سعید یزدانی

Space and Identity in Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian: A Deleuze and Guattarian Reading Abstract This study explores the intricate relationship between space and identity in Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, utilizing the geocritical concepts of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. By examining his novel, the study investigates how the interaction of smooth and striated spaces shapes and reshapes characters' identities. Through the lens of Deleuze and Guattari, the research highlights the fluidity and dynamism of spaces, focusing on the continuous interplay without rigid distinctions between space and place. As the integration of Deleuze and Guattari’s concepts of the war machine, nomad, and rhizome is essential to understanding the influence of space on characters' identity, this study begins with examining these key concepts. The rhizome concept parallels the non-linear, interconnected narrative structures in McCarthy's work in which the nomadic existence of characters underscores their search for meaning and survival in a world of constant flux. Through detailed analysis, this study aims to uncover the ways in which McCarthy's characters grapple with their identities amidst perpetual change, offering a nuanced understanding of the interplay between space and identity in contemporary literature. Keywords: Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian, Deleuze and Guattari's Geocriticism, Space, Identity

Climate change, with its gradual and complex impacts, has increasingly inflicted damages on the agricultural sector of arid and semi-arid regions in Iran, including the Zayandeh-Rud Basin. This study aims to develop strategic adaptation policies to enhance agricultural resilience in response to climate change in this basin. The research is based on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) and the resilience criteria established by the World Economic Forum (2013). A descriptive-analytical methodology was employed, combining documentary studies, field surveys, and the Delphi policy method to achieve expert consensus. Purposive sampling targeted faculties, agricultural experts of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as producers and exporters of agricultural products with substantial expertise in Climate change issues, adaptation policies, and resilience. Data collection instruments consisted of four structured questionnaires designed to identify strengths and weaknesses, weight resilience criteria, prioritize policies, and select strategies, complemented by semi-structured interviews. Initially, to determine the strategic position of agriculture in the Zayandeh-Rud Basin, Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE), External Factor Evaluation (EFE), and Internal-External (IE) matrices were utilized. Subsequently, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the multi-criteria decision-making PROMETHEE method were employed to prioritize adaptation policies aimed at enhancing resilience to Climate Change. Suitable strategies were developed and extracted through SWOT analysis, and finally, the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) was used to evaluate the relative attractiveness and feasibility of each strategy, thereby selecting the implementable final policies. Findings indicated that agriculture in the Zayandeh-Rud Basin, with a final internal factor score of 2.04 and external factor score of 2.12, is in defensive position (survival mode) and exhibits low resilience due to water transfer and scarcity, land fragmentation and subsidence, and weaknesses in modern infrastructure. The most attractive adaptation policies identified under the defensive strategy include equitable water distribution (Total Attractiveness Score (TAS=1.46), development-oriented water resource planning (TAS=1.38), optimization of water. consumption and reduction of losses (TAS=1.35), control of groundwater levels (TAS=1.23), reform of regulations related to land fragmentation (TAS=1.18), and farmer participation in water resource management (TAS=1.16(. The proposed solutions emphasize strengthening integrated and basin-based water governance, implementing participatory strategic management models, investing in modern and soft technologies, gradually revising water-related laws and regulations, and expanding research and national strategy formulation. The results of this study provide actionable, stakeholder-inclusive recommendations for policymakers to enhance sustainability and resilience in vulnerable agricultural regions.

In contemporary marketing, maintaining and enhancing customer loyalty toward a company's products or services has become a primary focus. Among the factors influencing customer loyalty is ethical marketing, a field of applied ethics related to the principles governing behavior, advertising, and regulation in marketing. Over the past two decades, ethical consumerism has grown in importance due to increasing social and environmental concerns. This study examines the impact of ethical components on Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) for dairy product consumers in Tehran in 2023. A total of 710 questionnaires were completed, and the GWRFM method was employed to extract the necessary information for calculating CLV. The results revealed a high frequency of clusters with low lifetime value. In the subsequent phase, multinomial logit regression was utilized to analyze the effect of ethical components on CLV, highlighting the significant positive impact of adherence to industry regulations and acceptance of social responsibility. Therefore, it is recommended that stakeholders in the dairy industry assure customers of their compliance with regulations and social responsibility to elevate them to higher-value clusters and foster loyalty. By respecting ethical norms, a substantial portion of consumers of cheese, yogurt, and ayran products may transition toward becoming valuable customers in this sector.

This study was conducted to examine the comments provided by ChatGPT 3.5 and doctoral students on doctoral dissertation proposals. Feedback receivers’ behavioral engagement with these two feedback types was also examined. The participants of this study, selected based on convenience sampling, were 28 Teaching English as a Foreign Language PhD students from three provinces who wrote their dissertation proposals in English. The first version and revised versions of their proposals and the provided comments were analyzed to identify the feedback types and the extent they applied the comments. Furthermore, stimulated recall interviews were used to identify the reasons why they did not apply some of the participants. Findings showed that both ChatGPT 3.5 and doctoral students were successful in providing both content-related and form-related comments. These two feedback sources also provided significant numbers of elaborated and justified feedback on dissertation proposals. Feedback receivers applied most of the comments provided by these feedback sources, and the specificity levels of comments affected the incorporation rate. The findings of the thematic analysis of the stimulated recall interview data revealed that the participants did not apply the comments because they were too broad, inaccurate, difficult to apply, and difficult to understand.

In the present essay, the researchers aim at studying two famous novels "The Crossing" and "The Road" in the light of Deleuzian geocritical concepts such as: nomad, rhizome, smooth space, and war machine. Studying space and place in American literature is a new trend. Space and landscape, considered as smooth space and striated space in Deleuze and Guattari's nomadology, are significantly highlighted in American literature. By drawing on Deleuze and Guattari's view of rhizome, which does not follow any plans or structures, the novel can be regarded as a rhizomatic structure in which the characters with nomadic existence move freely in a smooth space- a space without an explicit beginning and a clear destination. Portraying American space and landscape is a dominant theme in Cormac McCarthy's novels, including "The Crossing" and "The Road", in which the characters move from a rooted life to a nomadic life. Through examining these two novels, this paper is going to investigate the movement of nomadic characters in the smooth space of the postmodern world. Moreover, through exploring the relationship between literature, space, and identity, drawing on the philosophical ideas of Deleuz and Guatari, this paper is going to expose in what extent the representation of spaces in literature can reflect and shape cultural and national identities.