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Covid-19 Pandemic and its relation to the Unemployment situation in Malaysia: A Case Study from Sabah
No full textCovid-19 not only exposed the vulnerability of most industries especially industries that relies on air travel and tourism but resulted in the exponential increase of unemployment in Malaysia. At the same time, online business or trade and ‘GIG’ economy increased exponentially. The sudden and unexpected loss of jobs had dire consequences for many people. This paper examines how policies enacted during the Covid-19 pandemic affected unemployment in Malaysia by focussing on the situation in Sabah, one of the three remaining partners in the formation of Malaysia. It draws on data from the Family, Women and Youth Survey conducted online towards the end of 2020, as well as secondary data. The study shows that hardship has been faced by many people, especially those previously in professional roles, and those who are younger. The widespread damage to the economy, and to social cohesion, will require significant collaboration between business and industry, the government and the people. 
The Impact of Construction Labour Productivity on the Renovation Wave
Get PDFThe European Green Deal\u27s Renovation Wave aims to renovate 35 million energy-inefficient buildings to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Historically, efforts to reduce CO2 emissions focused on Operational Energy (OE) of the finished buildings. However, in recent years the Embodied Energy (EE) of the building’s construction process has gained attention because of its essential role in construction renovations projects. In this context, construction efficiency, and more precisely, workers’ efficiency, is a vital catalyst to achieve the European Union (EU) targets. To identify the impact of Construction Labour Productivity (CLP) on the renovation wave an exploratory case study was adopted as a research strategy. Data from four domestic housing renovation projects were gathered. Three specific research goals are outlined. The first is to demonstrate the effect of the adoption of Lean tools and methods to increase CLP. The second is to quantify the correlation between improved productivity and the EE emissions saved during the construction phase. The third goal is to estimate the effect the higher productivity has on OE emissions. The results show that the adoption of several Lean tools and methods has a potential to improve CLP to 45%. This rate of improvement for the 35 million housing units to be renovated could save 6.9 million tonnes CO2e from EE and 386 million tonnes CO2e from OE. This novelty link between process improvements and reduced energy consumption and emissions can support politicians and infrastructural developers in decision-making for a more sustainable construction industry
La vaca
Get PDFThis creative non-fiction piece written in Spanglish is called "La vaca.” The overarching themes of this story are birth, motherhood, siblings and the creative force in a non-conventional American family raised in Mexico. The narrative voice in this piece provides a unique perspective broadening dialogue(s) on Mexican American identity.
 
CROWN Crónica
Get PDFThis creative non-fiction piece (written in my signature su(s)i generis Spanglish) called ‘CROWN Crónica’ stems, as much of my writing does (al menos partially), from an email exchange. This time with a student, who found suddenly being back home with her parents (sent packing, like many university students, in the early weeks of CrownVirusMundo) to be hazardous to her (mental) health. In trying to comfort her, I grapple with the issue of shame, its paralysing grip on so many of us. In the ironic Coda, added some 8 months later, I show just how wildly misplaced those feelings of shame were, and reach toward a tentative sense of plenitude, even gratitude, as CrownAño 2020 draws to a close
Erasing History? Monuments as Archaeological Artefacts
Get PDFFollowing work on a master’s thesis about relocating monuments, the author reflects on the way that public monuments form an archaeological record of a society, arguing that by thinking of monuments as archaeology rather than history, viewers are encouraged to see the objects as a living record of society, rather than as historical objects about the individuals or events being memorialised. As with any archaeology, recording the artefacts and their contexts is also important, and these concepts are explored with regards to statues and public monuments
\u27Setting the Scene\u27:: Statue Wars and Ungrateful Citizens
Get PDFThis article provides an outline of the current statue wars in Australia, England, America, New Zealand and Eastern Europe before reviewing the many of the acts of public history making these contestations have inspired among both protestors and protectors. Commencing with the unveiling of the contested statue of Captain James Cook in Sydney\u27s Hyde Park in 1879, the authors trace the connections and contestations between past and present history making before reflecting upon the role of public historians as communities strive to develop frameworks that can foster careful conversation, consultation and collaboration processes that help to reckon with the past. 
Community social network pattern analysis: Development of a novel methodology using a complex, multi-level health intervention
Get PDFCommunity social networks (CSN) include individuals and groups, and those with strong partnerships and relationships are well situated for implementing community-based interventions. However, information on the nature of CSN relationships required for multilevel community-based interventions is not present in the literature. Using data from the multi-level Children’s Healthy Living (CHL) trial to reduce child obesity in nine Pacific communities, this study aimed to develop a methodology based on Social Network Analysis (SNA) to understand how CSN evolved over the course of a two-year trial, as well as the characteristics of CSN most successful in impacting indicators of childhood obesity.
The two-year trial was considered in four six-month intervals. Within each interval, implemented activities, as recorded in CHL monthly reports, were coded by activity implementer(s), e.g. government agency, school, or community-based group, as well as for collective efficacy impact of the activity, e.g. to leverage resources from outside the CSN or to facilitate civic engagement. Coded data were used to create CSN maps for the four time intervals, and SNA techniques examined the CSN characteristics. CSN density increased over time, as measured by the number of ties within the network. Schools, community-based groups and large organizations were identified as the primary implementers of the CHL intervention and formed a community implementer backbone. Social leveraging, i.e. linking local groups to people with authority over outside resources, was shown to be a central component in intervention success. It took time to develop strong CSN, and stronger (denser) CSN were more successful in building social cohesion and enacting community change. Findings illustrate a methodology that can be useful for tracking the development and impact of CSN
Social value orientations and public confidence in institutions: A young democracy under the imprint of COVID-19
Get PDFSocial value orientations (SVOs) of a society determine peoples\u27 behaviour and are critical for young democracies in crises. This paper draws on the Maldives Values in Crisis survey, conducted during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. SVOs assessed using the Schwartz Personal Values Questionnaire shows that Maldivian society weigh slightly towards prosocial. Urban-rural, age, and gender determine the SVOs on the dimension of Openness to change versus Conservation while age and gender determine the SVOs on Self-enhancement versus Self-transcendence dimension. Confidence in the public institutions were moderate and not associated with the SVOs. The moderate level of SVOs and confidence in institutions reflects the democratic landscape of the country. Although prosocial SVOs are favourable for implementing containment measures of the pandemic, without a strong value orientation towards conservation and self-transcendence, and confidence in the institutions, the country faces the risk of non-compliance to measures and escalation of the crisis
Integrated Model and Index for Circular Economy in the Built-Environment in the Indian Context
Get PDFSustainable development aims at minimising waste and reducing exploitation of natural resources and energy, so that needs of the future generations are taken care of. Circular Economy (CE) is a new drift towards sustainability that aims at minimising waste and promoting material reuse, thereby creating a regenerative system. The construction industry is responsible for the extraction of raw materials and the generation of waste in large quantities, thereby making it an opportune sector for transition to a circular economy. On account of the complex nature of the built environment comprising various phases and associated actors, a proper framework or indexing for the circular economy is missing at present. This study aims to develop an integrated model of CE in the built environment which considers various construction stages and applicable strategies. An index for measuring the circularity potential in construction materials is also proposed, based on attributes developed from literature review and analysis of questionnaire survey. Simple Additive Weighting Method (SAWM), an elementary multi-criteria decision-making method is used for developing the index. It is anticipated that Circular Economy Potential Index (CEPI) would support decision-making in the initial stage of construction projects and help to compare the circularity of materials
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