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Balancing Print and Electronic Collections in Public Libraries: Perspectives for a Changing World
No full textPublic libraries are of vital importance to their communities, providing access to information, shelter, services, and serving as an anchor for economic and social growth. As public libraries adapt to an increasingly digital world, they must address the balance of print and electronic materials to ensure that users have access to what they want and need. While public libraries‘ print collections are decreasing at a slower rate than those of their academic counterparts, they are also facing increasing pressure to offer materials electronically. Public libraries must address challenges in tracking usage statistics as well as their users‘ attitudes towards ebooks and print materials. Resource issues must be addressed, including costs and staffing. An increased desire for flexible space within library branches may also be a consideration impacting print collections. In addressing issues of accessibility, both print and electronic materials may create barriers in some instances while increasing access in others. The closure of many public library spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has introduced new issues, including limitations to access of print materials, new ease of access to online materials, and additional resource limitations as libraries work with limited budgets and staff. While the shift to online services during the COVID-19 pandemic has likely sped up the transition to increasing availability of online resources in public libraries, an appetite for print materials remains
Public Perceptions of the Canadian Government‘s Initial Response to Coronavirus: A Canadian Broadcasting Company Content Analysis
No full textIt is crucial for the government to maintain the public‘s trust during uncertain risk. The Canadian government had approximately three months to develop a risk management strategy before Canada saw its first case of coronavirus. This study aims to show how the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) portrays government decision making during the initial outbreak of Coronavirus in January 2020 through March 2020 exclusive by examining 10 articles per month. Over the course of the last three months, government officials were increasingly cited in the CBC news articles. Results from this study shows that as the condition in Canada worsened, more evidence-based decision making is present in the articles, especially during the month of March.DOI: 10.5931/djim.v16i1.1088
Spatial Analysis of Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Integration with Wind Farms in Nova Scotia
No full textRenewable energy systems have been implemented globally to help lower carbon emissions; for example, pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) is a system that helps mitigate peak loads on electrical grids to reduce dependency on fossil fuel energy generation. As a form of energy storage, PHES involves using two water reservoirs at different elevations to generate electricity at times of peak demand. Integrating PHES near wind farms allows the required water-pumping electricity to be supplied by wind power, rather than fossil fuels. A spatial analysis was done using ArcGIS Pro to determine the most ideal sites for PHES within close proximity to wind farms in Nova Scotia. Five potential sites were identified, and map layouts were produced showing conceptual models of PHES at these locations throughout the province. Due to the topography of Nova Scotia, development of PHES is not feasible at many potential sites. Five suitable sites were ranked based on environmental and technoeconomic costs; the Barrachois Wind PHES hybrid project was ranked the highest, followed by the Digby, Ellershouse, Maryvale, and South Canoe wind energy sites. The study concluded that integrating PHES into wind farms in Nova Scotia would be a useful method for boosting electrical grid stability, and attaining emissions reductions targets throughout the province
Queer N/Oceans : Vore and Child Abuse in Ananda Devi‘s La vie de Joséphin le fou
No full textCet article avance que dans La vie de Joséphin le fou (2003) d‘Ananda Devi, le protagoniste Joséphin adopte la forme d‘un monstre « mi-humain mi-anguille », se livrant à des actes de la vorarephilie, communément appelée « vore », pour rassasier un désir meurtrier sous l‘eau. Cette analyse conçoit l‘univers aquatique de Joséphin comme espace queer, abject et maternel dans lequel Joséphin terrorise deux mineurs. Dans son roman, Devi reconfigure par ailleurs l‘archétype de l‘anguille protectrice apparaissant dans des pratiques chamanistes mauriciennes en faisant de Joséphin une entité à la fois humaine et anguille. La violence de Joséphin contre les enfants, lorsqu‘il se présente sous une telle incarnation monstrueuse, est représentative d‘une métaphore de l‘abus sexuel sur enfant à l‘île Maurice où, lors de la publication du roman, il y eut une estimation de 2.600 mineurs victimes d‘atteintes sexuelles.This article argues that in Ananda Devi‘s La vie de Joséphin le fou (2003), the protagonist Joséphin assumes the form of a human-eel monster, engaging in acts of vorarephilia or “vore,” to satiate a murderous desire underwater. This analysis conceives Joséphin‘s aquatic world as a paradoxically queer, abject, and maternal space in which Joséphin terrorizes two underage children as both their abductor and protector. Devi further reconfigures in her novel the archetype of the protective eel in Mauritian shamanistic practices by depicting Joséphin as a predatorial human-eel figure. Joséphin‘s violence against the children as he assumes such a monstrous embodiment serves as a metaphor for child sexual abuse in Mauritius where, at the time of the novel‘s publication, an estimated 2,600 children were victims of molestation
Marguerite Duras, le judaïsme et l‘interdit du N/nom dans Le camion et La pluie d‘été
No full textDans le scénario et le film Le camion (1977) de Marguerite Duras, un seul prénom biblique – « Abraham » – émerge d‘un arrière-plan où se confondent des personnages et des lieux indistincts. Au cours du film, le prénom devient tabou. Treize ans plus tard, un phénomène semblable se produit dans La pluie d‘été (1990) lorsque la déclinaison : « moi, fils de David, roi de Jérusalem », extrait du Livre de l‘Ecclésiaste, revient de façon frappante et provoque une gêne palpable. Dans ce roman, qui plus est, une série de personnages sont « polyonymiques », glissant d‘une identité à une autre, d‘un nom à un autre. La nomination ici est donc tout à fait particulière et déclenche une peur vive qui se manifeste dans le texte par des réactions paroxystiques : pleurs, cris, hurlements, silences. L‘axe principal de cet article sera donc d‘étudier la source de ce malaise et de déterminer le ou les interdits qui le provoque et qui mènent à la perte de la parole. Dans un premier temps, nous verrons alors comment les noms et titres bibliques tels qu‘« Abraham » et « le fils de David » s‘inscrivent dans une démarche de réduction de toute identité à celle contenue dans les unités nominales minimales, « Juif » ou « Juden ». Dans un deuxième temps, nous explorerons comment les réactions paroxystiques des personnages se relient à la difficulté et à l‘importance de donner un nom – en tant que fondatrice de l‘identité des individus, mais aussi aux interdits de la représentation et de la verbalisation du divin dans la Bible hébraïque.In the script and film, Le camion (1977) by Marguerite Duras, a single biblical name – “Abraham” – emerges from a backdrop of indistinct characters and places. During the film, the name becomes taboo. Thirteen years later, a similar phenomenon occurs in La pluie d‘été (1990) when the verse “I, son of David, King of Jerusalem” from Ecclesiastes repeats regularly throughout the text and generates a feeling of discomfort and embarrassment. Furthermore, in this novel, characters are “polynymous”, shifting from one identity to another, one name to another. Here, the act of naming is entirely unique and provokes a deep sense of fear that manifests in the text through the characters‘ paroxysmal reactions: cries, screams, howls, and silence. The main focus of this article will be to study the source of this malaise and to determine the prohibitions and taboos that lead to this incredible loss of speech. Thus, in the first part of the article, I examine how and why Duras populates Le camion and La pluie d‘été with biblical, Jewish names and the way in which “Abraham” and the “the son of David” in these works become concentrated into a single word and identity: “Jew” or Juden”. In the second part of the article, I explore how the characters‘ paroxysmal reactions relate to the difficulty and importance of assigning a name, both in terms of individual identity, but also in terms of the prohibitions and interdictions against divine representation and verbalization in the Hebrew Bible
Kosuch, Carolin (ed.). Anarchism and the Avant-Garde. Radical Arts and Politics in Perspective
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Post-Lesbian Tensions: A Qualitative Inquiry of Lesbian Identity
Get PDFThis paper explores how lesbians aged 18 to 25 negotiate their sexual identity in relation to post-lesbian discourse. Post-lesbian discourse refers to the postmodern conceptualisation of lesbian identity as irrelevant, unnecessary, and minor because of increased acceptance of homosexuality and the popularity of queer theory and its deconstruction of identity categories. In three small focus groups with a total of 10 participants, we explored the themes of word usage, meanings, and associations, as well as exclusion, boundaries, and stigma. We found that our participants‘ disdain and discomfort with the word “lesbian” does not result, as post-lesbian discourse would suggest, from its irrelevance but rather due to the old yet persisting stigmas towards lesbian sexuality. To mitigate these stigmas, most of our participants use gender-neutral terms, most notably the word “gay,” to describe themselves. Using relevant literature, we contextualise the usage of gender-neutral terms and analyse their often-overlooked negative impact on female and lesbian visibility. Moreover, we found that while participants wished to avoid the exclusion and specificity of lesbian spaces, they desired these spaces all the same, which had a positive effect on their identity formation, confidence, and sense of community
Moving the Material Me: A Visual Autoethnography
Get PDFThis visual autoethnography aims to understand how the significant event of moving house forces us to consider the materiality of our lives and the intimate relationships we have with our belongings. Situated at the intersection of anthropological studies on the home and materiality, this study looks at the ways these fields interact to reveal new conceptions of responsibility over the social life of things. Using autoethnographic methods, this research is embedded in my personal embodied experience of moving house, with particular emphasis on the sensory and subjective elements of this process, as highlighted through photographs and descriptive vignettes. This study delves into the decisions behind whether we keep, throw away, or pass on our things, interwoven with discussions around our moral obligations to the material lifeworlds of our stuff. It explores how our possessions reflect our relationships, our heritage, and ourselves