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Urban Semantics through Law and Photography
Get PDFThe visual design of urban public spaces (hereinafter “cityscape”) has an important impact on city life – it can channel interpersonal communication into certain directions while excluding others; it can powerfully communicate notions of what is socially acceptable or important. Yet, while everyone may access urban public spaces, cityscapes are designed by a very limited social group. This paper focuses on the narratives embedded in the cityscapes. Analyzing legal conflicts arising around expressions that seek their way into the shared visual environment, as well as expressions whose presence in the cityscapes is disputed, we trace the dynamics of battles over urban narratives. The discussion of legal rules is complemented by photographs. Rather than illustrating the text, the photographs will relate to the discussed topics in their own way, enriching the discussion and broadening its perspective
The Contemporary Deconstruction of Religion: How Current Scholarship in Religious Studies is Changing Methods and Theories
Get PDFMy paper has 3 goals: 1) to introduce and outline the field of ‘critical religion’; 2) to set out my contribution to this field by explaining how and why religions should be considered ‘vestigial states’; and 3) to suggest ways in which the approach to the topic of religious synthesis in India might be influenced by critical religion in general and vestigial state theory in particular. I argue that ‘religion’ as an ahistorical, eternal, indefinable category –what Roland Barthes called ‘depoliticized’ speech –warrants energetic critique. To this end, I survey a variety of theorists whose work deconstructs ‘religion’ and attendant binaries such as religious/secular and religion/politics. I maintain that religions function as vestigial states within contemporary states. By ‘vestigial states’ I mean practices and institutions originating in particular histories as survivals of former sovereignties. These remnants are tolerated as attenuated jurisdictions within fully functioning states. These vestigial states (religions) are always somewhat problematic because they compete with contemporary states - especially if they challenge the present state’s right to control violence. However, religions also work to ground the governments that authorize them by recalling earlier, mystified forms of sovereignty. Moreover, religions are useful because they can be depicted as less progressive versions of power. Thus do ‘religions’, understood as vestigial states, both disturb and maintain current regimes. I conclude with some speculations on how insights derived from critical religion might impact work on conceptualizing ‘religious synthesis’ in India specifically and ‘interreligious’ interactions more generally in a global context
Lived Experiences of Slovak and Czech Immigrants to Australia: A phenomenological study
Get PDFAbstract
After World War II, an estimated five million people were on the move in Czechoslovakia. Between 1954 and 1970, over 16,000 of them immigrated to Australia. This paper is part of a larger research project that provides an in-depth inquiry of the lived experiences of 18 post-World War II emigrants from Czechoslovakia, who are now Australian citizens. Findings reveal emigrants’ significant emotional reflections about their life in Czechoslovakia and provide vivid phenomenological accounts of their views about their original country’s political and economic context and life within it, as well as challenges related to leaving the country and their lived experiences as displaced persons in foreign countries and Displaced Persons camps
Appraising HEI-community Partnerships: Assessing Performance, Monitoring Progress, and Evaluating Impacts
Get PDFMomentum of the creation of partnerships between higher education institutions (HEIs) and communities is strong. As their significance intensifies, the question of how to judge their value is garnering increasing attention. In this perspective article, we develop a framework for comprehensively appraising HEI-community partnerships. Constituent parts of the framework are unpacked, and application of the framework is then discussed. The appraisal framework provides a mechanism to document evidence of worth, and most importantly contributes to the continuous improvement and learning imperative of HEI-community partnerships
Barriers and Strategies for Improving Carbon Emissions Management Approaches in Malaysian Construction
Get PDFA recent study has focused on environmental challenges due to the construction industry’s elevated energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A more effective low-carbon development implementation relies on proper emissions management throughout the construction industry. The purpose of this research is to investigate current industry practises in managing emissions in construction projects and the driving factors that influence the efficacy of emissions in construction operations. This study relied on information gathering from eighty-three respondents and thirteen expert interviews with stakeholders engaged in construction projects. Emissions management and monitoring are still underdeveloped, despite growing awareness and commitment to developing low-carbon growth. This study’s findings also highlighted that the primary constraints to the industry’s adaptation of emissions-reduction strategies exist at the institutional, organisational, and individual levels. This article proposed that government support, capacity building, and the development of emissions monitoring techniques and technologies are vital to minimizing emissions. This study contributed to the existing information on the current understanding and practices of the construction sector in Malaysia in adopting emissions management, the key obstacles, and recommendations for proper implementation. By addressing concerns regarding promoting low-carbon enhancement and adoptionin Malaysia, the findings of this research could assist stakeholders in the construction industry
Youth visions in a changing climate: Emerging lessons from using immersive and arts-based methods for strengthening community-engaged research with urban youth
Get PDFDespite increasing efforts, youth perspectives remain largely excluded from decision- making processes concerning their future and the social-ecological challenges they are set to inherit. While youth are a critical and powerful force for social change, many youths in underserved communities have limited access to appropriate information on the root causes and consequences of environmental change, in addition to an array of other complex social injustices. To address this, we embarked on a participatory action research process which focused on democratising research, science and the arts by facilitating experiential, immersive learning opportunities with the intention of eventually co-producing artifacts (in the form of participatory murals) in public spaces to facilitate longer term engagement with human nature futures. This article outlines and shares reflections on our process and offers insights for future engagement activities that seek to mobilise youth imaginaries and agency. We found participants were better engaged when conversations were (1) facilitated by other participants; (2) were outdoors and centred on public art; and (3) were happening in parallel with a hands-on activity. This contrasted with asking interview-type questions, or asking participants to write down their answers, which felt more like a test than a conversation, minimising participation. Key learnings included: the need to co-develop knowledge around enhancing climate literacy that is based on local realities; that multiple capacities and hives of activity already exist in communities and need to be mobilised and not built; that creative visioning and futuring can help identify options for change; and that many youths are seeking creative, immersive and safe spaces for co-learning and connection. Initiatives that aim to engage diverse voices should therefore be well- resourced so as to carefully co-design processes that start by acknowledging contextual differences and capacities within those contexts, and co-create immersive dialogues, in order to move away from test-like engagements which perpetuate power imbalances and discourage participation
Customary Land Tenure Values in Nagari Kayu Tanam, West Sumatra
Get PDFThe transfer of rights or transactions does not exist in customary land tenure because it is a common property; thus, it can never be transferred to another party. On the other hand, in the Minangkabau indigenous community, West Sumatra, there is a shift in the concept of ulayat land tenure that occurs through two forms of change with six values: religious-magical, self-existence, socio-kinship, cultures and customs, structural and socio-economic asset values. This research will present the concept of the customary land tenure, which is based on these values. The study uses the socio-legal method with sociological approaches, including historical and case approaches. This research shows that there has been a change in land tenure values, moving from communal ownership to individual ownership. There has been an interaction between the laws, the incorporation interaction. It becomes the right concept for the customary land tenure in the future. 
Impact of Oil and Gas Internal Risk Factors on Project Success: Moderating role of Government Support
Get PDFOrganisational internal risk factors, which include management, material, finance, and design risk factors, affect oil and gas construction projects\u27 success in emerging nations, in which Malaysia is no exception. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of these internal risk factors and government support on oil and gas projects among sixty-one (61) employees of oil and gas firms using a questionnaire survey. The data collected were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques. The results revealed that all the exogenous variables (design risk, management risk, financial risk and material risk factors and government support) significantly impact project success. According to the findings, all exogenous variables (design risk, management risk, financial risk, material risk factors, and government support) have substantial effects on project success. The study developed an all-inclusive framework that can assist stakeholders in the industry in mitigating internal risk factors in ensuring the success of projects. Policy implications and future study paths are considered
Through the Looking Glass: : The Involuntary Cosmopolitanism of Black Magic and Possession in Modi’s New India
Get PDFIn spite of Modi’s promise of good days (acche din) in 2014, many Indians still struggle with unemployment, low income, poor health and other difficulties. Though some problems eventually find solutions and middle-class metropolitans increasingly seek help from gurus and psychologists, long-term misfortune and disturbances are still frequently attributed to black magic or possession. Drawing on anthropological fieldwork in Kanpur and Bareilly, this article examines the unintended cosmopolitan effects of such practices, which occasionally unfold in ways that traverse and unsettle official religious boundaries, even in polarized times. Heuristically contrasting Modi to Alice in Wonderland, the article spells out the double bind of many low-income Hindus who seek supernatural assistance in times of crisis: should they follow the logic of inexpensive efficacy, even if necessitating engagement with unfamiliar ritual worlds in heterotopic spaces associated with the religious other? Or should they rather follow the emergent Hindu nationalist logic of Hindu exclusivism, according to which ritual remedies beyond a Hindu ritual repertoire would be inappropriate? The persisting prevalence of the former logic under Modi is illustrated with three cases, two of which are interrelated. Firstly, we meet a female professional seeking help against suspected black magic from a rustic Sufi-Muslim healer. Secondly, we meet a Kali devotee seeking help against spirits that disturbed his career and marriage in a renowned Sufi-Muslim dargah. The final case shows how familial neglect, economic hardship and an interreligious marriage conducted two generations earlier came together in a case of possession. The cosmopolitan effects of such instances, the article argues, lie in their tendency to form an anti-structural, heterotopic counterweight to aggressive Hindu nationalism.
counterweight to aggressive Hindu nationalism
Perspectives on metropolitan governance
Get PDFTo complement Zack Taylor’s paper on Regionalism from Above: Metro Governance in Canada, the journal commissioned four short ‘perspectives’ from Commonwealth countries grappling with similar issues – Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa. The purpose was not in any way to ‘review’ Taylor’s work, but rather to establish a broader picture of issues and trends in metropolitan governance, and to identify common threads.
The perspectives from Australia, England and South Africa focus on recent developments and governance issues in particular metropolitan areas. These are respectively the fast-growing outer metropolitan sub-region of Western Sydney; the long-established conurbation of Greater Manchester; and the vast, emerging ‘multi-nodal sprawl’ of South Africa’s Gauteng City Region, centred on Johannesburg. The New Zealand perspective takes a different approach, exploring the implications of shifts in national policy towards a focus on wellbeing and the quality of life in communities, with significant implications for the future of local government and the way metropolitan areas are governed.
Nevertheless, all four perspectives reveal similar underlying concerns that metropolitan governance frameworks and practices often struggle to keep pace with global trends, urban growth, community needs and national priorities. Effective inter-government relations are crucial, but local governments may not be at the table, or their views may be largely ignored. The governance of metropolitan regions becomes increasingly fraught, a battleground between the forces of devolution and centralisation. How can meaningful and effective collaborative governance be realised? Who should take the lead and do we have the right tools and skills? In such a complex and fluid environment, can we realistically expect anything more than brief periods of clarity and consensus that at least enable agreement on the next few steps
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