of Japan’s peacekeeping policy from the immediate aftermath of Japan’s defeat in 1945 to the enactment of the Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) Act in 1992. In the first section, we will look at the historical background during the postwar period (in this book, the term “postwar” denotes the period in Japan from its defeat in World War II in 1945 to the end of the Cold War in around 1990), including the rise of anti-militarism, the hidden rearmament, the establishment of the de facto ban on overseas military dispatch, the rejection of the UN’s request for the Self-Defense Forces’ (SDF’s) deployment to a United Nations Peacekeeping Operation (UNPKO) and the aborted plan to dispatch a minesweeper to the Persian Gulf. This section will also examine the Government of Japan’s legal standpoint about the possibility of SDF deployment to a UNPKO. In the second section, we will clarify how the Gulf Crisis/War in 1990–1991 made Japan abandon the taboo against overseas military dispatch. Then, we will review the course of the challenging lawmaking process of the PKO Act, which was finally passed in June 1992. Lastly, we will see the restrictions inserted into the PKO Act, such as the so-called Five Principles.