Nationality Versus Global Citizenship Towards the Realization of Sustainable Development Goals: Ahmadou Kourouma’s Perspective

In the face of the fast depletion of natural resources worldwide resulting from industrial and economic cannibalism, selfishness and marginalization are becoming more and more pronounced in a globalizing world. The phenomena of selfishness and marginalization are manifest in the introduction of stringent immigration laws by most industrialized countries in the North to ward off migrants from the less developed economies in the South; and also the reinforcement of existing laws by the latter to protect their citizens and natural resources in recent years. Issues of national identity, territorial integrity as against the centrality of humanity remain an Achilles heel toward the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As far as 1968, Ahmadou Kourouma, an Ivorian novelist, in his very first narrative text, “Les Soleils des Indépendances” later translated into English as The Suns of Independence, raised the tragic dilemma of national identity at the expense of ‘human identity’. In the absence of concrete steps to address the issues over the years, Liberia, Sierra Leone and La Côte d’Ivoire were engulfed in intestine civil strife over two decades later. The main causes of this strife are found in the irrational quest for self-identity in the name of nationality and ethnic superiority for greater access and control of “national” resources. This paper examines the upsurge of socioeconomic and political exclusion, and the potential threats they pose to the realization of the recently launched Sustainable Development Goals. It is done through a critical reading of Kourouma’s The Suns of Independence, Allah is not obliged and ‘Quand on refuse, on dit non’. The study is posited within the analytical framework of literary studies and sociocriticis

From the playground to the demos : familiarization of children with democratic practices in Mexico and Portugal

The participation of children and youth in democratic processes is a vital aspect of building inclusive, responsive, and accountable societies. However, children and youth are often excluded from decisions that affect their lives and communities, and their voices are often not heard in political and policy debates. This dissertation aims to examine the indissociable relationship between democratic participation and children, explore the ways in which children and young people can be effectively included in democratic processes, and identify the benefits and challenges of such participation. To do this, the research looks at two case studies: the Consulta Infantil y Juvenil (Consultation for Children and Youth) in Mexico and the Tenho Voto na Matéria (I Have a Say in the Matter) Initiative in Portugal. These case studies provide valuable insights into the frameworks, design and planning, participation, and outcomes of initiatives that aim to promote children's democratic participation. Through a review of these cases, the research aims to identify the prospects and lessons learned for the future of children's democratic participatio

Stories from the New West: Frank Bergon's New Western fiction

Frank Bergon's novel The Temptations of Sto Ed and Brother S (1993) is the revision of core and periphery identities and cultures. This novel analyses some of strategies that are utilized in the configuration and self-definition of the I. The exercise of exclusion and self-alienation practices is part of the devices that are utilized by Bergon's characters. However, the role of the desert is of utmost relevance, for it constitutes the space where diverse cultures and identities clash with each other; in other words, the desert conveys the meeting point of the different representatives of mainstream and minority America. Bergon's arid and hostile desert mirrors the kaleidoscopic nature that characterizes the American West. Bergon's proposes, rather than impose, the federation of diverse identities and interests in order to establish the I in coexistence and dialogue with the Other

Unfolding the act of photography

This thesis discusses the multifaceted status of the photograph, as a contribution to understanding the mechanics of the production of meaning within the photograph. In order to get a better view of how photographs function, I both revisit discourses that have dealt with medium specificity issues and use my own practice, designing an apprehension model which can assist in the achievement of a more rigorous conception of the photograph. An integrative literature review, based on Photography discourses and debates shaped by both theorists and practitioners, provides the tools needed for defining the medium’s unique and shared properties. Ontological synecdoches of the photograph, issues of representation, time, automatism, agency, the twofold nature –trace and picture- as well as depiction theories of the medium are put into scrutiny towards formulating an apprehension scheme. This body or knowledge, along with my visual practice’s research outcomes, informs the construction of an appropriate model for understanding the medium’s effect. In specific, this study designs and applies a synthesized model of thought which considers photographs as a fixed unity of interdependent links in the chain called ‘act of photography’. This model is based on the parameters that contribute towards a photograph’s apprehension –Operator, Apparatus, Scenery, Photograph, Viewer (OASPV). A thorough illustration of the application of this model onto a specific photograph is provided, showing how a verbal articulation of apprehending a photograph can take place in order for bad or poor readings to be avoided. An explanation of the working strategy I applied throughout my creative practice along with a discussion upon the images chosen for the portfolio accompanying this thesis, is offered. In specific, it is shown how the apprehension scheme is reflected in my practice, along with a contextualisation of my photographs -placing emphasis in notions such as the ordinary, ineffable, serendipity, trace and picture as well as similarities to the work of other practitioners. This thesis discusses the elements that formulate the encrypted information inscribed on the surface of photographs, namely it unfolds their layers throughout creating, perceiving and conceiving them

Utilizando un cuento interactivo para enseñar español en un aula de Educación Infantil en Irlanda

Oral expression is a representative quality of the human being that develops innately, during our first years of life, through imitation of our closest environment. In this work, the different processes of learning a foreign language will be presented, starting from the basis of how the mother tongue is learned and continuing with the bases, benefits, tools, and resources that should be used to teach a foreign language to children in the second cycle of Infant Education. More specifically, a planning sequence on the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language in an Irish junior infant classroom.La comunicación oral es una cualidad representativa del ser humano que se desarrolla de forma innata, durante nuestros primeros años de vida, a través de la imitación nuestro entorno más cercano. En este trabajo se expondrán los diferentes procesos de aprendizaje de la lengua extranjera partiendo de la base de cómo se aprende la lengua materna y continuando con las bases, los beneficios, las herramientas y los recursos que deben utilizarse para enseñar una lengua extranjera a niños y niñas del segundo ciclo de Educación Infantil. Más concretamente, una secuencia de planificación sobre la enseñanza del español como lengua extranjera en un aula infantil irlandesa.Grado en Educación Infanti

Designing for Collaboration Using Social Network Analysis: Towards a Conceptual Method to Understand Organisational Interaction

The spreading of innovation within organisations is an area of interest for both academics and practitioners. Within information systems research collaboration issues are often addressed and solved through implementation of technology artefacts to meditate communication. With more and more resources being spent on collaborative technologies we argue that there can be cost advantages in looking at the socio-technical aspects of the information system when trying improve organisational communication. As an initial step of information system interventions we argue that an overview of the information exchange network within organisations can lead to valuable insights into where to start and we argue that social network analysis can provide such an bird’s-eye view over organisational interaction. This leads us to our research question: How can social network analysis be used to describe, understand and explain organisational interaction in designing information systems for collaboration? Taking a design science approach to the research question we aim to construct a meta-artefact, i.e. in our case knowledge about how to design for collaboration with the help of social network analysis. To test the applicability of social network analysis we collect sociometric interaction data from a knowledge intensive organisation using a name generating survey. The usability of the visualisations that are the output of the social network analysis are evaluated by decision makers within the organisation through interviews. We conclude that social network analysis is a time-efficient method of collecting empirical data that can lead to deep insights into the structure of the organisational communication network. The visualisation can be seen as a map used to pinpoint the emergence of social networks within organisations and thereby acting as a tool to drive continuous change and innovation

Sonic Interactions in Virtual Environments

This open access book tackles the design of 3D spatial interactions in an audio-centered and audio-first perspective, providing the fundamental notions related to the creation and evaluation of immersive sonic experiences. The key elements that enhance the sensation of place in a virtual environment (VE) are: Immersive audio: the computational aspects of the acoustical-space properties of Virutal Reality (VR) technologies Sonic interaction: the human-computer interplay through auditory feedback in VE VR systems: naturally support multimodal integration, impacting different application domains Sonic Interactions in Virtual Environments will feature state-of-the-art research on real-time auralization, sonic interaction design in VR, quality of the experience in multimodal scenarios, and applications. Contributors and editors include interdisciplinary experts from the fields of computer science, engineering, acoustics, psychology, design, humanities, and beyond. Their mission is to shape an emerging new field of study at the intersection of sonic interaction design and immersive media, embracing an archipelago of existing research spread in different audio communities and to increase among the VR communities, researchers, and practitioners, the awareness of the importance of sonic elements when designing immersive environments