Direct Witness Research Articles

Multiple Views on Return Migration to Northern Syria

ABSTRACTMedia, humanitarian organisations and host governments have increasingly talked about returning refugees affected by a more than a decade‐long conflict in Syria. However, the northern Syria region does not offer adequate living conditions for return; this region is currently unfit for settlement, and it is impossible to attract Syrians to return to it, regardless of the lack of security and the political issues that many scholars have discussed. This study was conducted in early 2023 in two regions including four areas in northern Syria (Jarabulus, Azaz, Al‐Bab and Afrin) and three provinces in Türkiye (Istanbul, Gaziantep and Mersin). We compare the opinions of Syrian refugees in Türkiye and Syrians who had been internally displaced and who resettled in the northern region. The purpose of the comparison is to understand the views of both Syrians in Türkiye and in northern Syria regarding whether the region is attractive to them or not. However, the results confirm that people are not willing to return, as the push factors overcome the pull factors. The data collection among Türkiye‐based Syrians and northern Syria's residents enabled us to work with different opinion‐making processes: The assessment of today's Syrian services results from the direct witness of current dwellers and the views of Türkiye‐based refugees. Through a large‐scale survey, our study aims to identify the push factors that induce refugees to discount the possibility of returning to the northern Syrian region, including the lack of job opportunities and basic services such as potable water, electricity, fuel, Internet, adequate education and healthcare.

Still in there—citizens’ well-being and PTSD after Seoul Halloween crowd crush in Korea: a cross-sectional study

The October 29, 2022, Seoul Halloween Crowd Crush (SHCC) caused the loss of 159 lives, making it the deadliest global mass-gathering disaster between 2018 and 2022. Despite the fact that years have passed since the incident, there remains a significant gap in research addressing the mental health of citizens to evaluate their recovery progress. Therefore, in this study, a survey was conducted to assess citizens’ anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and well-being after the SHCC. The data were analyzed using t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlations, a Kruskal–Wallis test, and post hoc tests. The citizens' well-being differed significantly by victimization status, with direct victims showing languishing well-being (p = .036). PTSD severity level was higher in victims and direct witnesses (p < .001). Victims and direct witnesses exhibited worse outcomes in subjective, social, and psychological well-being as well as in PTSD (p < .001). Well-being exhibited a significant negative correlation with PTSD (r = − .247, p < .001). The results of the analysis suggest the SHCC’s psychological impact has endured not only for victims and direct witnesses but also for media-exposed citizens. Offering continuous psychological support and fostering positive self-perceptions and social interactions are crucial for their recovery and well-being enhancement.

Enhancing Emergency Post Classification through Image Information Amplification via Large Language Models

Real-time information extracted from social media platforms can be highly valuable during emergencies. For example, reports and direct witnesses can help build situational awareness in the early phases of an emergency, with the potential to save lives. However, suitable techniques for selecting relevant data are needed to gather this information from large-scale social media streams and utilize it effectively. Given the multimedia nature of these streams, selection techniques should simultaneously understand textual and image information, as previous studies highlighted. Leveraging recent advances in language and vision models, we propose and evaluate a method working with a homogeneous, text-only representation for the different modalities of social media posts. Experiments on established and novel datasets, including video data, show that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performances while providing a highly general and plug-and-play approach to multimodal data filtering.

The 1980 Aparejo Glacier catastrophic detachment: new insights and current status

The catastrophic detachment of Aparejo Glacier (one of the three known cases in the Andes) took place on 1 March 1980 and resulted in the removal of an ice volume initially estimated to be 7.2 Mm3, which originally was 1.0 km long and covered an area of 0.2 km2. The event caused the sudden mobilization of the sliding mass 3.7 km down valley at an estimated speed of 110 km/h, causing remarkable geomorphological changes, including the obliteration of most of the glacier. 40 years after the event, we analyze new evidence: 3 ground surveys carried out in 2015 and 2016; DEMs and glacier outlines compiled from orthorectified aerial imagery pre-and post-event; GNSS data; Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data; a terrestrial LiDAR scan survey of 2020, together with detailed interviews with 2 direct witnesses of the event, terrestrial and helicopter-borne photographs acquired 12 days after the sudden detachment. The combined interpretation of these new data, allow us to make a more precise estimation of the pre-detachment glacier volume, 12.9 ± 0.6 × 106 m3 and the detached ice volume of 11.7 ± 0.6 × 106 m3 (90% of the total volume of the glacier). We also show that in the 40-year period Aparejo Glacier has recovered 12.4% of the original glacier volume, with a mean ice thickness of 19.5 m and a maximum of 40 m according to GPR data, being preserved within the same basin as the detached glacier. In recent years, the glacier has shown a mean elevation change of −3.7 ± 1.2 m during the 2015–2020 period, with maximum thinning values greater than 8 m, which are probably caused by enhanced ablation due to climate warming and reduced precipitation during the current megadrought which started in 2010 and has lasted more than 1 decade. We conclude that under the projected scenarios of climate warming and reduced precipitation for central Chile, the risk associated to a new detachment of Aparejo Glacier is unlikely.

Преславно бо Господь прослави вѣрнаго раба своего»: чудеса в составе «Жития Михаила Ярославича Тверского

The paper examines the functioning of a symbolic microgenre as part of an Old Russian literary work of the 14 century — “The hagiography of Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy”. Among the miracles presented in the text only one is intravital, all the rest are posthumous. They are arranged in a chain of successive episodes, united ideologically, thematically and by the object of the image. Most posthumous miracles happened when the murdered prince`s body has been moved from the Horde to Tver, mostly on the foreign territory. Therefore the purpose of their inclusion in the hagiography may be the desire to affirm the holiness of Mikhail Tverskoy and to convince his enemies and people who do not believe in his righteousness. Among the common and familiar miraculous motifs are the following: a body untouched by wild animals, a pillar of fire and a glow over the body, incorruptible relics. Besides the miracles which are performed directly over the relics and with the relics, unusual situations that cannot be rationally explained may also be considered as miracles. The author of the text, without being a direct witness of miraculous events, basing on eyewitness accounts retells them in detail, sometimes with explanations. Despite references to early Old Russian literary works and the use of familiar topos, the author of “The hagiography of Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy”, thanks to the inclusion of miracles, manages to achieve a high degree of persuasiveness, to reveal his plan and reflect his assessment of what was happening in the Horde.

ПО ПРОЧТЕНИИ БРИТТЕНА: ОБ ОСОБЕННОСТЯХ СТИЛЯ И ДРАМАТУРГИИ ВТОРОЙ СИМФОНИИ БОРИСА КЛЮЗНЕРА

The article is devoted to the comparison of two significant works of world music classics of the second half of the XXth century: Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem” and Boris Klyuzner’s Second Symphony. Both these works are considered in the context of national and world tendencies of comprehension of the results of the Second World War in art. It is noted that Klyuzner’s Symphony was created on the wave of interest in Britten’s music that arose among Leningrad musicians after Shostakovich’s return from Aldeburgh and Britten’s visits to the USSR. Following a detailed analysis of the musical dramaturgy of Klyuzner’s Symphony and an examination of its background, it is concluded that the Leningrad composer, having become acquainted with Britten’s music, perhaps unknowingly, reproduced some features of its musical dramaturgy, in particular its timbre and intonation, and thus engaged in a dispute with the general idea of the work. A comparison of two works reveals the opposing conclusions which both composers reach in the finale: Britten’s conception is imbued with the spirit of religious and ethical catharsis of reconciliation, while Klyuzner’s conception is full of tragic pessimism, based on the personal experience of a direct witness and participant of the events, and contains no hope of future conflict resolution.

Historical Memories in Transcarpathia: Oral Historical Reflections on the Second World War

Transcarpathia is a border and mostly mountainous region with a rather complex ethnographic and religious mosaic. It borders 4 countries (Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia), and geographically is the westernmost part of Ukraine. These factors contributed to the shape of a local multicultural population with fluid identities and very specific worldviews. The deepening of cultural ruptures is increased by regional historical memory, which shows the past in a way that is not described in the official historical grand narrative. This situation is also influenced by ethnic diversity and the presence of ethnic minorities, in particular local Hungarians and Germans, whose reflections on World War II and Sovietization differ both from the official grand narrative and from the memories of local Ukrainians. This study exhibits these differences and attempts to generalize and explain them. The ethnographic data was collected during the author’s fieldwork. Among the respondents, there are representatives of various Transcarpathian ethnic groups, direct witnesses of the XX century’s most significant events. Memories of these events are analysed through their impact on the everyday life of ordinary people.

ӘБІШ КЕКІЛБАЕВТЫҢ ТІЛ ТУРАЛЫ ТОЛҒАМДАРЫ

Annotation. The literary and creative heritage of the outstanding statesman and public figure, people's writer of Kazakhstan Abish Kekilbayev covers a wide range of topics. Along with literary and artistic works of various genres, the writer also contributed with journalistic, educational and research works for the spiritual development of our people. His reflections on history and language, traditions, culture and outstanding personalities are reflected in many of his articles and speeches. He was a direct witness of our country's independence, participated in the formation of its legislative framework, and also made a great contribution to writing. Actively participated in the acquisition of the Kazakh language status of the state language, wrote many articles about the problems of its development. Studying the prehistory of the development of society and language, offering lessons from the history of the struggle for the fate of the native language of the peoples freed from citizenship, he expressed valuable thoughts in the direction of expanding the scope of the Kazakh language, education in the native language. In numerous speeches of the writer during the independence of the country, in interviews and articles like "Careful use of the native language and perfection of future generations is a matter of honor", "Our language is the main asset", "Thinking about language means thinking about everything", "The core of national spirituality is language", etc. he it tightens the problems of the native language. The writer's work, which deeply touches on the problem of independence and language, is a historical and cognitive study "Language and independence". It was published in the form of an essay article in several issues of the newspaper "Egemen Kazakhstan" in 2006 and was included in the book of the same name published in 2007 by the publishing house "Er-Daulet" in Astana. It was a work written in a very timely manner and seriously related to a complex language issue in society, expressing valuable thoughts, revealing the significance of the problem of the state language. This work, written after an interview with the then head of state on language, reveals the essence of the principle "The future of Kazakhstan is in the Kazakh language" and reveals the importance of language in the life of society, its place in building a national state and consolidating society. In the light of such concepts as the community of people, society, the state, coloniality and citizenship, freedom and independence, prove by various facts the importance of language development for independence. The article is devoted to the disclosure of the meaning of this work. Keywords: language, society, history, independence, colonial policy, citizenship, civilization, sustainable development.

Psychological aspects in unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) witnesses

Abstract In this study, we surveyed a total of 245 people about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), 93 who directly witnessed UAP. Paying special attention to the psychological impact of UAP, our study survey covered different aspects, including opinions on official UAP releases, the scientific approach to the phenomena and the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. This study found that UAP had a clear psychological impact on witnesses, with a transformative effect, and a benign form of a non-pathological obsessive-like interest in the topic we defined as the UAP deep psychological engagement triad. This deep psychological engagement triad is characterized by UAP topic being present in a witness's mind daily, with a self-recognized interest and appreciation for the topic and a need to talk about UAP topic, not necessarily the event they experienced. UAP appear to have a very specific impact focused on extra-terrestrial aspects and the phenomena itself, which is experienced as a life-changing event by direct witnesses. These psychological aspects are quantitatively and qualitatively objectifiable, and further research is needed in this direction since all research efforts appear currently focused on the physical aspects of these phenomena.

Analysis of the evaluation zone of the concept "Civil War" in A. Fadeev's novel "The Rout"

The relevance of the research lies in the fact that in linguistics, the study of concepts is an urgent direction that allows us to consider words in their cultural, cognitive and communicative contexts. The purpose of the study is to characterize the evaluation zone of the concept of "Civil War" in A. Fadeev's novel "The Rout". The description of the concept "Civil War" allows us to clarify the peculiarity of the individual experience of cognition of this social concept. The variety of interpretative fields is caused by the peculiarity of the conceptualization of the world in the individual consciousness. In the structure of the concept, the interpretative field of the concept "Civil War" as a periphery, its irreplaceable role in conceptual analysis is determined. The main content of the study is the analysis of the evaluative zone of the interpretative field, in which the characteristics and properties inherent in the concept of "Civil War" are always interpreted in a new way. In this study, the author used the method of conceptual analysis, the method of contextual analysis and logical-semantic analysis. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the study of the novel "The Rout" by A. A. Fadeev has practically not received enough attention, despite the fact that it is one of the most representative works of the twenties of the last century. There are very few scientific papers devoted to the concept of "Civil War". The analytical algorithm of concept research can be applied to the conceptual analysis of similar works of art. Being a direct witness of the war, A. A. Fadeev evaluates it based on the impressions of eyewitnesses, and the study demonstrates his generalized view and understanding of the struggle between the reds and whites, which is manifested in a number of moments through the main components of the assessment of the war by different classes of the novel's heroes, which in general constitute the essence of the Civil War. The results of the study allow us to conclude that in the interpretative field, assessments are mostly negative, which reflects the brutality of the war and the fact that class struggle was an integral cause of the Civil War.

Gaddafi's Chemical Weapons: Chronicles of the Chadian-Libyan Conflict

The civil war in Chad has become one of the most protracted conflicts on the African continent. Its gradual internationalization led to the participation of three foreign military contingents in an internal armed confrontation Libya has taken an active military part in the civil war in Chad since 1972. There were several indications in certain studies about the use of chemical weapons by the Libyan troops. In the realities of the 1980s, these allegations could be true, or they could be an element of some information campaign against Libya. The purpose of this article is to verify the reports of the use of chemical weapons in Chad. Sources, methods. The sources for the study were the UN documents, declassified CIA materials and media reports. Cross-analysis of the documents, as well as the historical reconstruction of background events were carried out. Discussion of the results and conclusions. The analysis of the sources showed that, to date, no material evidence of the use of chemical weapons by Libyan troops in Chad has been found. There were no testimonies of direct witnesses and victims. No investigations have been carried out. Two sources of dissemination of information about the use of chemical weapons in northern Chad have been identified. The first one is the representatives of one of the participants in the civil war, Hissene Habré, who held the post of president in N'Djamena and fought against the Libyan troops. Representatives of H. Habré made such statements in December 1986. They cannot be considered reliable. In this way, one of the parties to the civil war wanted to show that Chad was the victim of the aggression with the use of weapons prohibited by the Geneva Protocol of 1925. However, it was established that in 1986 Libya did not possess chemical weapons. The second source is the CIA reports retransmitted to the public space in September 1987 about the alleged deliveries of chemical weapons to Libya from Iran. The reliability of these reports is doubtful. The «Iranian trace» has also not been proven. In 1987, during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), chemical weapons were used against Iran, but the military-chemical potential of Iran itself has not been established. However, such an accusation organically fit into the policy of containment of «rogue states» pursued by the administration of US President Ronald Reagan. In this article, cross-analysis methods have been tested. They have shown their effectiveness in retrospective investigations.

Szkoła polska z lat ofensywy ideologicznej w oświacie (1948–1956) w świetle wspomnień nauczycieli

The aim of the article is to present the assumptions and methods of the ideological impact on the environment of Polish teachers by the communist authorities in 1948–1956 as remembered by teachers. During the Stalinist period, the Polish Workers’ Party (later the Polish United Workers’ Party) tried to instil in teachers “socialist morality” by means of various courses, conferences, additional education and the order of “self-education”. The following text contains a synthetic historical outline of the above–mentioned activities and their analysis based on the memories of direct witnesses of those events.

История Ассоциации художников революционной России в изложении основателя: к публикации рукописи (к 100-летнему юбилею АХРР)

One of the founders of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (AARR) established in 1922 and its permanent secretary was the painter Eugene A. Katsman. Published for the first time, the transcript of his 1957 manuscript highlights some little-known points in the history of the Association. This article is introductory in nature and contains materials from another important source — E.A. Katsman’s diaries, which shed light on the circumstances of the preparation of the material, the author’s attitude to the phenomena in the artistic environment and public life, and his struggle for socialist realism. This publication is dedicated to the centenary of the AARR and designed to provide historians of culture with an honest opinion of a direct witness and participant in the events of a century ago. Both in the text of the published manuscript and in this introductory article, a number of outstanding artists of their time, cultural figures and Soviet political figures are mentioned. In the manuscript, Katsman characterized the major exhibitions and works created over the decade of the Association’s existence, and the diary fragments cited express his opinion on various issues of artistic life and the life of society in those years. The artist’s reflection in the diaries can become a valuable source not only for historians, but also for art critics.

Repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries in children of abuse

Repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries in children of abuse

The Role of Theatre in the Development of the Modern Human

"Theatre, along with all other forms of the performing arts - music, literature and visual arts, in their various manifestations - have always accompanied humanity, offering, among seductive ways to spend the free type, entertainment, moments of wonderful introspection, beneficial soul healing, indispensable spiritual development. Theater, through its specific means and effects, must be seen as material for reflection and thought, as a forum for implantation in contemporary consciousnesses or future of healthy moral and social concepts, as a space of prophylaxis or emotional recovery. Consequently, the actor as direct witness and keen observer of the times, can encompass, gratitude to his art, various functions: from histrion - in an appreciative sense, to spokesperson of the system or the collective, or the therapist."

The situation of students on placement, a real obstacle to the attractiveness of hospitals

Complementing theoretical courses, hospital internships are intended to encourage learners to apply their acquired knowledge while experiencing the field. In fact, this is becoming more and more complicated, and students are direct witnesses of the crisis affecting the hospital. The degraded working conditions of professionals do not allow them to properly supervise trainees, and even allow reprehensible behavior to flourish. Suffering on the job, the students desert the hospital after graduation.

Dialogue Between Authorities and Believers: Prehistory of Ivolginsky Datsan Foundation

The article is devoted to the early history of the Khambinsky sume temple better known as Ivolginsky datsan. The work is based on the documents from the State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia, which regards to its history. The author also attracted documents characterizing the events that relate to the period 1944–1946. We note that despite the fact that the foundation of the datsan fell on the difficult period of post-war times, believers and the clergy did a lot of work not only to found the temple but also to restore and relegalize the Buddhist religion in the BMASSR after the repressive policy of the Soviet state. As an important issue, the author singles out the patriotic appeal of Did Khambo Lama Khaidap Galsanov, which preceded these events, in which he called on believers to support the Motherland and to start raising funds for the defense fund. The article also contains information obtained during conversations with Bimba Lama Dorzhiev, who carefully keeps the memories of his fellow villagers, his elders, who were direct witnesses of the events of those days. Despite the fact that most of the archival documents mentioned in the article have already been published at different times, this article builds a chronology of events and documents of the first steps in the formation of the temple, with accompanying references to other documents that clarify some details. In addition, information from informants, despite its lack of evidence, and, moreover, some of them contradict official sources, have the right to be published for coverage of a wide audience. The article also presents some information about the personalities who took an active part in the founding of the sume, later called Ivolginsky datsan.

PENYIDIKAN KASUS PELANGGARAN LALU LINTAS YANG MENYEBABKAN KEMATIAN: STUDI PADA SATLANTAS POLRESTA DELI SERDANG

ABSTRACTThe process of handling traffic violation cases often experiences obstacles, especially in theinvestigation of traffic violation cases that cause fatalities. This study deliberately raises theObstacles faced by the Deli Serdang Police Traffic Unit in investigating and investigating casesof traffic violations that caused the death of motorized vehicle drivers, and the efforts of the DeliSerdang Police Traffic Unit in overcoming obstacles to investigations and investigations intocases of traffic violations that lead to the death of motorists. This research is a legal researchthat is descriptive in nature. Using a statutory approach. The results of the study show that:Obstacles faced by Sat Then investigators in investigating cases of violations that lead to death.The efforts made by the investigators are a process of raising awareness for Motorized Vehicledrivers to prioritize safety when driving on traffic roads that do not have road dividers. Wherethe driver's awareness and understanding efforts when overtaking the vehicle in front shouldtake into account the speed, space and time of the motorized vehicle being driven to avoidtraffic accidents; and the public should provide direct witness testimony in the field where thecrime scene (TKP) was conducted to the Traffic Unit Officer of the Deli Serdang Police who wason duty because to maintain the integrity of the information obtained from witnessing a trafficaccident as a whole.Keywords: Violation; death; Deli Serdang Traffic Unit

Museumification of Places of Memory in Iberoamerica

In terms of a strict museological point of view, museumification is a complex process involving the transformation of cultural and natural heritage into museum objects with the aim of maximizing their preservation, revealing their historical, cultural, scientific, artistic value, and for their promotion. Since the 1990s, the concept of “memorial culture” has been established in scientific and journalistic discourses, and new museum institutions have begun to open — museums of memory, which, unlike classical historical museums, interpretate a difficult past, focusing on victims. Undoubtedly, the focus of memorial culture is also on Iberoamerican issues, in particular the memory of the Spanish Civil War, and of the countries of the Southern Cone — Argentina, Uruguay, Chile — there was an increase in attention to commemorative practices, which was caused by the end of the period of rule of authoritarian regimes, the cessation of some armed conflicts or the achievement of a state by society when it needed in reflection on the protracted painful and bloody processes. The problems of generational change in the commemoration are connected with a double generational change: firstly, a short historical era of living witnesses of the tragic events of the mid-20th century. firstly, a generation of direct witnesses of the events to which memory projects are dedicated will inevitably leave soon, and, secondly, generations who do not have their own memories of the relevant events have reached working age. events and personalities. The attitude to death and human sacrifice in memorial culture is connected with the recognition of places of memory. The museumification of the Spanish Civil War is considered on the example of the Federico Garcia Lorca Foundation and Center, the Cuelgamuros Valley (formerly the “Valley of the Fallen”) and the commemorations of the bombing of Guernica. Among the museum initiatives and commemorative institutions in the countries of the Southern Cone, the Naval Mechanics School (ESMA) in Buenos Aires, the Museum of Memory (MUME) in Montevideo, the Villa Grimaldi Memorial Park in Santiago are considered. The analysis of commemorative initiatives in Iberoamerica has shown the success of tangible, intangible and combined projects in the field of memory, assessed by how effective they are in terms of creating affect, mobilizing society and updating the relevant narrative.

Unknown Work by Semyon Ivanovich Shakhovskoy about the Fire in the Dormition Cathedral of Veliky Ustyug

The article focuses on the previously unknown work of one of the most prolific Russian writers of the first half of the 17th century, Semyon Ivanovich Shakhovskoy. The gathering, which survived as part of a compiled collection, contains a contemporary copy of the story of a miracle that took place on the night of 2 August 1646 in the Assumption Cathedral in Veliky Ustyug: in a fire caused by an unextinguished candle, a venerated icon of the Virgin Mary survived, which became the incentive for creating the work. The story is replete with rhetorical clichés, as well as quotations from the apostolic epistles, and vividly illustrates the writing style of Shakhovskoy, who encrypted his name in the afterword to the text. The story, written by a direct witness of the event, allows us to correct the dating of the fire accepted in historiography (1631), explain the origin of the mistake and clarify the facts regarding the restructuring of the main cathedral of the city. The text of the story is presented with a simplification of the spelling of the 17th century manuscript.