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Participatory development and empowerment: The participation of outsiders
No full textThis essay examines the effectiveness of the methods of participatory development. Participatory development is an approach that actively involves beneficiaries such as local residents in a development project and it is now regarded crucial to form effective projects, reflecting on the failure of previous outsiders/experts-driven projects. The focus of this essay is the role of outsiders, differing from other perspectives which focus on the role of beneficiaries and concrete tools for projects. This essay examines the elements for effective participatory development by analyzing two development projects from the perspective of how the outsiders were involved in the projects, taking into account the historical transformation of the approach. It concludes that it is necessary not only allowing beneficiaries to play a central role of a project but also keeping outsiders in the position of facilitators for effective development projects
Let’s talk about species, baby! Taxonomy and species concepts in the context of Homo luzonensis
Get PDFClassifying an individual into a species is one of the first steps to better understand not only the individual in question, but also their evolutionary history and relationships. However, designating individuals into species can be a difficult process. It is particularly difficult in the field of paleoanthropology, where species designations must be made using only skeletal remains. A recent publication announced the reported discovery of a new hominin species, Homo luzonensis, from remains found at Callao Cave in the Philippines. However, this new species consists of only 13 skeletal specimens from three individuals. With such a small sample size, do the Callao Cave remains represent enough evidence to be called a separate species? In order to explore this question, I examine several species concepts and how they can and have been applied to fossil hominin species. I also utilise several comparable and recently discovered hominin taxa as case studies. The results of these analyses indicate that while the remains from Callao Cave can be designated as a new species, the low specimen count and lack of DNA evidence means that future criticism of this designation is likely. In addition, these cases studies highlight structural and human factors—such as pressure to publish and arguments over types of evidence—which influence the species designation process
Beyond the ‘Shanghailander’: China through the eyes of foreigners in the 1920s and 1930s
Get PDFThis article explores foreign perspectives and insights into Chinese society during the 1920s and 1930s, by examining two foreigners’ personal accounts of life in China. Adopting a microhistory approach, the paper treats these personal accounts as historically significant sources, despite their inherently limited subject matter. Moreover, as in traditional historical interpretation, the article maintains that such personal accounts can serve as microcosms that reflect and illuminate wider historical trends and perspectives. The accounts of businessman Rex Phillips, read alongside those of travelling salesman Harry Glathe, highlight the diverse perspectives that Westerners had on China. Phillips’s writings illuminate how Westerners may have viewed China as a dangerous, backwards, war-torn nation, either with disdain or relative sympathy. Meanwhile, Glathe’s writings showcase a more Orientalist perspective, viewing China as a quaint, exotic, but developing country. By treating Phillips’s and Glathe’s sources as historical commentaries, further insight is gained into Chinese society at the time. Phillips’s letters and photographs detail his life in cosmopolitan Shanghai, while Glathe’s detailed descriptions and striking photographs of southern China enrich our understandings of the diversity of Chinese social experiences during the Republican period (1912– 1949). Ultimately, these sources enrich our understanding of both China’s social development and the diversity of Western racial and national perspectives during this period
Athenian Litigation: How Athenian courts provided a venue for Athenian citizens to debate their societal conventions
Get PDFThis essay will explicitly look at the way in which Athenian litigation provided citizens a venue not only to try court cases but also discuss the societal conventions which governed their lives. This essay’s argument will be developed by assessing speeches in relation to three main areas of Athenian society: slaves, citizenship and behaviour. This essay will then show the consistencies between the different speeches in relation to these three areas, as well as cases where people presented different views and strayed from the norm, and the effect that this had on individuals and their position in society
Australian cultural populism in sport: The relationship between sport (notably cricket) and cultural populism in Australia
Get PDFThe way ‘mainstream’ Australians see themselves is characterised by key polarities, defined according to what popular culture allows and prohibits at the same time. Sport becomes a vehicle through which those with nationalistic leanings express their adherence to sentimental ideas of a bigger Australian story. However, this outlet—originally conceived in outback stations—is not available to all classes, races, and genders. Traditionally in the past, one was only allowed to fully participate if one was lower class, white, and male. This contradicts the oft-touted idea that sport has the ability to bring ‘the people’ together, a sentiment which is criticised by the intellectual elite. Cricket represents an interesting case study, due to its roots in both British imperialism and its adaptation into Australian cultural mythology. It highlights how a relaxed and enjoyable ‘game’ can take on patriotic qualities that originate in ideals of bushrangers and mateship. As witnessed in recent ball-tampering scandals, cricket and sport more broadly are utilised by the media and politicians to define what being ‘Australian’ means. This usually reflects their own respective imperatives, whether that be to create divides in the community or promote unity through shared identity. Based primarily on insights shared by Peter Goodall in High culture, popular culture: The long debate (1995), this paper charts the historical origins of Australians’ relationship with sport in broader popular culture to demonstrate that the way cultural populism is carried out within the entertainment sector is no coincidence, due to commonly inherited historical scripts. It also has implications for minority groups and their inclusion in national identity. While sport brings us together and has obvious wellbeing benefits, it also has the capacity to be manipulated by populists
Urs Fischer’s Francesco (2017): On ephemeral art and material culture
Get PDFMaterial culture studies is defined as the study of human culture through artificially constructed objects that have survived in physical or representational form. But what happens when there is no surviving object? How does material culture account for works whose material nature is fleeting, malleable, and ultimately perishable? Ephemeral art—works of art made from perishable mediums such as wax, food, or even found rubbish—is increasingly present in museum collections of contemporary art. This diversity in media has enriched contemporary art practice, but has also created a number of complexities for arts professionals, raising questions on how best to collect, conserve, and interpret these works. A material culture analysis of ephemeral art reveals why contemporary artists create works of art that deteriorate more rapidly than their traditional counterparts, and how these intentions have changed over time. Drawing on the case study of Urs Fischer’s Francesco (2017), my research findings indicate that the value of a material culture approach to ephemeral art is derived from analysis of the trajectories of matter comprising a work. Fluctuating critical and popular interest in materials reveals our changing cultural relationship to ‘stuff’, and under this premise a work of art designed to deteriorate can be just as revealing as an enduring object
Blackbird Fly
Get PDFThe tall green strips of corn were soldiers at attention against the oppressive heat. Then they peeled away to be replaced by yellow blankets of sunflowers, the rows of golden circular heads stretching on and on into the distance. Next came fields shorn so short that only stubbled spikes remained, punctuated by bales of cut hay, the sun glinting off their sides
What Does ‘Fair’ Trade Mean for United States Trade Policy and the World Trade Organisation?
Get PDFThis paper first explores developments in United States trade policy under the Trump Administration (Part I). The author then focuses on the Trump Administration’s national security measures. This paper examines how the national security measures and the subsequent trade war challenge the WTO (Part II)
A Colour of Loss
Get PDFI named you Bai, meaning White, because that was the colour of the sky you were born under. A colour of mourning. A colour of loss. The clouds blanketed the sky, only allowing a weak trickle of sunlight through. I squatted on the ground, behind the rice paddies, out of sight of the village that curved around the edge of the fields. My fingers dug into the wet dirt in front of my toes, my thighs strained