3659 research outputs found
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Making Public History: Statues and Memorials
Get PDFIn June 2020 Black Lives Matter had become prominent in the USA and was taken further in various countries . This included opposition to certain statues and memorials , such as those previously supporting slavery. Such matters were raised in Britain, although both disputes in the past and changes to statues and memorials had previously taken place, for example in Lancaster. Within relatively political progressive places, like Bristol, some disputed memorials had remained. Some press coverage almost implied that there were new recognitions of unknown events even dating back to the early nineteenth century. However, such debates had not been unprecedented. Further, in local disputes or through many past anti racist action and in positive historical school curricula, political and historical positions have been forgotten. Attention should be drawn by public historians to former radical stances and actions. Simply observing and just seeing local stances as new events means being unaware of past activities or ignoring them
Off The Pedestal: The Fall of Edward Colston
Get PDFThis paper considers the fall of the statue of Edward Colston in long historical perspective and reflects on the place of history, memory and ‘heritage’ within this. The statue has its own long history of protest and challenge, and this paper makes the case for telling the whole history around both its erection and rejection in Bristol
Changes in Job Situations for Women Workforce in Construction during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has introduced unique circumstances to women workforce in construction including the need to work from home, changes in job situations and family responsibilities following the lockdowns. This exploratory study was conducted around six months into the pandemic in examining the changes of their job situations, and their perceptions of career aspects during the pandemic. The results show that most respondents were employed full-time at the time of survey, and that there were profound changes to their work location and working hours including working from home and worked more hours than usual. Their perceived negative impacts of the pandemic on their capacity to engage in paid work activities due to caring responsibilities, pay or earnings, job security, and career progression and advancement are modest. They were also seemingly confident in staying in their job in the next 12-month. Their perceptions have been found significantly associated with their age, education level, and years of experience in the industry. These findings provide a critical insight on women’s job situations in the industry during the pandemic, with implications for human resource practices towards addressing the challenges in retention of women workforce during and post COVID-19 pandemic
Harnessing the Power of Stories for Rural Sustainability: Reflections on Community-Based Research on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland
Get PDFStories have the power to shape understanding of community sustainability. Yet in places on the periphery of capitalist systems, such as rural and resource-based regions, this power can be used to impose top–down narratives on to local residents. Academic research often reinforces these processes by telling damage-centric narratives that portray communities as depleted and broken, which perpetuates power imbalances between academia and community members, while disempowering local voices. This article explores the potential of storytelling as a means for local actors to challenge top–down notions of rural sustainability, drawing on a community-based research initiative on the Great Northern Peninsula (GNP) of Newfoundland. Five of the authors are community change-makers and one is an academic researcher. We challenge deficiencies-based narratives told about rural Newfoundland and Labrador, in which the GNP is often characterised by a narrow set of socio-economic indicators that overlook the region’s many tangible and intangible assets. Grounded in a participatory asset mapping and storytelling process, a ‘deep story’ of regional sustainability based on community members’ voices contrasts narratives of decline with stories of hope, and shares community renewal initiatives told by the dynamic individuals leading them. This article contributes to regional development efforts on the GNP, scholarship on sustainability in rural and remote communities, and efforts to realise alternative forms of university-community engagement that centre community members’ voices and support self-determination
Factors affecting the performance of South African municipal officials: stakeholders’ perspectives
Get PDFSince the inception of the democratically elected post-apartheid government, South Africa has experienced growing numbers of protests about inadequate provision of basic municipal services. Recent studies have revealed that the poor performance of municipal officials contributes towards poor municipal service delivery. This article is based on a study which used qualitative key stakeholder interviews to analyse the performance of South African municipal officials, specifically in the delivery of services. It found that the following inter-related factors were responsible for the lack of performance: an unsupportive institutional environment, negative power struggles, over-regulation, political interference, a tense and bureaucratic environment, lack of coherent management systems, absence of a culture of excellence, poor skill utilisation, poor oversight mechanisms, weak capacity to engage in collaborations, and lack of trust between councillors from different political parties. The study concludes that for South African municipalities to meet their constitutional obligations to deliver optimal basic services to the people, the government must, inter alia, invest in building the capacity of municipal officials through the development of skills and other crucial local government interventions and transformations. The municipalities should also depoliticise local government and promote non-partisan appointment of municipal officials
Resourcing local government in Ghana: the potential of volunteering to deliver basic services
Get PDFBoth local and foreign volunteers have been involved in community development activities in Ghana. However, there is a dearth of research on the perceived and real impacts of volunteers in delivering services, reasons for volunteering, the potential of volunteering to supplement the human and financial resources of local governments in Ghana, and the conditions required for more successful outcomes. This qualitative study examined volunteering activities across 15 communities of the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA) Municipality in Ghana’s Central Region. It found that volunteering empowered the people, triggered self-help initiatives and improved local people’s knowledge on health and environmental issues. However, there are challenges in finding political and social space for volunteers within the current local government system. The study recommends efforts to address that issue
The nexus between the traditional system of governance and the local government system in Karamoja, Uganda
Get PDFIn the 1990s several countries in Africa adopted decentralisation policy reforms that coincided with a renewed interest in traditional institutions. This development has since sparked an intense debate on the compatibility of traditional systems of governance with decentralisation. The present article documents a case study conducted in Uganda’s Karamoja sub-region, a stronghold of traditionalism despite local government reforms. It concludes that although the traditional system of governance could help to link local communities with the modern local government system, the two structures have not been harmonised. Instead, they run on parallel and contradictory paths, which has had negative consequences for local governance and service delivery. The paper advocates blending the two to form a hybrid system in which they complement each other rather than being a source of conflict
Guest Editorial: Power in Engaged Scholarship: Dimensions and Dynamics of Knowledge Co-Creation
Get PDFCollaboratively engaged research is shaped by dynamic power relationships among individuals, institutions and communities. Where some disciplines have explored the theoretical and methodological implications of power relations, the engagement movement writ large has suffered from a lack of explicit conceptual models and in-depth analyses of the role of power in the process of knowledge co-creation. Over the last 30 years, considerable attention has been paid to how resources and expertise within academic institutions can be brought to bear on the intractable social and economic problems of local communities. A necessary, yet under-theorised aspect of these dynamics is the extent to which the positionality and interpersonal relationships between actors impact the outcomes and durability of these processes. In this introductory article, we describe our effort to cultivate a conversation about power in engaged research. We organised an Author Collective for scholars and practitioners with a wide range of perspectives to expand our theoretical understanding of power’s role in university- community engagement. By reflecting on identities, approaches and experiences, the authors in this issue explore power as a vehicle for understanding the impact of positionality and interpersonal relationships on the process and outcomes of collaborative research
Privilege, Precarity and the Epistemic and Political Challenge of COVID-19
Get PDFReflecting on the loss of my privilege as a transnational scholar during the London lockdown, in this essay I explore whether the COVID-19 pandemic may provide an important moment to return to questions of solidarity, resistance and progressive politics. Comparing my own experiences with those of people in my research fieldsite of Sri Lanka, I ask: do we have the necessary skills, tools and imagination to respond to this time of crisis? I suggest that the COVID-19 crisis has opened up possibilities of self-reflexivity that allow for the emergence of new epistemic and political practices that are not only more ethical but also more productive, radical and disruptive of the existing order
Achieving Sustainable Procurement in Construction Projects: The Pivotal Role of a Project Management Office
Get PDFEnvironmental and ecological impacts associated with construction activities have become an ever-increasing concern, especially the considerable amount of waste generated on construction sites. Regulations and growing client pressure on meeting environmental standards have led contractors to adopt sustainable practices and try to embed this concept in their processes. Sustainable procurement management (SPM) as a potential solution takes the environmental consequences of procurement decisions into account and integrates sustainable practices into project procurement to bring positive environmental outcomes. Previous research has mainly focused on the public sector in achieving green procurement, yet this study attempts to highlight internal capacities that help private organisations manage the requirements associated with practicing sustainability. It is theorised that robust management structures, specifically project management offices (PMOs), would enhance the oversight capabilities of contractors in implementing the SPM process. The objectives of the current study are to (1) identify the requirements of a sustainable project procurement process in construction sites based on a literature review, and (2) explore the facilitative role of PMO units in achieving these requirements in the private sector. A literature review was conducted followed by a qualitative survey to solicit the viewpoints of construction professionals in principle contracting firms. As a result of the study, we identified 17 sustainability requirements and found that PMOs boost collaboration and improve the quality of decision making towards sustainable procurement. The findings (1) explain how PMOs support sustainability, (2) provide insights on implementing sustainable practices in project purchases, and (3) improve theoretical understanding of the SPM principles. 
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