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Cooking and Technology
No full textCooking is a form of technology, simply defined as the abstract knowledge around the mechanical arts and its application for practical purposes. Research on cooking and technology thus needs to heed the wider knowledge and the bodily and increasingly digital practices required to make a good meal, including planning and provisioning, processing, preparing and serving food, as well as leftover management and clearing up. Cooking and the techniques and technologies humans use to do so are deeply implicated not only in the making of everyday meals but also in the sociocultural reproduction of individuals, communities, societies, and nations. Humans cook not only to make food edible but also to care for themselves and for others, to remember, to learn and to improve, to bond and identify with others, or to belong in the context of movement and change. Thus, the study of cooking and technology is not only interesting in its own right but also provides an ideal lens to study nearly everything else that matters to life, from culture and beliefs to economics, politics, biology, and ecology
Chinese Technology Sector Investment into the EU: Securitisation and the Delegitimation of Chinese Economic Power
Get PDFAs China’s economy has developed, Chinese firms have become sophisticated and globalised, investing in emerging technologies and critical infrastructure sectors in advanced economies. This, in turn, has led to pushback and rejection of Chinese firms and Chinese capital in recipient countries. This thesis seeks to understand the shift from openness and welcome to scepticism and restrictions on Chinese investment in the EU. Taking Chinese involvement in EU telecoms infrastructure as the central case I situate this case as part of a broader shift in the EU reception of Chinese investment in recent years. I find that limits placed on Huawei and ZTE in the EU were driven by more than just concerns over security of infrastructure; they were driven also by wider concerns about the economic security of the EU, the EU’s economic norms and values, technological competition, and Chinese investment as a form of economic statecraft. Theoretically, I frame Chinese investment as a form of power that has undergone a crisis of legitimation and furthermore identify the role of processes of securitisation and normative tension in the delegitimation of Chinese economic power. The concepts of power and legitimation provide a framework for looking at the multiple dimensions of Chinese power, and for the ways that this contestation and rejection manifests in policy and discourse. This thesis contributes to existing literature on the concept of legitimation and its application in international relations; it contributes to literature on geoeconomics in EU-China economic relations; and it develops a framework for assessing the reception of international economic power. It contributes to empirical gaps in the literature, through an analysis of the case of Chinese involvement in EU telecommunications infrastructure, provides analysis of Chinese policy and narratives on outbound investment into technology sectors, and traces shifts in EU policies and discourses on inbound investment and Chinese involvement in emerging technologies and critical infrastructure
Music-making in a Paediatric Hospital: A Reflexive Study of Musician Practice
Get PDFMy thesis is a reflexive study of my work as a musician in a UK paediatric hospital. My research examines how an ethnomusicological study of therapeutic music practice contributes to understanding processes of musical performance and interaction. Building on medical ethnomusicology, music sociology, anthropology, and theories of reflexivity, I contextualise my approach to hospital music making today, and demonstrate how early experiences of musical interaction informed my future therapeutic music making practice. In Chapter 1 I identify early experiences of musical interaction which retrospectively laid the groundwork for my work as a musician in a paediatric hospital. Reflecting on these experiences enabled me to define key experiences central to my development of an ethnomusicologically informed therapeutic music practice. In Chapter 2 I examine my experiences of performing in public concerts in hospital spaces to understand how skills and identities of performance are adapted to, and in, therapeutic contexts. I explore my own experiences of performing with my music partner in a hospital concerts series, examining the interplay of moments of performance, interaction, and reflexivity. Chapter 3 discusses my experiences of musical interaction on hospital wards, connecting with a ward community to build spaces for musical interactions with children in communal ward spaces and at bedsides. In Chapter 4 I examine skills and techniques I draw upon within these interactions and demonstrate my application of these skills in a series of reflexive case studies. Finally, in Chapter 5 I examine my experiences of working with, and supporting, music students on wards, as they begin to develop the confidence and skills to make music in hospitals. This research offers a new perspective on studies of therapeutic musical interaction and contributes new knowledge to the ethnomusicological study of musician practice in clinical contexts
Can Japan-South Korea Relations Continue to Thaw Under Lee and Takaichi?
No full textNot long ago, it would have been laughable to imagine Lee Jae-myung and Takaichi Sanae as leaders that would foster friendlier ties between these countries
Reproductive work against productivism from the Decent Work Agenda to the SDGs
Get PDFExploring debates on domestic and care labour inside the household, their role within capitalism, and their progressive marketisation, this chapter analyses the features of ‘reproductive work’ and its relationship with ‘productive work’ . It argues that reproductive work is foundational to all labour given its role in regenerating The Worker. Yet, it is systematically devalued worldwide, in ways that neither the Decent Work Agenda (DWA) nor the SDGs framework have managed to counter. In fact, the analysis shows how both these policy frameworks have reproposed productivist understandings of what constitutes 'work', and reflects on the implications and ways forward. Starting with a review of household economics debates, the analysis builds on both Early Social Reproduction Analyses (ESRA) and Social Reproduction Theory (SRT), to explain, respectively, the value-generating nature of reproductive work and its marketisation under neoliberalism
Maps of Power Episode 3 China
No full textSince the dawn of time, geography has shaped the fate of nations. This three-part documentary explores how mountains, rivers, seas, and deserts have influenced the decisions of governments, as well as the rise of civilisations. Geography remains a constant force in history, from determining a nation’s location on the world map to its access to natural resources.While the USA’s ascent as a global power was driven by its unique position between two oceans, Russia’s history has been defined by its relentless search for warm-water ports. China’s geopolitical importance stems from its historical position as the hub of Eurasian trade, from the ancient Silk Road to its current maritime dominance in the Pacific. Today’s global powers owe their status and significance to natural forces. Geography is the ultimate creator of nations
Review of: Howes, David. Sensorial investigations: a history of the senses in anthropology, psychology, and law. 290 pp., illus., bibliogr. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2023. $29.95 (paper)
No full textA configurational comparative approach to unpuzzling social strain in refugee, asylum-seeking and host communities in Lebanon and Germany
No full textThis research investigates the negative experiences of refugee, asylum-seeking, and host communities in Lebanon and Germany and their vulnerability to Cognitive Opening, a response to a catalytic experience where individuals become willing to expose themselves to alternative beliefs or worldviews. Social strain perceived as high in magnitude, recent, and extended in duration can induce cognitive and emotional availability to alternative, previously unheld views. Against the backdrop of protracted displacement, this research bridges current debates on strain theories, investigating how respondents may be susceptible to Cognitive Opening in response to compounded social strain. Advancing the discourse on the complex social dynamics amongst people seeking asylum, refugees, and host communities, this research provides a novel perspective on theories of criminology and radicalisation, highlighting the cognitive and ideological transformations that may emerge from enduring systemic strain. This theoretical contribution extends beyond displacement contexts, offering broader implications for understanding how prolonged social strain can reshape belief systems in various socio-political environments. Through a reconceptualisation of extant theories, it asks: What negative experiences – independently or in combination – need to be present for an individual to experience subjective strain, and what types of subjective strain – independently or in combination – increase the potential for Cognitive Opening? This research deploys Qualitative Comparative Analysis, a configurational, case-based approach for analysing causality, to interrogate the intersections of an individuals’ social, economic, and political matrix. The purpose of this research is to locate an ideational formula to address social strain within and amongst refugees, people seeking asylum and host communities
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