مطالب

Background: Economic misinformation may result in people making poor financial choices. Multi-level marketing organizations often target women as potential salespeople. The majority of multi-level marketing organizations are predatory. Oftentimes, their online promotion effectively reaches people. Aims: In order to better identify the differences in color used in online advertisements for multi-level marketing organizations, I chose to explore whether health multi-level marketing organization advertisements had colors that corresponded with traditional gender norms or traditional health advertisements. Methodology: I obtained and analyzed exclusively online advertisements for multi-level marketing organizations. I found that there was indeed a difference in both color and brightness between organizations that targeted men and organizations that targeted women. Results: Health multi-level marketing organizations pose a unique danger. Specifically, they promote both economic and health misinformation. Not only do these organizations recruit people to sell products using spurious techniques, but in many cases, these products may be directly harmful to consumers’ health. As a result, more insight into detecting a health multi-level marketing advertisement is necessary. Conclusion: Color is a major element in advertisements. Specifically, distinct colors may be used in advertisements that target different genders. Understanding the differences in multi-level marketing advertisement colors is important: if consumers can identify which organizations are multi-level marketing companies, they will distrust the advertisements.

This article presents new outlooks toward gender transfiguration in David Hare’s Skylight and Pravda in the light of Judith Butler’s theory of Gender Performativity. It examines whether the linguistic performance of Hare's characters is an innate feature or a hallucinatory effect of their naturalized and gendered bodies. Butler asserts that performativity is a ritualized production and a constrained reiteration of cultural intelligibility under the prohibition pressed by power regimes. Surveying Skylight and Pravda elucidates that gender identity is an imitation, which leads Hare’s characters to resignify and recontextualize the parodic gender reproductions. Moreover, the gendered subjects were subordinated to the language that interpellated them, so that each individual became a linguistically stylized occasion. Therefore, the ever-shifting identities of Hare’s characters were established by the power of the injurious language that interpellated the subjects. Springing from the discussion about gender performativity of Hare’s characters, the article concluded that identity is a phantasmatic construction, and what an individual performs is a non-intrinsic parody of the culturally constructed regulations. As a result, the culturally acquired gender is crafted based on the socially recognizable standards, which shape the directionality of the self-representation.

This study aims to compare the ethical systems of Aristotle and Al-Biruni. The former was built in the ‘West’, but the latter was on the ‘Middle’ toward the ‘East’. Reviewing their literature and introducing the new concepts, this study found that while Aristotle’s system influenced Al-Biruni’s in the application of a scientific frame to ethical issues, the two systems shared a concern not for the moral judgment but for the moral agent. However, they differ from each other in the conceptualization of the agents. Aristotle’s model is the person of virtue evaluated by the golden mean, but Al-Biruni’s is the person of manliness rated by the reversibility of others. This comparison advanced the differentiation that the moral pragmatic is devoted to Aristotle’s and the moral practical to Al-Bruni’s. The study would contribute to resolving the current moral confusion and would demonstrate a model to integrate the systems of the western and eastern worlds.

This paper explores the structure of time and the possibility of the future within it, challenging conventional linear representations of temporality. The central thesis argues that the future does not lie on a vertical line above or to the eternally far right of a horizontal timeline; rather, the it emerges logically, not merely sequentially, following the past and present. For the future to fully manifest, the past and present must be thoroughly processed and, in some sense, exhausted. However, catastrophes, which have occurred and will presumably continue to occur, disrupt the flow of time by halting the past and indicating future occurrences in unpredictable ways. Therefore, to truly engage with the future, it is sometimes necessary to revisit the past, much like in psychoanalysis, where exploring repressed experiences helps illuminate present and future trajectories. This brings us to a crucial idea of this article: history and historiography are not solely concerned with understanding past events but also with anticipating and shaping future possibilities. In this light, many future catastrophes have their roots in the past. Recognizing this dynamic allows us to see that many future catastrophes have their origins in unresolved past events, reinforcing the necessity of engaging with history not only as retrospective analysis but as a mode of future-oriented thinking.

Understanding the descriptions of graves and historical mortuary practices is crucial for interpreting contextual information and broader social significance. This study employs an interdisciplinary approach, drawing from archaeological literature, anthropological evidence, and sociological theory to expand the range of possible interpretations. The research is based on ethnoarchaeological research on the mourning ritual of the Bakhtiari people in southwest Iran. A ritual that exemplifies memorials is embodied in monuments called Mafegeh for individuals or groups whose remains are elsewhere. The conceptual framework encompasses the theoretical and methodological aspects of comparing ethnographic and archaeological data. This framework provides a comprehensive approach to effectively analyzing and drawing connections between these two data types. Fieldwork involves conducting archaeological surveys, interviews, and direct ethnographic observations to document the Mafegeh. The study shows theoretical considerations and emphasises the reluctance to forget the dead. Nonreligious beliefs and mental states underlie many motivations of this practice. It may be that mafageh is driven by other symbolic, emotional, and practical reasons, and that has little to do with a belief in immortal souls. Such historically and culturally recurring funerary practices suggest that humans are predisposed to believe in and prepare for an afterlife. A possible reason would have been that the deceased had died elsewhere; thus, the memorial structure was erected to honour him. The research exclusively involves men, and no instances related to women were found.

Duels, despite their cultural visibility and symbolic significance, were never a common nor universal form of conflict resolution. In the Iranian tradition, as presented in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, however, they hold a special place as an element of the hero’s ethos. This raises questions about the extent of the practice of such encounters and about their ritual, whether the fighting took place on foot or on horseback. The article addresses this issue in the context of pre-Islamic Iran, juxtaposing three perspectives: the narrative of Ferdowsi’s epic, historical accounts concerning rulers and commanders, and the iconography of reliefs. In the Shahnameh, mounted combat appears as the most prestigious form, yet the poet subtly challenges its superiority, pointing instead to victory as the true criterion of honor. The comparison of these three sources allows for a deeper understanding of the significance of duels in pre-Islamic Iranian tradition.

The Bayazid Bastami complex, located in Bastam, Semnan province, is considered one of the outstanding examples of the Iranian religious architecture during the Ilkhanid era. Due to the existence of a renowned Sufi’s shrine, Bayazid Bastami (161-234 AH), this complex has attracted the attention of different reigns and kings since the very early Islamic period, and numerous constructions have been performed in this monument during various periods from the Deylamiyān (Deylamites) dynasty to the Qajar period. Most of the constructions in this complex and also the restorations conducted here relate to the Ilkhanid era, and particularly to Sultan Muhammad Ghazan Khan’s reign (694-703 AH) and Sultan Mohammad Khodābandeh Öljaitü’s time (703-716 AH). Thanks to his high regard for Bayazid, Öljaitü even selected his own children’s names according to Bayazid’s name and titles: Bastam, Bayazid, and Ṭayfūr. In various Ilkhanid buildings and extensions in Bayazid Bastami’s complex, numerous inscriptions can be seen that have adorned the architectural elements of this complex. Due to the existence of multiple features and the religious importance of this part, inscriptions on the mihrab of this mosque, called Mardana or Bayazid, have been widely investigated and analyzed from different aspects, including ritual, artistic, and historical. In the present research, a descriptive-analytical methodology has been applied, and the data have been collected from documentary and field studies with a theoretical approach to study the cultural history.  

Examining administrative artefacts from the Proto-Elamite period in Susa through a phenomenological lens allows historians and archaeologists to contextualize these documents not only as dormant material culture but also as dynamic instruments in negotiating economic control, political authority, and institutional identity. This article draws on newly reevaluated evidence of clay sealing strips housed in the National Museum of Iran, interpreted initially as “wall sealings” by Holly Pittman. It reconsiders their function in light of comparative frameworks developed by Adelheid Otto for Middle Bronze Age Syria. By situating these items within the broader conceptual field of “administrative writing”, here extended to include physical sealing devices as protoarchival media, this study examines the thematic frameworks, authorial stances, and intended audiences embedded in both the ancient administrative practices and the modern scholarly discourse. Rather than occupying a marginal position in archaeological literature, these sealing strips emerge as powerful heuristic tools for understanding the evolution of bureaucratic management in early Iranian state formations.

Tourism is widely acknowledged as a potential engine of economic growth and poverty reduction, particularly in developing countries. This research investigates the impact of tourist growth on poverty reduction in Wukari Local Government Area, Taraba State, Nigeria. The study concentrated on its contributions, problems, and ideas for increasing its pro-poor effect. The questionnaire was applied to obtain data from 400 respondents. The data were examined descriptively. The findings show a clear consensus that tourism may greatly help to poverty reduction, with job creation and income generation highlighted as main advantages. However, fundamental constraints such as inadequate infrastructure, poor security, and little government backing impede tourist expansion. Respondents significantly approve policies such as government infrastructure investment, enhanced security measures, entrepreneurial training, awareness campaigns, and community participation in tourist planning. The study indicates that tourism has significant potential for poverty reduction in Wukari LGA, and that focused interventions are required to solve its obstacles for long-term and inclusive growth.

Objective : The global increase in the elderly population has heightened the need for coordinated, tailored healthcare services that address the complex needs of older adults. This study aims to conceptualize the elderly healthcare ecosystem by identifying its key actors, classifying their roles, and examining the nature of their interactions. Methodology: A multi-stage methodological approach was employed. First, an extensive literature review—focusing on healthcare ecosystems and ageing studies—was conducted to develop an initial analytical framework. Based on this, ecosystem actors were identified and categorized using Mitchell et al.’s Stakeholder Salience Model. An expert panel was then consulted to validate actor attributes and refine classifications. To analyze interdependencies and determine influential actors, a Fuzzy Cognitive Map was constructed, enabling the assessment of causal relationships and the dynamic positioning of stakeholders within the ecosystem. Results : The analysis identified seven groups of actors within the healthcare ecosystem. FCM findings reveal that the elderly, families, and medical centers are the most influential actors. At the same time, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, insurance and pension funds, and the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare emerge as the most influential and central stakeholders in advancing ecosystem objectives. Conclusion : The study demonstrates that the elderly healthcare ecosystem is inherently dynamic, and stakeholder classifications should not be viewed as static. Attributes such as power, legitimacy, and urgency are fluid and context-dependent. The FCM results further highlight this dynamism by illustrating how shifts in causal relationships can reposition actors across stakeholder categories, underscoring the need for adaptive policymaking.

story from Dubliners has received immense critical reception over the years and has been studied through various critical frameworks. However, its potential for analysis based on Hegelian dialectic has been largely overlooked. Considering the last episode of the story as a moment of epiphany and self-realization, the study seeks to discuss how the protagonist’s development of consciousness can be interpreted based on the three stages of Hegelian dialectic: Understanding (Idealization of Mangan's sister and the bazaar), Dialectical (faced with contradiction at the bazaar), and Speculative (the final epiphany). The analysis demonstrates how the narrator’s initially fixed determinations and alienated consciousness in the understanding stage face their contradiction at the dialectical moment, resulting in the final epiphany, which mirrors the last stage of the dialectic where contradictions are resolved and self-realization is achieved. Further, based on the principles of Hegelian dialectic rooted in philosophical idealism, the study not only asserts that the narrator’s consciousness evolves through a process driven by contradiction, but it also interprets the narrator’s journey from naïve idealization to self-realization as a universal process of maturation. To avoid a mechanical and rigid application of the dialectical method, the analysis relies on close textual reading to identify the elements that contribute to each moment of the dialectic and deeply contextualizes the argument to deviate from oversimplification of the text.

Masculinity, unlike femininity, have long been left understudied by the scholars. This originated from the essentialist idea that men and masculinity are natural, and subsequently had been taken for granted. They were, not required to be studied. Men, were deemed as the agents who gazed and studied. However with the advent of structuralist and poststructuralist ideas in humanities and specially in social theory, masculinity attracted attentions. No longer was masculinity considered natural, God-given. Now the new theories regarded masculinity as a constructed phenomenon subject to cultural, structural, discursive, and material forces. Therefore it was inevitably subject to change, It was no longer seen as an essential entity. These theoretical inventions spread, though belatedly, into the realm of literary studies. Literary works, especially fiction, provides a very rich material to explore the dynamics and nuances of theory. The present article sets to apply the theories in the field of masculinity studies from social theory to a novel by the British-Syrian writer Robin Yassin Kassab. The Road from Damascus could be useful text to investigate how masculinity produced and reproduced, how it constructed and changed as men experience different social structures. The novel, successfully, takes masculinity as a sign whose significance alters as it moves from one structure to another. A significant aspect of the novel is its focus on immigrant people in the cultural space of England. The article would investigate how the two “modalities” masculinity and immigration would invite new meanings into the previous studies done on the work.

A newly discovered Elamite rock relief in the Alhak region of central Izeh in southwestern Iran contributes significantly to the corpus of commemorative Elamite art. Unlike other well-known reliefs from the area—such as those at Kūl-i Farah, Shahsavar, and Khung-i Azhdar—this composition was carved onto a conglomerate rock surface, a medium both unique and inherently fragile, leading to its accelerated erosion and delayed recognition. The relief depicts a male figure seated in profile on a simple throne, raising his right hand in a gesture of reverence or supplication. A stepped platform lies before him, while a prominent solar disc hovers above his head—features resonant with iconographic motifs found on contemporaneous cylinder seals from Elam and Mesopotamia. Iconographic and stylistic parallels suggest that the Alhak relief belongs to the Shimashki cultural horizon (ca. 2000–1970 BCE). The absence of divine attributes—such as horned crowns or zoomorphic insignia—indicates that the figure is more plausibly interpreted as a royal personage engaged in ritual devotion rather than a deity. The rightward orientation of the seated figure, in contrast to the left-facing postures of most Izeh reliefs, further underscores its distinctiveness. This discovery broadens our understanding of regional variability within Elamite rock art. It highlights the cultural resilience of Elamite traditions in the highlands following the collapse of lowland power centers such as Susa. Future investigations employing advanced imaging technologies (e.g., 3D scanning and photogrammetry) are essential for recovering lost details and refining our interpretation of the relief’s symbolic schema.