Living with patriarchy and poverty: women's agency and the spatialities of gender relations in Afghanistan

This article examines the spatialities of gender relations and women's oppression in urban Afghanistan under conditions of poverty and strict patriarchy. Using empirical data from biographical interviews with Afghan women from urban households in Kabul, Herat, and Jalalabad, the article questions how gender as social relation and gender as difference is lived and experienced among the urban poor in Afghanistan. Looking at urban livelihoods through the lens of feminist geography helps to better understand the gendered spaces of home and the outside world, of households as sites of security and violence, and of urban contexts and ethnic affiliations. The approach allows for reflection on women's subjectivities and their own understandings of gender inequality and injustice. Examining the gendered geographies in urban Afghanistan shows how social difference is lived under conditions of patriarchy and poverty and how women's agency contributes to the livelihoods of their households.     

Tricky business: Swiss perceptions of informal imperialism in China in the 1920s

This article analyzes the role that commercial interests played in Swiss perceptions of informal imperialism in China during the 1920s. Commercial interests were the driving force behind the establishment of Swiss relations with China in 1918 and Swiss rejections of Chinese demands to abolish extraterritoriality in the 1920s. Swiss commercial relations with China were deeply rooted in the social, economic, and political institutions and processes developed by informal imperialism in China. During the Chinese antiforeign agitation in the 1920s, the Swiss press criticized the unequal treaties as an example of imperialism in China but ignored Switzerland’s participation in it. This discrepancy between the official and media perceptions of Swiss commercial interests in China was caused by the fact that Switzerland’s dependence on privileges connected to the unequal treaties clashed with Swiss national mythology, which was based on neutrality and anti-imperial narratives. Moreover, the negligible importance attributed to Swiss trade with China and the increasing focus on the nationality of foreign companies in China allowed the Swiss media to ignore Swiss commercial interests in China. As a result, Swiss complicity in informal imperialism was downplayed by the Swiss press, which ignored the importance of Swiss commerce to Sino–Swiss relations.     

Einstein et «Zweistein»

As the sobriquet «Zweistein» suggests, within the theoretical physics community Wolfgang Pauli came to be regarded as second in eminence only to Albert Einstein. Over a period of thirty-five years, they interacted both intellectually and personally. This paper focuses on four interrelated topics of their discussions. 1) The theory of relativity: at the age of twenty, Pauli prepared the definitive survey of relativity, a survey which he revised near the end of his life and which remains invaluable to physicists and historians of physics. 2) Unified field theories: although initially sympathetic to Einstein's search for a unified theory of electromagnetism and gravitation, and having made important contributions to the subject, Pauli came to regard such efforts as fruitless. 3) Foundations of quantum mechanics: Pauli's negative evaluation of Einstein's program grew out of their sharply differing evaluations of the role that quantum mechanics would play in the future, development of theoretical physics. 4) Quantum gravity: Pauli recognized that, until the achievement of a successful reconciliation of quantum mechanics and general relativity — an achievement that still eludes us — Einstein's challenge to quantum mechanics could not be laid to rest.     

Phases in the postwar German reception of the "Euthanasia Program" (1939-1945) involving the killing of the mentally disabled and its exploitation by neuroscientists

The killing of disabled patients with mental diseases during 1939-1945 is regarded as the precursor to the Holocaust. Although known at least since the Nuremberg Doctors Trial (1946-1947), the reception accorded these crimes against humanity varied (and evolved through time) depending on the parties: the old establishment, the younger generation, the different political interests, and the jurists, the theologians, the historians, the medical authorities. I attempt to distinguish five phases in the debate in light of the political background between 1945 until the present.     

Growth estimations in settlement planning using a land use cellular automata model (LUCAM)

This article describes the main features of a Land Use Cellular Automata Model (LUCAM) developed within the scope a Ph.D. thesis by using both physical and socio‐economic data and on the basis of the relationships between the smallest cellular function and other functions that vary according to the fractal structure of settlements. An assessment of the research findings is also included. The article has five sections: Following the introduction, the evolution of land use models, in particular Cellular Automata (CA) based land use models, is described. Then, the main features of LUCAM are presented, and the basics of the criteria used in determining the model parameters is described. The model developed, which can easily be used in computer environments, aims to minimize the calculation time in growth estimation processes, and thus become a widely used tool. In this article, the model was applied to the settlement of Bursa (Turkey), and the results obtained were assessed. The conclusion section offers general guidelines on the use of the model and discusses the advantages of employing the model in CA based studies that are likely to emerge in the future.     

Determining suitable investment areas using multi‐variable statistical methods: evidence from the Black Sea region in Turkey

Investment is an important decision for economic development, balanced growth and public welfare. There are many factors influencing investment. Thus, investment must be evaluated with multidimensional methods. Using taxonomy and principal component analysis this study attempts to determine appropriate investment areas in planned provinces in the Black Sea Region. Analyses were based on a number of demographic, economic, health, education, employment and cultural indicators. Results indicated that provinces were grouped into four clusters. Gümü?hane and Bayburt were determined to have the highest priority for investment in the manufacturing industry.