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Trans-Jurisdictional "Publivate" Cyber Self-(Re)presentation: The Transformation of Compartmentalization in Iranian Social Life
Get PDFBackground: Space is a constructed concept: a cultural and ideological segmentation, and a translation of the sociopolitical structures of society. On social media platforms, the public becomes a composite of privates, where individuals’ multiple selves are (re)presented before a multiplicity of audiences within a third type of space, which we coin the "publivate" sphere. This sphere emerges from the combination and blurring of public and private spaces on social media platforms. Aims: This article aimed to shed light on issues related to cyber self-(re)presentation within this "publivate" space. Methodology: We utilized cross-level integration, synthesizing micro- and macro-level theories, and interdisciplinary integration, incorporating concepts and theories from diverse fields, including social media studies, sociology, psychology, and regulatory perspectives. Discussions: We discussed how the interplay among public, private, and "publivate" selves, along with the reciprocal influences of conformity, pluralistic ignorance, normalization, and normativity, have been transforming the traditional compartmentalization of spaces in Iranian social life. Additionally, we discussed the complications of trans-jurisdictional regulation of cyberspace and their implications for users, particularly Iranians. Conclusions: Given the dynamic nature of societies, norms, and cultures, effective governance of cyberspace and cultural practices should account for sociocultural dynamics
"Mannigfach in Geschichte und Gegenwart verwirklicht": Rezension zu "Letzte Geschichten aus dem Lunapark: Historisch-kritische Kolumnen zur Ökonomie der Gegenwart" von Thomas Kuczynski
Get PDFThomas Kuczynski: Letzte Geschichten aus dem Lunapark: Historisch-kritische Kolumnen zur Ökonomie der Gegenwart. Köln: PapyRossa 2024. 978-3-894-38837-
Verhaltene Kritik: Literaturessay zu "Das Populäre als Kunst? Fragen der Form, Werturteile, Begriffe und Begründungen" von Thomas Hecken
Get PDFThomas Hecken: Das Populäre als Kunst? Fragen der Form, Werturteile, Begriffe und Begründungen. Wiesbaden: Springer VS 2024. 978-3-662-67980-
Die Energiekehrtwende in Earth4All Deutschland
Get PDFMitte Oktober 2024 veröffentlichten das Wuppertal Institut und der Club of Rome ihr Buch "Earth for All Deutschland - Aufbruch in eine Zukunft für Alle". Darin präsentieren sie Vorschläge, wie Umweltkrisen überwunden und gleichzeitig Demokratie und Wohlstand gesichert werden können. Denn: Die Herausforderungen sollten nicht isoliert betrachtet werden, sondern die dafür notwendigen Lösungsbausteine können sich positiv ergänzen und gegenseitig verstärken. Im Buch beleuchten die Autor*innen sechs ineinandergreifende Wenden, die für einen gesellschaftlichen Wandel am ausschlaggebendsten sein werden: die Überwindung von Armut, den Abbau von Ungleichheit, einen anderen Umgang mit Ressourcen, die Förderung von Empowerment, eine nachhaltige Ernährung und das Vorantreiben der Energiewende. Mit diesem Wuppertal Paper legt Peter Hennicke, Mitglied des Club of Rome und Senior Advisor am Wuppertal Institut, einen Deep Dive speziell zur Energiewende vor. Darin betont er besonders die notwendige Kombination der drei Säulen Effizienz, Konsistenz und Suffizienz, die für eine nachhaltige Klima- und Energiepolitik essentiell sind. Hennicke umreißt dazu zunächst die kontroverse Geschichte der deutschen Energiewende seit den 1980er Jahren. Auf dieser Basis widmet er sich aktuellen und zu erwartenden Interessenkonflikten sowie bestehenden Pfadabhängigkeiten - etwa der Abhängigkeit des Verkehrssektors von fossilen Energien - und skizziert Politikmaßnahmen, mit denen sich diese auflösen lassen. Demgegenüber stellt er ein Szenario des "Weiter so", in dem die dringend benötigte sozial-ökologische Transformation nicht entschlossen genug vorangetrieben wird, und beschreibt die absehbar gravierenden Folgen für Wirtschaft, Umwelt und Gesellschaft. Anschließend geht Hennicke auf die Finanzierbarkeit und die gesellschaftliche Umsetzbarkeit der gleichzeitigen Durchführung aller sechs Kehrtwenden ein und erläutert, was die Wissenschaft tun kann, um die Politik dabei zu unterstützen und ihr die dafür notwendige breite Wissensbasis zur Verfügung zu stellen
Vom Ende einer Legende: Rezension zu "Enduring Enmity: The Story of Otto Kirchheimer and Carl Schmitt" von Hubertus Buchstein
Get PDFHubertus Buchstein: Enduring Enmity: The Story of Otto Kirchheimer and Carl Schmitt. Political Science, Bd. 140. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag 2024. 978-3-8376-6470-6 (https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839464700
What Is My Plaza for? Implementing a Machine Learning Strategy for Public Events Prediction in the Urban Square
Get PDFPlazas are an essential pillar of public life in our cities. Historically, they have been seen as public fora, hosting public events that fostered trade, interaction, and debate. However, with the rise of modern urbanism, city planners considered them as part of a larger strategic development scheme overlooking their social importance. As a result, plazas have lost their function and value. In recent years, awareness has risen of the need to re-activate these public spaces to strive for social inclusion and urban resilience. Geometric and urban features of plazas and their surroundings often suggest what kinds of usage the public can make of them. In this project, we explore the application of machine learning to predict the suitability of events in public spaces, aiming to enhance urban plaza design. Learning from traditional urbanism indicators, we consider factors associated with the features of the public space, such as the number of people and the high degree of comfort, which are evolved from three subcategories: external factors, geometric shape, and design factors. We acknowledge that the predictive capability of our model is constrained by a relatively small dataset, comprising 15 real plazas in Madrid augmented digitally to 2025 fictional scenarios through self-organising maps. The article details the methods to quantify and enumerate quantitative urban features. With a categorical target variable, a classification model is trained to predict the type of event in the urban space. The model is then evaluated locally in Grasshopper by visualising a parametric verified geometry and deploying the model on other existing plazas worldwide regarding geographical proximity to Madrid, where to share or not the same cultural and environmental conditions. Despite these limitations, our findings offer valuable insights into the potential of machine learning in urban planning, suggesting pathways for future research to expand upon this foundational study
No Longer Neutral: The ECB's Geopoliticization of the International Role of the Euro
Get PDFWhile the euro has, since its creation, been the world's second most important currency, the ECB has long depoliticized the international role of the euro by proclaiming a neutral stance. However, as this article explains, since 2019, the ECB has embraced currency internationalization and framed the issue in geopolitical terms. This policy change reflects a response to a changed international political environment after 2018 and it has led the ECB to seek closer political coordination regarding external economic policy. As the international role of the euro has become a concern for the EU's broader geoeconomic turn, it may, however, become difficult for the ECB to reconcile its political independence with its more geopolitical view of currency internationalization
Empowered by the Experience: Playing as Female Characters in Video Games
Get PDFResearch on female video game characters often investigates negative outcomes of playing as stereotyped characters. Yet, video games increasingly offer people opportunities to play as capable, prominent female characters that may be meaningful and promote positive outcomes (e.g., feelings of empowerment). This manuscript shares the results of a mixed methods survey of individuals (N = 751) recruited via online forums who recalled their experiences playing as female game characters. We analyzed qualitative response data using a traditional, top-down approach to identify themes. We focus our analysis and discussion on the results of a human-derived analysis, which indicated both positive and negative dimensions of experiences that participants found meaningful. Participants reported that taking on the role of a female character was often very important to them, but the reason for this significance varied across players. Often, these reasons involved their own gender identities and the context in which the gameplay occurred (e.g., online multiplayer). We consider findings as evidence of eudaimonic media effects
Dual Marginalisation and the Demand for Dual Citizenship: Negotiating "At Homeness" Among Diaspora Liberians
Get PDFIn Liberia, identity and citizenship have long been contentious, with dual citizenship emerging as a focal point in recent decades. On 22 July 2022, former President George Weah signed an Amendment Law allowing Liberians naturalized abroad to retain citizenship and granting Liberian women the right to confer citizenship to their children, addressing a key demand from diaspora Liberians. This article, based on my doctoral thesis (Vaughan, 2022), examines diaspora Liberians' advocacy for dual citizenship within contemporary debates on citizenship as a strategic institution. Drawing on the "post‐exclusive turn" in citizenship (Harpaz & Mateos, 2019), which suggests that individuals often prioritize a premium passport over strong ties to a homeland, the article explores how diaspora Liberians pursue dual citizenship to secure a "true home" in Liberia. This advocacy is fueled by their marginalization both in Liberia, where they face scrutiny over their Liberianness, and in their host countries, where they experience otherness as ethnic minorities. Dual citizenship, for these Liberians, is a strategic path back to belonging in Liberia. This article highlights the intricate interplay between identity and citizenship in Liberia, complicating the strategic citizenship framework by shedding light on the nuanced experiences of diaspora Liberians as they navigate dual marginalization and negotiate belonging. By focusing on these dynamics, the article contributes to the broader debate on citizenship in Africa, an area that remains understudied. Moreover, it reframes discussions on strategic citizenship, particularly in the context of growing inequalities and rising anti‐immigrant sentiments
Erregende Dokumente: Pornografie und dokumentarische Autorität
Get PDFIst Pornografie dokumentarisch? Darf ein Dokumentarfilm erregen? Das Objektivitätsversprechen des Konstrukts "Dokumentation" erfährt durch den Wirklichkeitseffekt pornografischer Bewegtbilder eine ernstzunehmende Herausforderung. Ausgehend von Feministischen Filmtheorien und Theorien des Dokumentarischen befragt Leonie Zilch Hardcore-Filme, pornografische Plattformen und anleitende Dokumente weiblicher Sexual- und Lustaufklärung nach den ihnen eingeschriebenen Wissenskulturen. Die materialnahen begriffs- und technikgeschichtlichen Überlegungen erschließen dabei neue Wege eines kritischen Umgangs mit dem Erregungspotenzial dokumentarischer Artefakte