Western Scholars Research Articles

ՀԱՄԵՄԱՏԱԿԱՆ ԻՐԱՎԱԳԻՏՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԾԱԳՈՒՄՆ ՈՒ ԶԱՐԳԱՑՈՒՄԸ (ՊԱՏՄԱԿԱՆ ԶԱՐԳԱՑՄԱՆ ՀԻՄՆԱԿԱՆ ՈՒՂԵՆԻՇՆԵՐԸ)

In this article the author has systematically analyzed the problems related to the origin and development of comparative jurisprudence in specific countries, in particular the origin and development of the idea of comparative jurisprudence in the ancient world, the development of the views of comparative jurisprudence in the Middle Ages, the historical-philosophical aspects of comparative jurisprudence direction In Germany, the development of comparative jurisprudence in England and the USA, comparative jurisprudence in Russia, comparative jurisprudence in the first half of the 20th century, comparative jurisprudence in the period after World War 2, comparative jurisprudence and international scientific cooperation. The ideas of comparative jurisprudence in the ancient world were more prominently manifested in the works of the philosophers of Ancient Athens and the lawyers of Ancient Rome, according to Western scholars, it was here that not only comparative-legal ideas were formed for the first time but also, in practice for the first time, an attempt was made to subject the state and law to comparative research. In the Middle Ages, the ideas of comparative jurisprudence had a certain development based on the borrowing (reception) of Roman law, the formation and coordination of canon law, as well as national legal system (mainly) on the basis of customary law. Comparative legal studies continued throughout the Middle Ages, up to modern times, when Montesquieu, Hugo Grotius, Pufendorf, and others succeeded one another. In the new and modern period, comperative legal researches not only multiplied in therms of volume, but also took on a systematic nature and was gradually formed as an independent legal science.

Tensions and challenges in the decolonisation of academic publishing: A cross‐tabulation analysis of articles in Island Studies Journal

AbstractCalls to decolonise academia are increasing, yet progress has been halting, including in academic publishing. This paper considers publishing practices and outcomes in Island Studies Journal (a diamond open access, multidisciplinary, high‐ranked journal), which has taken an explicitly decolonial editorial direction in recent years. We undertake a cross‐tabulation analysis of the 175 articles published in Island Studies Journal between January 2017 and October 2022, attending to characteristics of authors, articles, regions, branches of science, and impact. We find that coloniality and the West/non‐West divide remain prevalent in the journal, with differences in the kinds of research scholars from different regions can get published and the kinds of impact their articles make. Western scholarly norms are reproduced and enforced even in a journal that seeks to support antiracism and decolonization. We discuss the editorial tensions involved in seeking to simultaneously increase opportunities for individual intersectionally marginalized scholars while challenging colonial power structures.

Digital Energy as a Factor of Economic Development of the Region

The greatest soviet Slavic linguist made a revolutionary discovery in linguistics, especially in Indo-European linguistics, proving the distant kinship of the more explored macro-families of languages at that time. The merit of V.M. Illich-Svitych is that he gave the scientific form to the Nostratic hypothesis, i.e. he established systemic patterns between reconstructions. Further research in Nostratic linguistics should lead linguists to prove the theory of language monogenesis. Many linguists have not accepted this hypothesis, including most of the Western scholars. The main burden of proving the distant relationship of macro-families falls on the shoulders of the Moscow School of Comparative Studies and the like-minded collegues of V.M. Illich-Svitych. Today, when the Moscow School of Comparative Studies created several Internet projects and websites to expand etymological and linguistic databases, everything is in favor of the monogenesis hypothesis.

Nostratic and Monogenetic Theories in Linguistics in the Epoch of Digital Technologies

The greatest soviet Slavic linguist made a revolutionary discovery in linguistics, especially in Indo-European linguistics, proving the distant kinship of the more explored macro-families of languages at that time. The merit of V.M. Illich-Svitych is that he gave the scientific form to the Nostratic hypothesis, i.e. he established systemic patterns between reconstructions. Further research in Nostratic linguistics should lead linguists to prove the theory of language monogenesis. Many linguists have not accepted this hypothesis, including most of the Western scholars. The main burden of proving the distant relationship of macro-families falls on the shoulders of the Moscow School of Comparative Studies and the like-minded collegues of V.M. Illich-Svitych. Today, when the Moscow School of Comparative Studies created several Internet projects and websites to expand etymological and linguistic databases, everything is in favor of the monogenesis hypothesis.

A Study of Marx's Thoughts on Beauty

In Marx's works, "the way of mastering art" and other expressions about beauty are mentioned. Do these expressions mean that Marx thinks about human existence, human comprehensive development and human liberation from the anthropological intention of beauty? In this paper, Marx's knowledge formation track is investigated from Marx's learning experience from middle school to university and life experience in his youth, tracing the ancient Greek origin of Marx's aesthetic tendency, citing Marx's image data in the eyes of western scholars, and analyzing the implication of Marx's thought on beauty.

INFLUENCE OF PREDATORY JOURNALS ON THE PUBLISHING BEHAVIOR OF RESEARCHERS FROM COUNTRIES WITH A SHORT WESTERN-STYLE ACADEMIC PUBLISHING TRADITION. A LANGUAGE PERSPECTIVE

Predatory journals are worthy studying because they threaten science by sparing resources and minimizing its perception. While these issues have been widely documented in the literature, the impact on the behavior of researchers has been less investigated. Western scholars, who can benefit culturally upon the experience of people more versed in publishing and take even courses in research writing, are not likely to be influenced by predatory publishers, unlike researchers from countries with a short academic publishing tradition. The present study addresses this latter influence, using a novel joint perspective, based on comparing examples from editorial experience with such authors and predatory calls, with a special attention to common attitudes and language elements, in order to test the hypothesis according to which behaviors and vocabulary strange to already established publishers are an effect of predatory practices. The analysis of examples is grouped around three topics: search for a fast and costly review; language showing exaggerate courtesy or lacking it completely; and a misunderstanding of the review process. Overall, the results sustain the hypothesis and, in addition, indicate that the awkward English of predatory publishers is taken as norm by authors from countries with a short academic publishing tradition. These findings urge the need for action against predatory publishers.

قرآن کی سائنسی تفسیر اور دعوت الی اللہ: ’’کتاب زندگی‘‘ کا تجزیاتی مطالعہ

The scientific revolution has left the world in awe and laid the foundation for scientific evidence-based research. It has also provided the premise for religious scholars to incorporate scientific precepts into their learning and interpretation of the Quran. This idea was proposed by early Muslim Scholars like Ghazali and Razi. However, this field has become increasingly important in the contemporary era as Muslim researchers seek to inspire western scholars and attract their attention to the miraculous nature of the Quran. In this context, this article provides a critical analysis of Sultan Bashir's Quran's scientific interpretation of Surah Fatihah and Baqarah to highlight his efforts in this regard and to guide future research in this area of study.

Religion and Revolution in a Sectarian Family of Late Tsarist Russia

Abstract In 1965, after decades of ethnographic research in primary sources first collected by Vladimir Bonch-Bruevich, Soviet historian Alexander I. Klibanov concluded that despite its origins in peasant social protest, Russian sectarianism had failed to advance the goals of the Bolshevik revolution. “Darkened” by religion and under the influence of their “bourgeois leaders” and “reactionary” Tolstoyan activists, religious dissidents were content to serve the political and economic interests of the ruling classes. Klibanov’s sweeping pronouncement ran counter to previous, western scholarship, which generally viewed the religious sect as precursor of the political party, and it was specifically rebutted in 1967 by Ethel Dunn, who argued that Klibanov had not proved his conclusion that sectarians were satisfied with tsarism and opposed to revolution. Sergei I. Zhuk further pressed the case against Klibanov’s thesis in his 2004 study of the oppositional discourse of the peasant evangelical movement in southern Russia and the revolutionary activity of proletarian peasants against Ukrainian plantation owners. Soviet ideologists had disowned their “cultural predecessors,” Zhuk claimed. The case study of an exiled sectarian family that we present in this article follows in the footsteps of Dunn, Zhuk, and others to show how the anti-clerical activism of a Bessarabian Stundist, Eremei Cheban (1858–c.1930), fueled the political dissidence of his son, Khariton (1886–1962), who participated in violent anti-tsarist rebellion in the Caucasus during the 1905 Revolution.

A Bibliometric Analysis and Review of Nudge Research Using VOSviewer.

With growing demands of decision making in the current era, the impact of the drivers behind individuals' preferences and institutional strategies becomes prominent. Coined in 2008, nudge is used to describe incentives for individuals' choices with foreseeable outcomes but without exclusion of alternative choices or reliance on financial stimuli. Consequently, nudge and its application in real-world situations led to a prosperous surge of studies in multiple disciplines. However, we are still facing a dearth of in-depth understanding of the status quo and future directions of research on nudge in a comprehensive fashion. To address the gap in knowledge, the present study adopted a bibliometric analysis of the existing literature related to the investigation and application of nudge by analyzing 1706 publications retrieved from Web of Science. The results indicated that (a) being a relatively newly developed theory, interest in nudge in academia has expanded both in volume and disciplines, with Western scholars and behavioral economists as the backbones; (b) future studies in nudge-related fields are expected to consolidate its current frontiers in individual behaviors while shedding light on new territories such as the digitalized environment. By incorporating state-of-the-art technologies to investigate extant research, the present study would be pivotal for the holistic understanding of the studies on nudge in recent years. Nevertheless, the inclusiveness and comprehensiveness of the review were limited by the size of the selected literature.

Green Ganesha Chaturthi: The Ritualising and Materialising of a Green Hindu Identity and the Emerging of an Alternative Representation of Ganesha

With the world facing an ecological crisis, Hindus are challenged to reflect on the ways they impact their environment. The last few decades witnessed a rise of theological reflections on Hindu traditions—especially scriptures and concepts (not least by western scholars)—that advocate environmentally friendly perspectives. This stands in sharp contrast with the multiple examples of how Hindu ritual practices cause harm to the environment. Ganesha Chaturthi is a festival that due to the public element of immersion of Ganesha idols, has led to severe pollution of waterbodies. Because of the attention that has been paid to this lately, the festival now calls for ecofriendly alternatives. This article analyses how recently, environmental awareness is ritualized and materialized in the festival of Ganesha Chaturthi. For this, fieldwork was conducted during Ganesha Chaturthi in Chennai and Mumbai in 2022. The focus of the article lies on the ecofriendly material and ritual innovations of the festival—for instance the variety of Ganeshas made of biodegradable materials—and the dynamics of interaction with (alleged) traditions to validate a Green Hindu identity in general and the development of a Green Ganesha in particular.

Rethinking spaces of gendered livestock ownership: pastoralist women’s knowledge, care, and labor

ABSTRACT This article examines the traditionally underemphasized and overlooked roles of pastoral (livestock-keeping) women in managing their livestock, demonstrating the types of, and significance of, their knowledge for pastoral livelihoods and wellbeing. Such knowledge has been regularly dismissed by male pastoralists and by Western scholarship and practice due to a long history of emphasis on men’s spheres of influence with livestock (namely, herding activities away from the home) rather than women’s (namely, livestock caretaking activities and milk management within the home). In re-examining the spatiality and temporality of pastoral livestock management activities through a feminist lens, this article demonstrates how women’s knowledge is key to functional herd health, food security, and cultural mores in pastoral communities. Drawing from a long-term ethnographic and mixed methods research project in southern Kenya’s Narok County, it also demonstrates the gendered complexity of women’s labor and care in human-animal-environment entanglements. In so doing, this study de-emphasizes the notion of men’s formal ownership of livestock to highlight instead the important interplay of gendered labor, spaces, and bodies for pastoralists in accessing and managing livestock and related resources.

Scholarly publishing and peer review in the Global South: the role of the reviewer

Peer review is an integral part of contemporary scholarly publishing, especially journal publishing. Work submitted by scholars from all parts of the world is subjected to it. This includes submissions by scholars from the Global South, who wish to publish in “international” journals or in local journals which follow the same model. These authors may not be native English speakers and may be unfamiliar with the conventions of Western scholarship. Many of them conduct research and write their manuscripts under challenging circumstances. They may find it difficult to comply with the requirements of the journals to which they submit their articles. Their manuscripts quite often pose challenges to the peer reviewers. The purpose of this article is to provide some background on scholarly publishing in the Global South and the challenges those colleagues face, and to outline what this may mean for the role of the reviewer.

PUBLISHED RESEARCH SOURCES ON UKRAINIAN AVANT-GARDE

Ukrainian architecture is scarcely represented in Western libraries. And there are few Western investigations that specialize in the Ukrainian Modern Movement. For a long time, Selim Omarovich Khan-Magomedov’s book ‘Pioneers of Soviet architecture’, first published in the German Democratic Republic in 1983 as ‘Pioniere der Sowjetischen Architektur. Der Weg zur neuen sowjetischen Architektur in den zwanziger und zu Beginn der dreißiger Jahre’, has been the best known source on this subject accessible for Western scholars. In 1987, this book was translated and published in English by Thames and Hudson/Rizzoli. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Khan-Magomedov reworked his manuscript and published an enhanced Russian version in two volumes1.In this short overview of published materials on Ukrainian Avant-garde, I want to focus on almost unknown publications from the 1920s-1930s and recent research published in the last three decades.

Influence of Indonesia in the Early Nationalist Movement in Sabah, Malaysia: A Case Study of Barisan Pemuda Organisation (BARIP) (1946-1948)

The development of nationalism in Malaysian society is one of the important aspects that is frequently explored by social and humanities scientists. However, the debate on this matter is more focused on Malaya and Sarawak, causing the documentation on the development of nationalism among the people of Sabah to still be far from what’s expected. This situation indirectly influenced the meaning of the writings of Western scholars who stated that Sabah is a “state without politics” before and after the early years of World War ll. Whereas, the development of nationalism among the people is also not much different from the national consciousness in both the regions centered on Indonesia. Even so, the effort to trace this linkage is not given enough attention that it is possible the influence of Indonesia in raising the nationalism spirit of the Sabah people is not known by the general public. Therefore, this writing aims to reveal the development of nationalism in Sabah which was also directly driven by Indonesian figures in Sabah based on the emergence of Barisan Pemuda (BARIP). This effort was highlighted by elevating the role of Indonesian figures in mobilising BARIP as one of the political organisations that fought for independence from the British since they had earlier been exposed to the disadvantages of imperialism and colonialism. The data collection of this article was conducted through interviews with several proto witnesses who were either directly involved or saw the BARIP radical movement. The authors also conducted library studies by collecting intelligence reports in the National Archives and Zakaria Gunn’s private collection in the form of personal letters. With that later, this writing is not only able to offer a new dimension in understanding the nationalism development of Sabah society but also puts the position of Indonesian figures at sensible places in the historiography of Sabah politics.

The Philosophical Relationship Between the Origin of English and Chinese Affixes and Their Word Format

Western scholars believe that the difference between Chinese and Western languages is a conceptual gap in their traditions, apply the Western phonetic-centered language philosophy theory to study Chinese and Chinese characters, and put forward a series of ideas and views on the comparison of Chinese characters and Western languages, believing that Chinese characters as a thinking tool are far inferior to languages with perfect grammatical forms, and that Chinese remains in the childhood stage of human language development. This paper aims to reveal how Western scholars based on phonetic centrism and logocentrism ignore the particularity of Chinese characters, and should not copy the western language philosophy theory when understanding the nature of Chinese characters, but should pay attention to the characteristics and advantages of Chinese characters in the process of historical development.

Ibn Sinā's Psychology: The Substantiation of Soul Values in Islamic Education

The soul is one the major psychological topics which has been explored by Muslim scholars. Among them was Ibn Sinā, a Muslim philosopher, who emphasized the study of the human soul. His mental conception of the soul was so well-developed that it received much attention and appreciation from later Islamic philosophers such as al-Ghazāli, Fakhruddin al-Rāzi, Ibn Rushd and Western scholars. This article explores Ibn Sinā's concept of the soul and its substance in Islamic education. The methodology employed is a literature review together with qualitative research using exploratory, descriptive, and analytical approaches. Ibn Sinā argued that the soul is a living spiritual substance inspiring the body and forms the infrastructure for acquiring knowledge and transforming it in real life. In contrast to the body, the soul is immaterial and eternal. Islamic education cannot be separated from the psychological elements elucidated by Ibn Sinā and must incorporate relevant psychological aspects in order to fully develop the potential of students towards becoming exemplary human beings (insān kāmil).

Decolonizing International Relations and Development Studies: What’s in a buzzword?

Over the past decade, there has been a new “decolonial turn,” albeit less related than before to land and political independence. “To decolonize” is now associated with something less tangible and often under-defined. We argue that scholars, especially Western ones, should avoid depoliticizing the expression “decolonizing” by using it as a buzzword. Scholars and policymakers should use the expression only if it is closely related to the political meaning ascribed to it by Global South and Indigenous activists and scholars. Decoloniality is a political project of human emancipation through collective struggles, entailing at least the following: 1) abolishing racial hierarchies within the hetero-patriarchal and capitalist world order, 2) dismantling the geopolitics of knowledge production, and 3) rehumanizing our relationships with Others and nature. We conclude that there is a need for epistemic humility and that Western scholars and institutions must refrain from using the word too freely.

Проблематика західної історії преси: критичний історіографічний огляд (1974–2020 рр.)

This review article makes an attempt to accomplish a historiographic overview of the works in problematic of the history of press in the West. The aim of this paper is to make a synthetic overarching historiographic overview of Western studies in Media History, specifically in Press Studies and more specifically – in Press History. The scientific novelty of the research: for the first time in the Communication and Media Studies in Ukraine (the so-called “Theory and history of Journalism) Western perspectives and concepts regarding the research problem of Journalism History are discussed here. We conducted the qualitative analysis of main works in Media History on the basis of influential Western international peer-reviewed journals (American Journalism Review, Communication Quarterly, Media History, Journalism History). Specifically, for the first time, we introduce here in the Ukrainian scholarly discourse a milestone pioneering research essay of world-renowned American scholar, Professor J. W. Carrey The Problem of History of Journalism (Journalism History, 1974). Itsimpact on transformation of conceptual perspectives to studying Media History in Western scholarship has been analyzed. We have elucidated common and different perspectives, interpretations, concepts and methodology of studying history of media, in particular press, in Western academic discourse. It has been argued here the relevance of reconsidering Ukrainian concepts and perspectives towards studying history of journalism, specifically from the mainstream (in the West) interdisciplinary perspective of the Cultural Studies, Behavioral Psychology, Global History and last but not least, – Communication and Media Studies. It has been accentuated in this paper a necessity of selective interpolation of Western perspectives on Media History in the Ukrainian humanities, specifically Journalism History curriculum discipline. The conclusions have been drawn and the perspectives of follow-up historiographical works in Media History (specifically, Press History) in the Ukrainian scholarship have been put forward. Keywords: Journalism History, Media History, histories, historiography, overview, press, Western, American, concept, perspective, сultural рistory; Cultural Studies; Communication and Media Studies.

Márta Font. Jason Vincz (trans). The Kings of the House of Árpád and the Rurikid Princes: Cooperation and Conflict in Medieval Hungary and Kievan Rus’

Márta Font. Jason Vincz (trans). <i>The Kings of the House of Árpád and the Rurikid Princes: Cooperation and Conflict in Medieval Hungary and Kievan Rus’</i>

Dynamic Community And Modern Islamic Applications: The Study Of Muhammad Abduh's Epistemology

Since entering the era of decline, Muslims no longer produce outstanding achievements in the field of science. Western scholars then developed science with the materials developed from the work of Muslim scholars. Of course, there are weaknesses inherent in Western civilization. However, they creatively produce new things to be studied. In the 19th century, scientific optimism was partly due to the emergence of the theory of Darwin (Charles Darwin), Herbert Spencer (Social Darwinism), before Agust Comte, and so on. Abduh himself met Herbert Spencer in England. The findings of Western intellectuals became the subject of discussion by Muhammad Abduh. Islam is not against science. This is what Muhammad Abduh often said. The Islamic thought reform movement is a challenging study and continues to be explored. One fundamental challenge faced by Muslim thinkers in the 19th century was the decline of Islam. This demands to be solved and found a solution. How did Islamic reformers respond to the challenges of the tough times? Good because, factually, Muslims are in a lagging position. Also, many Muslim countries are under the occupation of the West.