Foreign Influence Research Articles

The issue of the postpositional article in Balkan sprachbund and the case of Istro-Romanian

This paper aims to investigate the origin, development, and usage of the postpositional articles in Istro-Romanian, one of the Romanian historical dialects, a likewise dislocated member of the Balkan sprachbund. First, based on the available literature, the evolution of the postpositional articles in the Romance languages will be demonstrated, followed by the evolution of the articles in Romanian and Istro-Romanian, and the languages of the Balkan sprachbund. Afterwards will follow a corpus-based analysis of the similarities and dissimilarities regarding the usage of the postpositional articles in Romanian and Istro-Romanian. It will be based on the parallel texts in Romanian and Istro-Romanian from the Densusianu’s and Pușcariu’s collections. To distinguish as accurately as possible the stages of Istro-Romanian articles, Greenberg’s methodology will be used. That is, his cycle of the grammaticalization of the articles will be applied. It is expected that the analysis will show that despite many centuries of foreign influence, the usage of the postpositional articles in Istro-Romanian is congruent to the usage of the postpositional articles in Romanian and other languages of the Balkan sprachbund.

Contemporary Ibaloi Ba’diw: Defining Conventions through Formalistic and Sociolinguistic Standpoints

Abstract The study generally determined the literary conventions in contemporary Ibaloi ba’diw as a genre. It aimed to draw the figurative language and theme reflected in the ba’diw text; and, classify valuable insights contained by the select ba’diw pieces by occasion. It employed a qualitative approach to research specifically the text analysis method highlighting formalistic and sociolinguistic approaches in literary criticism. The pieces were found to be replete with the following figurative language: character, symbolism, connotation, repetition, personification, apostrophe, and family-name wording. Themes considered the occasion where these are chanted. Alongside these are valuable insights on “adivay” or social gathering, high regard for elders and the spirit of the dead, sacredness of marriage and family life, and the group’s daily activities. It is recommended that audio-visual documentation on the ba’diw may be designed purposely for information, persuasion, and entertainment; studies to determine the foreign influence on Ibaloi ba’diw in pursuit of discovering the Ibaloi poetics may be conducted; a center on Ibaloi language may be established; and, further research like ways of documenting oral literature, in general, may be further explored.

Teaching Chinese Politics in the “New Cold War”: A Survey of Faculty

The past decade has been a difficult time to be a scholar of Chinese politics. After Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, opportunities for international collaboration began disappearing, and local interlocutors became increasingly nervous about speaking with foreign researchers. Since 2016, these problems have been compounded by the increasingly tense US–China relationship. Changing attitudes and policies in both countries have hindered those who conduct research on China, work with Chinese collaborators, and recruit Chinese students. The Fulbright Program in China and Hong Kong was closed; National Institutes of Health investigations into foreign influence in US science have caused US-based scientists’ research productivity to decline; and visa restrictions have hindered efforts to recruit Chinese graduate students (Jia et al. 2023). Legal changes in China, including the 2021 Personal Information Protection Law and the 2023 revised Counter-Espionage Law, could be used to target foreign scholars who conduct research in China (Lewis 2023; McCarthy and Gan 2023). The COVID-19 pandemic compounded these challenges in several ways: it caused a rise in anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States and created severe pedagogical challenges for those teaching Chinese politics and other courses containing “sensitive” material that could put students—some now physically located in China—at risk (Gueorguiev et al. 2020).

The European Union’s Governance Approach to Tackling Disinformation – protection of democracy, foreign influence, and the quest for digital sovereignty

Cet article présente une vue d’ensemble des caractéristiques de la désinformation à l’ère numérique, décrit l’évolution des efforts déployés par l’UE pour lutter contre la désinformation et fournit une analyse globale de l’approche de sa gouvernance en termes de politiques, d’acteurs et d’instruments politiques. Sur cette base, nous analysons sa compatibilité avec la quête de souveraineté numérique de l’UE. Les principales conclusions sont que l’UE a maintenu une approche particulièrement stable en combinant des instruments souples et fermes dans un cadre de corégulation qui implique des acteurs privés et publics. Nous concluons que l’interaction entre la nature de la désinformation, la configuration des grandes plateformes en ligne, la réglementation de l’UE et l’exposition aux influences étrangères crée un ensemble complexe de facteurs concurrents qui facilitent et brident la souveraineté numérique.

현대 대중가요에 나타난 읊조림(吟詠)의 전통

The dictionary meaning of “eupjorhim” is “reciting poetry in a low voice while appreciating its meaning,” which corresponds to “吟” or “詠” in Chinese characters. However, “eupjorhim” is now widely used to mean “in a way that does not sing loudly” and “to sing songs that have a limited range of voices” as if individuals were referring to themselves. This thesis attempts to consider the way of “eupjorhim” in modern Korean popular songs, search for its origins in our traditional poetry, summarize its characteristics, and analyze the characteristics that can be deemed to have inherited the tradition of reforestation in modern Korean popular songs.
 The analysis showed that the meaning of “eupjorhim” in traditional poetry can be summarized by the following three aspects. ① The melody: Although it is less present than in singing, it exhibits pitch and rhythm contrarily to simple reading. ② The lyrics: It is does not aim to appreciate tune-like singing, but to convey meaning. ③ The singing style: It can be performed by ordinary people as well as experts. Furthermore, it is not an other-centered performance to impress the listener, but a self-centered performance method that values one's own enjoyment. Considering various examples in modern K-pop, “eupjorhim” inherits the context of traditional poetry regarding ① melody within a narrow range, ② song that is more lyrics-oriented than melody, and ③ a calm singing method as if talking to oneself.
 “Eupjorhim” is meaningful in that it not only reminds us that modern popular songs deeply lean on both foreign influences and the inherent traditions that exist in us, but also makes us realize various ways of singing and, ultimately, leads us to reconsider “What Is Song?”

Diversity without Harmony: Loanwords of the Languages of the Third World After WWII

Language is one of the fundamental mediums through which the culture of a country or a people is transmitted. It is through language that we can find many traces of history and foreign influence, which can help us to learn a lot about history and culture. At the same time, the post-World War II period has seen rapid social, political, cultural, and technological changes, and the world as a whole has been undergoing unprecedented changes for over a century since the Cold War and countries and peoples have had to seek common ground and find opportunities for cooperation in the midst of globalisation, especially for Third World countries, which are at a disadvantage in terms of economic development and culture. Three representative Third World countries - Tanzania, Indonesia, and Paraguay - are chosen for this study, which seeks to identify trends in the use of foreign languages in Third World countries by examining their historical and post-World War II development of foreign language cultures. Trends in the development of loanwords in languages. By focusing mainly on local economic and cultural developments after the Second World War and comparing them with the historical situation in these Third World countries (mainly during the colonial period), a new picture will emerge from the unnoticed corners of the world, showing us the way to the future of language development from the perspective of loanwords.

Musical taste preferences in Chinese hip‐hop: Between cultural openness and the rejection of vulgarity

AbstractRecent debates on musical taste have centred on the collapse of cultural boundaries between high art and popular culture. This paper examines Chinese hip‐hop as a unique case study to explore taste preferences in a relatively new popular cultural phenomenon in the understudied context of Eastern popular culture. Drawing from 42 interviews with Chinese young hip‐hop followers, the article examines musical taste preferences within Chinese hip‐hop and different modes of appreciation deployed by listeners. The findings reveal that young Chinese hip‐hop fans display cultural openness to foreign influences and genre mobility. The openness is employed as a marker of cultural capital for the Chinese middle class that values hybridity and innovation. However, even the most open‐minded individuals draw thematic hierarchies within hip‐hop through the unanimous rejection of vulgar and violent themes in favour of more serious and wholesome music. This rejection is framed as a strategy to authenticate hip‐hop within the broader popular culture arena while cultivating personal qualities of civility and wholesomeness that are highly valued in contemporary Chinese society. The paper contributes to the literature on musical taste preferences in cultural consumption by shedding light on the social relevance of cultural openness and music in contemporary Chinese popular culture.

Indigenous Peoples and Customary Law in Lolayan District, Bolaang Mongondow Regency in a Modern State

Indigenous peoples are an orderly unity in which members are not only bound to the place of residence where a particular area, both in worldly terms as a place of life and in spiritual relations as a place of worship of ancestral spirits (territorial), but also bound to hereditary relationships in blood alliances and the same familiarity of a customary relationship (genealogical). Each indigenous community has customary Law that is used to regulate all problems that occur within the familiar environment. The second use in legislation is that indigenous peoples and customary Law are often used interchangeably in laws and regulations but lead to the same subject. Some argue that customary Law is a law left over from the past so that it is less comfortable with modern life like now, which is entering the era of modernization. Such an opinion is not wrong, but not all are true. Sayskan is right because it is recognized that customary Law is traditional, while life in the current era demands everything modern. This is not entirely true because there are several laws formed that are introduced from Customary Law. These two entities, both customary communities and Customary Law, include the same people and live on the same earth therefore, naturally, indigenous peoples also get the same rights as other countries, such as equality of public services and law enforcement. Related to the relevance of global customary Law in the global era. In the age of globalization, it is necessary to follow the pattern of becoming a peer again. Therefore, the continuity of customary Law becomes very important. Customary Law is no longer limited to indigenous Indonesian Law that must be maintained. Still, more than that, traditional Law should have a function as a "filter tool" for the entry of foreign influences into Indonesia. This filtering is what we do not currently have as a great nation.

Physical Feature-Based Machine Learning Algorithm to Differentiate Sri Lankan Music Based on Their Foreign Influence

Physical Feature-Based Machine Learning Algorithm to Differentiate Sri Lankan Music Based on Their Foreign Influence

Domestic Instability, Global Order and Nepali Foreign Policy

The foreign policy of Nepal is not hindered by a lack of understanding of its principles but rather by the complex relationship between domestic and external factors. In an ideal scenario, Nepal would define its interests clearly and engage with foreign powers in a rational manner to achieve its objectives. For example, if Nepal recognizes the need for foreign aid to improve its infrastructure, it would approach relevant external powers. Before doing so, Nepal would conduct thorough due diligence to assess the benefits of the project and ensure its economic viability. The entire process would be conducted transparently, allowing external actors to receive a similar deal and comprehend Nepal's reasoning. This approach would help Nepal maintain control over foreign influence. Unfortunately, Nepali leaders and policymakers have often treated foreign powers as tools to retain or gain domestic power, and at times, to serve their personal interests. This reliance on foreign powers makes them more dependent and impairs their ability to make decisions in the best interest of the nation. Therefore, it is crucial for Nepali policymakers to take matters into their own hands. The first step is to strengthen domestic unity concerning foreign and security policies, which may require leaders to sacrifice their personal or party interests. The future of Nepali foreign policy hinges on whether these leaders are willing to make such sacrifices.

Crowddoing and crowdfunding democracy: Innovative strategies for countering foreign disinformation in Central and Eastern Europe

Central and Eastern Europe has become a ripe target for disinformation and malign narratives propagated by foreign actors. A deluge of propaganda deployed by hostile states is aimed at polarizing societies, undermining the decision-making capabilities of governments, and influencing public policy. Against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the stakes are enormous. Heeding research on debunking and pre-bunking strategies recognizing the limitations and potential of these approaches in inoculating populations against disinformation, this paper examines how several tactics deployed in the CEE region can both speak to and draw from this literature. While certain segments of CEE populations may be vulnerable to disinformation, the region also boasts civically engaged publics that want to take an active part in fostering societal resilience. The rise of digital elves (volunteer information warriors taking the fight to online trolls), the outsourcing of counter-disinformation activities to popular public institutions (like the police and military), and the use of crowdfunding to support news literacy education and independent media outlets present compelling alternative strategies towards responding to foreign influence. These activities show promise in overcoming obstacles faced by conventional approaches to disinformation and addressing CEE-specific issues related to media distrust and state capture of the media.

Taḥlīl Tārīkh Ansyiṭah al-Tarjamah fi Al-Ālam al-Islāmī

In this context, this discussion covers the history of translation in the Islamic world, which can be divided into various periods including the Ancient Greek-Roman period, the era of Martin Luther, ancient times, the early Middle Ages, the dawn of modern civilization, the Western cultural era, the early modern era, the industrial revolution era, the end of the second millennium, and the 21st century. This research is of a descriptive qualitative nature, using a historical analysis approach to understand and examine events, processes, or phenomena in a historical context. It aims to identify, analyze, and comprehend the changes and developments that have occurred in the field of translation over time in the Islamic world. The primary focus is on the Abbasid Dynasty, which ruled in Baghdad, and the significant role of translation in integrating foreign influences, such as Greek, Persian, and Indian, into Islamic intellectual culture. Translation of scientific, philosophical, and literary works from Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit into Arabic marked the initial step in the development of rich Arabic literature, including works by renowned figures like Aristotle and Plato. This period created a thriving center of Arabic literature and demonstrated the crucial role of translation in bringing forth a variety of intellectual insights.

Foreign Influence and the Legitimacy of Constitution Building in South Sudan

AbstractMany countries write their constitutions with some form of international involvement. Internationalized constitutional assistance has been made easier by technology as well as trade and political exigencies. The question, therefore, is: How does this inevitable foreign influence impact constitutional legitimacy? This article discusses this question and asserts that foreign influence interacts with three approaches of constitutional design to shape constitutional legitimacy: (a) popular participation, (b) elites’ contracts, and (c) transnational constitutional implants. Such a transactional relationship is referred to as the “three-stone legitimacy theory”, which implicates both the internal and the external legitimacy of a constitution. The former means citizens’ acceptance that a constitution meets their aspirations, while the latter refers to the international community's satisfaction with the resulting constitution as guaranteeing the universal democratic ethos. The article ends with a proposition conceptualized as a “blueprint” for a democratic constitutional legitimacy in South Sudan.

Towards the origin of devotion and happiness: An acoustical and neuro-cognitive exploration of Indian spiritual music

Since the age of the Vedas, devotion has remained a key component of Indian music through centuries of changes and foreign influences. The brightest example of this is the Bhakti tradition, a pan-Indian movement (7th-15th Century CE), which integrated poetry and music in the transmission of spiritual and social goals. Devotees often report perception of emotions like devotion, happiness, awe while listening to spiritual music of their own religion and culture. This paper aims to study the acoustical and neuro-cognitive correlates of these emotions for two Indian spiritual music traditions – (a) Sikh Gurbani/ Shabad Kirtan, (b) Bangla Vaishnav Kirtan, both of which emerged from the Bhakti tradition. 5 Punjabi and 5 Bengali speaking participants listened to 3-minute long four songs from these two spiritual music traditions while EEG signals were recorded from each participant along with their emotion responses. Acoustical time series of these music clips and their corresponding EEG signals were analysed using nonlinear DFA technique. DFA Scaling Exponent values were calculated for multiple 30-second EEG segments across the total duration of each music clip to understand the perception and induction process of devotion and happiness in human brain, which is a novel step in the domain of music cognition and signal processing.

A Republic Goes to War: Federalists, Republicans, and Foreign Influence

AbstractIn the 1790s, the United States faced a series of crises—both domestic and foreign—which many believed threatened the nation’s very existence. These culminated in the Quasi-War with France beginning in 1796. The Federalist majority identified the greatest threats to the Republic as foreigners and their willing or unwitting American allies. Thus, they enacted the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 and other laws to allay these threats. Throughout the ensuing debates, Federalists emphasized the dangers of foreign nations who sought to separate the American people from their government. Republicans challenged Federalists’ fears as overblown and defined the real threat as the Federalists themselves who justified the expansion of the general government’s power and the infringement of individual rights in the name of national security. Americans engaged in their first debate about the meaning and limits of liberty and security.

An Individual as a Foreign Agent: The Legal Regulation

Foreign interference in Russia’s internal political processes is almost always disguised as the constitutional right of citizens to ideological diversity, forming public opinion, provoking panic, as well as influencing the attitude of society towards governmental authorities. The influence of individuals who form public opinion on the basis of their recognition and pseudo-authority has significantly increased. A large-scale spread of social networks has caused a dramatic increase in the popularity of artists, musicians, public figures, whose statements can encourage society to make certain decisions. The study is conducted in order to identify signs of foreign influence, as well as criteria for classifying individuals as foreign agents. Based on a comparative analysis of the legislation on foreign agents in Russia and the United States, the authors establish the conditions for the need to restrict the constitutional rights of citizens in order to maintain a balance of private and public interests. In the preparation of the article, formal and logical methods were used, as a result of which the authors analyze socio-legal phenomena that allowed to identify the relationship between increased foreign influence and consolidation of domestic legislation on foreign agents as a response. The authors come to the conclusion that in order for an individual to be acknowledged as a foreign agent under Russian law, three elements are needed: the presence of foreign influence, the participation of an individual in political activity and direct or indirect influence on state bodies or state policy. At the same time, the main problem of law enforcement is the distinction between real foreign agents and unpatriotic citizens who actively oppose the policy of the state, which can be used «blindly». In this regard, a wide application of the provisions of the Law on Foreign Agents is justified, and the assignment of the status of a foreign agent is subject to individualization.

Why did the Romans need Venus Erucina?

The study is devoted to the origins of the cult of Venus of Eryx, whose temple was erected on the Capitol during the Hannibal War. After analyzing the sources, the author studied both the specific historical context of the establishment of a new cult, and the connection of the new deity with various hypostases of Venus, which became widespread in the territory of ancient Italy. The author associated the creation of the cult of Venus Erucina, firstly, with victories during the struggle between Rome and Carthage and, secondly, with an attempt to integrate Rome into the cultural space of the Greek world, since Venus was identified with Aphrodite. The scientific novelty of the undertaken study lies in the fact that the author, taking into account the famous senatusconsultum on bacchanalia, put forward a hypothesis about the conduct in 186-184 BC by the Porcii clan and their allies, a kind of religious reform, which made it possible, on the one hand, to preserve the Greek traditions of the veneration of Venus of Eryx, and on the other hand, to “cleanse” the cult of Venus Capitoline from foreign influences.

L’imperfetto resiano fra tempo, aspetto e modo

The present paper gives a description of the forms and functions of the imperfect in Resian, a Slovene-based micro-language spoken in northern Italy, which has been in a situation of language contact with Romance varieties for centuries. The comparison between the imperfects found in the oldest documents (eighteenth and nineteenth century) and those used in modern Resian shows a significant shift of its functions. The imperfect, in fact, has lost its original aspect-temporal values, now expressing mainly counterfactuality and the future in the past. Our analysis includes a discussion on the possible role of foreign influence in these developments.

Foreign influence: The international transmission of gender equality

AbstractAnecdotal evidence for several developing countries suggests that foreign direct investment and multinational enterprises (MNEs) may be an important conduit of cultural exchange. Recent work in economics has explored the role that MNEs play in transferring gender equality around the globe, but with mixed results. In this paper, we consider the implications of increased foreign direct investment in Brazil on the transmission of high‐quality gender policy and practice. In particular, we investigate whether workers with experience at multinational firms, now employed in domestic firms with no foreign influence, help to change gender‐specific outcomes at their Brazilian companies. We next ask whether it matters from where the foreign direct investment originates—that is, do workers with experience in MNEs with headquarters in relatively gender‐equal countries transfer best practices toward women better than do workers with experience in MNEs from relatively more gender‐unequal countries? Increasing the share of workers with MNE experience modestly improves the gender earnings gap in some specifications. Additionally, workers in management positions offer the strongest positive contributions to closing gender gaps. However, despite the many theoretical reasons and suggestive empirical evidence from previous literature to expect differential implications across FDI‐source countries, our data fail to support this notion.

Particularități morfologice ale romanului popular Varlaam și Ioasaf

The author analyzes the morphological features of the popular novel Barlaam Josaphat. The novel was translated by Udriște Năsturel from Slavonic into Romanian in 1648. The examples were extracted from the oldest copy of this writing, which is found in the bilingual Romanian-Slavonic manuscript 588 at the Romanian Academy Library in Bucharest. Less common linguistic phenomena are compared with another manuscript version of the novel, found in ms. rom. 3339. While in the case of syntax or lexicon, the text often reflects the influence of the original Slavonic language it was translated from, at this level of analysis, fewer language facts can be attributed to a foreign influence. Among these are some verbal and adverbial expressions modeled after Slavonic patterns. Most of these did not survive in the language. At the level of reflexive pronouns, some unusual constructions can be explained by the innovative tendencies of Udriște Năsturel, who wanted to differentiate written language from spoken language.