American University of Central Asia

Amidst stereotypes and constructions of gender, masculine sexuality has been described as agentic in comparison to a passive female sexuality, requiring acts of manhood to maintain its privileged position vis-à-vis women. Because of the attached privileges and the way they maintain the status quo in a gendered hierarchy, men use these norms to evaluate themselves and condemn themselves and others when they do not meet expectations. When applied to men’s sexuality, upholding norms of manhood may interfere with men’s ability to withdraw consent during sex. It may additionally have an impact on their conceptualization around whether they consented or wanted to consent at all. Using a thematic/discourse analysis in interviews with 18 men around the question of “troubling sex” we focus closely on 5 interviews that describe moments of ambivalent sex and ambiguous consent. We use the conceptual framework of “voices of the mind” to examine the discourses that require men to do something with the ambiguous consent or ambivalent sexual experience that recalibrate their ideas of themselves as men. We make comparisons with how women explain unwanted but consented to sex.

Geodetic observations over the past several decades identify the Tien Shan as a prominent and active intracontinental mountain belt, characterized by a meridional shortening rate of up to 20 mm/a. The region has experienced significant seismic events, particularly along its northern boundary, highlighting the recurrent seismic activity in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Issyk-Ata fault, stretching 120 km from west to east in the northern Tien Shan, bounds from the north a young, growing anticline demarcating the foothills of the Kyrgyz Range and the Chui depression. This region is susceptible to strong earthquakes, posing a significant threat to the Chui region and Bishkek, the capital city with over a million residents. The youngest fault in the area is the Issyk-Ata fault, traversing the southern part of Bishkek, where modern construction has obscured its features. This study integrates remote sensing, detailed fieldwork, and paleoseismological investigations to map and analyze surface ruptures, quantify vertical displacements, and assess seismic hazards along the Issyk-Ata fault. Using optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon dating, we determined ages for documented paleoseismic events, placing two ancient earthquakes in the Holocene. Magnitude estimates suggest seismic events with magnitudes ranging from 6.6 to 7.1. In the Dzhal area, geological and geomorphological analysis yielded a long-term fault-slip rate of 1.15 mm/a. The Issyk-Ata fault shows variable rupture behavior, with distinct segments demonstrating different seismic characteristics and histories of activity. This variability necessitates comprehensive seismic hazard modeling to better understand and mitigate potential risks in the region.

The impact of international trade on countries at the macro-level has been extensively studied in the literature. Despite this, no consensus exists on whether trade has an unambiguously positive effect on households at the micro-level. Using evidence from Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet country in transition, this study identifies the impact of international trade on the well-being of farmers using ‘Life in Kyrgyzstan’ household survey data for 2012 and 2013. I use the Rajan-Zingales (Am Econ Rev, 88:559–586, 1998) identification strategy and Berman and Couttenier’s (Rev Econ Stat 97:758–776, 2015) approach to construct a farm-level measure of demand shock for agricultural commodities and interact it with a measure of natural trade openness. Results show that international trade has a large impact on Kyrgyz farmers. However, the sign of the effect crucially depends on the level of farmers’ integration to markets: households living close to oblast centers and/or the cities of Bishkek and Osh, on average, benefit from trade, while those living in remote areas lose from trade. This result may showcase the experiences of many transition economies, which are not yet fully integrated into international markets. Therefore, policies to improve farmers’ integration into agricultural markets are crucial to ensure that more households can benefit from trade.

This paper argues that the concept of “academic-at-risk” paradoxically facilitates dismissing the growing threats to academic freedoms. In the past, academic solidarity, often summarized as “finding a job elsewhere,” was sustained through personal networks among colleagues. This solidarity has recently been institutionalized, and it began to reduce the academic risk to the job security of academics threatened by governments. This reductionism obscures the reality that it is not just the individual academic whose intellectual autonomy, freedoms, and existence are threatened. Instead, the academy itself, as a specific mode of knowledge production used to confine its relationship with the university, faces existential danger. The paper suggests that maintaining academic freedoms, particularly in the social sciences, requires emphasizing the public nature of knowledge—knowledge produced at the universities is about and belongs to society—and, if necessary, considering new ways of reinstitutionalizing this principle outside of universities.

This chapter examines Central Asia’s complex transitioning process marked by a noticeable tilt toward autocracy. Beginning from a similar post-independence foundation, the countries have since taken diverse political paths, with many failing to establish democratic systems. Apart from Kyrgyzstan, which was considered to be an electoral democracy prior to 2021, elections have enabled the same ruling elite to remain in powerful positions for over thirty years. The chapter focuses on voting and political participation as crucial indicators of democracy, addressing their significance for the maintenance of the regimes and the reactions of the citizens to these practices. Additionally, the influence of global efforts to promote democracy and the role of external actors such as Russia and China are both examined for Central Asia. Drawing on data from the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project, this analysis provides a nuanced understanding of the region’s democratic trajectory and the domestic and international forces shaping it.

The extremely rich palaeontological record of the horse family, also known as equids, has provided many examples of macroevolutionary change over the last ~55 Mya. This family is also one of the most documented at the palaeogenomic level, with hundreds of ancient genomes sequenced. While these data have advanced understanding of the domestication history of horses and donkeys, the palaeogenomic record of other equids remains limited. In this study, we have generated genome‐wide data for 25 ancient equid specimens spanning over 44 Ky and spread across Anatolia, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia. Our dataset includes the genomes from two extinct species, the European wild ass, Equus hydruntinus , and the sussemione Equus ovodovi . We document, for the first time, the presence of sussemiones in Mongolia and their survival around ~3.9 Kya, a finding that should be considered when discussing the timing of the first arrival of the domestic horse in the region. We also identify strong spatial differentiation within the historical ecological range of Asian wild asses, Equus hemionus , and incomplete reproductive isolation in several groups yet considered as different species. Finally, we find common selection signatures at ANTXR2 gene in European, Asian and African wild asses. This locus, which encodes a receptor for bacterial toxins, shows no selection signal in E. ovodovi , but a 5.4‐kb deletion within intron 7. Whether such genetic modifications played any role in the sussemione extinction remains unknown.

Introduction During the last two years, many young people and adolescents in the Kyrgyz Republic started to visit specialists due to Non-suicidal self-harm. A significant rise in the amount of such cases allowed specialists from the Republican Center of Psychiatry in Bishkek to think about an “epidemic “of self-harming behavior. Non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) is defined as repeated, deliberate, direct injury to the body without suicidal intent that is not socially acceptable (Nixon et al., 2002) to reduce psychological discomfort in the absence of a conscious intention to take one’s life (ICD-10 codes X60-X84, and ICD-11 codes PB80-PD3Z). Objectives To determine the causes of NSSH among adolescents and young adults who approached specialists in mental health sphere at Institute of Behavioral Health at the American University of Central Asia. Methods Over two years, forty-five adolescents and young adults under twenty-five who had committed self-harm visited specialists from the Behavioral Health Institute at the American University of Central Asia. All the patients received either dialectical behavioral treatment or cognitive processing treatment, medication (paroxetine) was used in three cases. Results Thirty patients were girls under twenty-one, and fifteen were boys and young male adults. The overwhelming majority (40 people) had self-inflicted cuts, two had imposed burns with matches and cigarettes, and one had used self-suffocation without a bond. Reasons for self-harm were the following: releasing internal tension and anxiety, getting some rest from intrusive thoughts, relieving the inner pain, and a desire to “feel as a whole person.” All the patients underlined that they did not want to attract attention from their family members; moreover, they tried to hide the consequences of self-harm. Teens and young adults (twelve patients) from Kyrgyz traditional families visited a consultant or psychiatrist after a long drive through conventional or religious healers. All of the patients knew that they were addicted to self-harm, wanted to stop a problematic behavior, and could not stop it on their own. Ten patients have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Two of them also had eating disorders. Five patients had PTSD, and five had social phobia. The others had recognizable anxiety symptoms. Conclusions The enormous rise of non-suicidal self-harm is a phenomenon that needs further research. Those cases often resist treatment due to the “addictive” component in the pathogenesis. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

Introduction The somatization problem has been one of the most acute in mental health for half a century (Kirmayer, L., 2000). Patients with somatic complaints turn to specialists in various fields but rarely to psychologists and psychiatrists, although the connection between bodily suffering and psychological difficulties sometimes lies on the surface (Molchanova E., 2016). In the last twenty years, the mechanisms of somatization have been considered by several disciplines, one of which is cultural psychiatry, which has become relevant. Unfortunately, most of the research focuses on the cultural characteristics of migrants living in the United States (Groleau, D. and Kirmayer, L. 2004). There needs to be more research on the cultural features of somatization in Kyrgyz culture. Objectives The goal of the study is to discover the distinctive features of the process of somatization in Kyrgyz culture The objectives are: To create a vocabulary of somatic phrases and idioms used to represent somatic problems to find the most commonly used somatic idioms for emotional complaints by native speakers of the Kyrgyz language. To describe the mechanism of transformation of the emotional symptom into a specifically located and presented somatic complaint. Methods The research used a mixed, qualitative, and quantitative design. The first stage is qualitative, including ten semi-structured interviews with linguists, culturologists, historians, and specialists in folk art. The second stage included four focus groups (12 people in each group) with a follow-up analysis. The recruitment of respondents was carried out through social networks, announcements, and the snowball method. The third stage was quantitative. With the help of the dictionary compiled at the first stage, 250 participants ranked the frequency of somatic idioms, which were used to express the emotional problems Results There have been found more than 200 somatic idioms, which are used to present emotional problems. The most frequent ones describe the heart, liver, and joints. Heart metaphors are associated with despair and anxiety, joints - with depression, and liver metaphors - with some personality characteristics, such as conformity and kindness. The created map of somatic representation of emotional problems shows the most frequent localization of somatic symptoms in disorders featuring somatic symptoms in native Kyrgyz speakers. Conclusions There is a culturally shaped specifics of somatic representations of emotional problems among native Kyrgyz speakers. More research needs to be conducted to interpret the nature of people’s emotional problems represented by somatic symptoms. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

The article examines the importance of teachers in the process of forming healthy habits and skills of translating the epic genre among students of linguistics. The article highlights psychological and pedagogical approaches that contribute to the successful adaptation of students to complex translation tasks as well as their emotional and physical well-being. Methods used in the educational environment to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, proper nutrition, and stress management, and their impact on students' cognitive abilities and creative thinking, are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the phonetic and phonological aspects of the translation of epic texts, such as alliteration, rhythm, and intonation, and their role in ensuring high-quality translation. In conclusion, practical recommendations are offered for teachers on integrating health and educational tasks aimed at improving the level of professional training of future translators.

Water scarcity is one of the global risks in arid and semi-arid regions such as Central Asia (CA), including Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan. The main rivers of Central Asia are transboundary, such as the Chu-Talas River basin, which is located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Natural and man-made factors such as climate change can lead to water crises and conflicts due to reduced water supplies and deteriorating water quality. Unfortunately, in Central Asia, surface water resources are mainly studied, and groundwater resources are excluded from open analytical analysis. At the same time, groundwater is a vital component of the river basin ecosystem and should be studied simultaneously with surface water to obtain a more complete analysis of the sustainability of the integrated surface-groundwater system of the basin. Combined scientific research of surface and groundwater, forecasting the water balance of basins is associated with great difficulties in transboundary cooperation of specialists from meteorologists, hydrologists, hydrogeologists of bordering states. Basically, cross-border negotiations are dominated by departmental management, more administrative management, without system planning, analysis of adaptation and preparation for natural processes, without stimulating the involvement of the local population, students of schools, colleges and universities in studying, conducting field water research, modeling surface water balances -groundwater of swimming pools. Local residents of the villages of the basins of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan need increased joint support for advanced training of the population, opportunities for adaptation to climate change in the school-college-industry-university chain. Joint hydrogeological studies of natural processes in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are poorly developed. Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan is missing out on opportunities for joint cooperation. In many countries there is now a “gold rush” of hydrogeological research and research on natural geological “white” hydrogen, including on the France-German border, where the world’s largest underground reserves of hydrogen have been discovered. It is important for Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to strengthen cooperation with the creation of growth incentives, support for researchers, hydrogeologists, and strengthening of the Academies of Sciences of the two countries. This review presents opportunities for strengthening cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, including joint effective management of natural resources, studying the hydrogeology of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for the effective joint use of hydrogen and water resources of the two countries.

We examine the impact of CEOs’ moral foundations (MFs) – innate source of moral intuitions – on firms' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Using a linguistic technique on unscripted texts spoken by 1,860 CEOs of S&P 1500 firms over five years, we found that CEOs with higher binding MFs (i.e., focus on expectations of key stakeholder groups) are associated with lower ESG performance. In contrast, we found that CEOs with higher individualizing MFs (i.e., focus on well-being of individuals in general) are associated with higher ESG performance. Our study contributes to the upper echelons theory by providing evidence that CEO morality matters for ESG outcomes. We add to MFs theory by showing that a bi-dimensional lens on CEO’s morality (i.e., binding vs individualizing) reveals nuances on ESG outcomes.

Amid resurgent geopolitical fissures and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a growing awareness in the sector of the need for, and concern about, national and international collaboration in archaeological projects. This article reflects on present-day challenges for international collaboration in central Eurasian archaeology and furthers a much-needed discussion about (re)integrating local narratives with inter-regional trends in future research. Responsible and practical proposals for bridging collaborator differences in institutional or publishing obligations, language capacities and access to resources are discussed.

Obsihir-5 holds some of the earliest evidence for the utilization of livestock in the mountainous regions of Central Asia. However, direct evidence of herding is lacking at the site. Geoarchaeological investigations, including textural, geochemical, mineralogical and micromorphological methods, have focused on the reconstruction of site formation and the search for direct evidence of herding activities. The sedimentary sequence at Obishir-5 has been divided into three facies: (1) SU0-SU1 (Bronze Age and Middle Ages), (2) SU2-SU3 (Obishirian), and (3) SU4-SU5 (Mesolithic/Epipaleolithic). SU1 formed through colluvial processes and was reworked by human and human-related activities. It is likely that these activities included herding and burning. Given the presence of herbivore dung and trampling in the sedimentary record, SU1 could include fumier-style accumulation. SU2-SU3 formed from the accumulation of coarse debris and fine particles originating from colluvial processes, physical weathering, aeolian processes and anthropogenic activity, such as burning. The archaeological material, including bones, charcoal and herbivore dung is intermixed with geogenic sediments and shows evidence of reworking. SU4-SU5 formed from colluvial and aeolian processes with low sedimentation rate. Human activity here was of low intensity and sporadic. The study of the sedimentary record has shown evidence of the use of dung and wood as fuel during the Obishirian period. However, it is not clear whether the sediments represent fumier deposits and therefore herding, as they have been heavily reworked. Nevertheless, the study opens up perspectives for the presence of livestock at the site during the Obishirian occupation. The methodology employed has allowed the reconstruction of the site formation history.

Central Asia consists of the former Soviet Republics, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The region’s climate is continental, mostly semi-arid to arid. Agriculture is a significant part of the region’s economy. By its nature of intensive water use, agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Population growth and irrigation development have significantly increased the demand for water in the region. Major climate change issues include melting glaciers and a shrinking snowpack, which are the foundation of the region’s water resources, and a changing precipitation regime. Most glaciers are located in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, leading to transboundary water resource issues. Summer already has extremely high temperatures. Analyses indicate that Central Asia has been warming and precipitation might be increasing. The warming is expected to increase, but its spatial and temporal distribution depends upon specific global scenarios. Projections of future precipitation show significant uncertainties in type, amount, and distribution. Regional Hydroclimate Projects (RHPs) are an approach to studying these issues. Initial steps to develop an RHP began in 2021 with a widely distributed online survey about these climate issues. It was followed up with an online workshop and then, in 2023, an in-person workshop, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Priorities for the Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) project for the region include both observations and modeling, as well as development of better and additional precipitation observations, all of which are topics for the next workshop. A well-designed RHP should lead to reductions in critical climate uncertainties in policy-relevant timeframes that can influence decisions on necessary investments in climate adaptation.