5,068 research outputs found

    A new frontier for the study of the commons:Open-source hardware

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    Turkey’s New Strategic Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Somalia and Sudan

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    This thesis presents a detailed perspective of SSA relations with Turkey. It seeks to understand the elements that influence SSA nations' acceptance of Turkey's relationship in great detail. Initially, Turkey-SSA relations were viewed as unidirectional. The existing literature focused on Turkey's motives, interests, and foreign policy choices. SSA countries have been perceived as passive targets that solely accept relations for the sake of foreign aid. While acknowledging that SSA are impoverished nations seeking foreign aid, in this study, I explore various factors that influence SSA nations' acceptance of Turkey's relations. The first of which is historical and cultural ties. Religion and Turkey's anti-colonial history have the potential to be perceived as legitimising force and have acted as one of the soft-power pillars supporting SSA acceptance of Turkey. Moreover, SSA nations are autonomous agencies with their own foreign policy agendas other than shared history and culture. Their individual reasons for developing and maintaining a relationship vary due to differing political, security, social and economic contexts. This research employed a structured, focused comparison. The instrument utilised to collect the data important to this study was semi-structured interviews meant to assess relevant information. And, as one cannot draw definite conclusions from a single example, the study adopted multiple case study method to achieve more robust results. Somalia and Sudan were chosen as the two most prominent examples of the phenomenon under examination. Somalia and Sudan were chosen because they are the two SSA countries with whom Turkey has formed the most extensive partnerships in recent years, yet their reasons, motivations and benefits of the relationship differ. The former established its ties with Turkey reasons related Somalia's national sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity while assisting it in reestablishing its economy, political stability, and robust national army. Sudan's relationship with Turkey is personal rather than national or strategic in character due to the country’s one-man-show leadership style. Discussing SSA's political, economic, and security benefits as well as their shared historical and cultural affinities, the thesis claims that the relationship between Turkey and SSA is likely to continue for two primary reasons. Initially, both Turkey and SSA are mutually benefiting from the relationship. Second, because Somalia and Sudan lack viable alternatives to Turkish backing, it is probable that the relationship will continue. On the other hand, the thesis identified prospective impediments to the partnership, particularly the disadvantages of SSA's poor political institutions and internal challenges

    Small firms and industrial districts

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    Editor's notes. By Margherita Russo. Sebastiano Brusco's collection of essays Piccole imprese e distretti industriali (Tori-no, Rosenberg & Sellier, 1989) was translated in English by Tim Keats in 1990, unless three chapters that were already available in English and chapter 7 that was too long for a publication as a book chapter. Having abandoned the project of publishing a vol-ume in English, Sebastiano Brusco asked me to share a photocopy of the English transla-tion with scholars who requested it, and so several copies arrived in the hands of re-searchers in various countries: South Africa, Norway, Denmark, the United States, France and the United Kingdom. Twenty years after Sebastiano Brusco passed away, and me approaching to retirement, a working paper edition - in the DEMB Working Paper Series - will make the document freely available online. This digital document has been created, in 2012, drawing on a folder of Sebastiano Brusco's digital archive "Backup of EnglishBook" that contained Lotus MS files. These files have been converted by Patrizio Magagni in a txt format and then inserted by me in a single Word file: "Backup of EnglishBook_from files converted by Patrizio_22.01.2012 Some graphs and tables have been added as images, taken from the Italian edition. The text is all flag-formatted, whereas in the Italian edition only the main introduction, chapter introduction and afterword were flag-formatted. The text is not justified be-cause, in the conversion of the original files, a manual line break was automatically inserted at the end of each line. To differentiate those parts of the text written by Brusco specifically for the publi-cation of the 1989 collection of essays, they are reproduced here in two columns, with a smaller font. A complete list of Sebastiano Brusco's publication is available online at:https://www.economia.unimore.it/site/home/dipartimento-di-economia---sebastiano-brusco-web-page.htm

    COVID-19 Outbreak and Beyond

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    The COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed our lifestyle when, on 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Since then, many governments have introduced unprecedented containment measures, hoping to slow the spread of the virus. International research suggests that both the pandemic and the related protective measures, such as lockdown, curfews, and social distancing, are having a profound impact on the mental health of the population. Among the most commonly observed psychological effects, there are high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic symptoms, along with boredom and frustration. At the same time, the behavioral response of the population is of paramount importance to successfully contain the outbreak, creating a vicious circle in which the psychological distress impacts the willingness to comply with the protective measures, which, in turn, if prolonged, could exacerbate the population’s distress. This book includes: i) original studies on the worldwide psychological and behavioral impact of COVID-19 on targeted individuals (e.g., parents, social workers, patients affected by physical and mental disorders); ii) studies exploring the effect of COVID-19 using advanced statistical and methodological techniques (e.g., machine learning technologies); iii) research on practical applications that could help identify persons at risk, mitigate the negative effects of this situation, and offer insights to policymakers to manage the pandemic are also highly welcomed

    Dispositiv-Erkundungen | Exploring Dispositifs

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    Will man die Linien eines Dispositivs entwirren, so muss man in jedem Fall eine Karte anfertigen, man muss kartographieren, unbekannte LĂ€nder ausmessen - eben das, was er [Foucault] als 'Arbeit im GelĂ€nde' bezeichnet hat", formulierte Gilles Deleuze 1988. Mit der vorliegenden Publikation soll ein kartographierendes Aus- und Vermessen eines komplexen, verzweigten, unĂŒbersichtlichen, zum Teil auch uneinsichtigen und ĂŒbercodierten GelĂ€ndes geleistet werden. Als Effekt könn(t)en fortgesetzte KlĂ€rungen von Begriffen, Konzepten und Operationsweisen dessen stattfinden, was als Kunst bezeichnet wird. 18 Autor*innen nehmen ihre Dispositiv-Erkundungen vor, so dass eine Anthologie von ausgewĂ€hlten Stimmen entsteht. Die Autor*innen und ihre Texte erkunden multiperspektivisch, disparat, forensisch und komplexierend, in verschiedenen Sprachen, in ihren Entstehungskontexten und Entstehungszeiten, mit ihren stilistischen Mitteln und in einigen FĂ€llen eng mit ihren frĂŒheren PublikationszusammenhĂ€ngen verbunden. Sie sind damit im besten Fall in der Lage, je eigene DenkrĂ€ume aufzufalten, die ermöglichen, Einzelbestandteile der beschriebenen oder analysierten Dispositive -- und dabei kann es sich offenbar um Einzeloperationen, Prozesse, Prozeduren, Blicke, LĂŒcken, Aufspaltungen, Implikationen, Vorbedingungen etc. handeln -- zu unterscheiden und in einem nĂ€chsten Schritt strategische Formationen dieser heterogenen Ensembles zu diagnostizieren. DarĂŒber hinaus ermöglichen die zusammengestellten Texte, unterschiedliche Varianten, Ausgangs-, Ansatz- und Schwerpunkte wie auch Stile von Dispositiv-Erkundungen nachvollziehen zu können. As Gilles Deleuze has argued in 1988, “[u]ntangling these lines within a social apparatus [dispositif] is, in each case, like drawing up a map, doing cartography, surveying unknown landscapes, and this is what he [Foucault] calls ‘working on the ground.’” This publication intends to provide a cartographic mapping of a complex, multi-branched, often obscure, sometimes inaccessible and overly encoded terrain. Such a mapping could and can lead to a further clarification of terms, concepts and modes of operation of that which is called art. This volume comprises 18 authors whose explorations of the dispositif have generated an anthology of select, distinct voices. Their texts are marked by multiple perspectives, they are disparate, forensic and complex, they are written in different languages, stem from different contexts and points in time, are endowed with different styles and, in some cases, also stand in close relationship with other, earlier publication contexts. This means that they are ideally positioned to unfold diverse spaces of thought, allowing them to differentiate between individual components of the dispositifs they discuss or dissect -- this may include individual operations, processes, procedures, glances, lacunae, splits, implications, preconditions, et cetera -- and allowing them, in a next step, to diagnose the strategic formations such heterogeneous ensembles might take. Beyond that, the texts assembled here allow us to discern the different variations, starting points, approaches and emphases as well as different styles of dispositif exploration. BeitrĂ€ge von / Contributions by: Elke Bippus, Luis Camnitzer, Ibou Coulibaly Diop, Thomas Oberender, Andrea Fraser, erwin GeheimRat, Siri Hustvedt, Silvia Jonas, Birte Kleine-Benne, Michael Lingner, Lucy Lippard, Adelheid Mers, Brian O’Doherty, Julia Pelta Feldman, Adrian Piper, Stefan Römer, Thorsten Schneider, Ruth Sonderegge

    REBRANDING AFRICA, RECLOTHING AFRICA: THE ROLE OF EMERGING DESIGNERS IN THE PRODUCTION OF AESTHETIC COSMOPOLITANISM IN LAGOS.

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    In the last decade, African fashion has become increasingly recognised globally. Not only are Western designers such as Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier incorporating African fashion into their designs, but more importantly, African fashion designers are making their presence felt globally. The creativity, innovation and vibrant designs that characterise the work of contemporary designers have paid off; cities like Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Marrakesh, and Johannesburg burst with fashion innovations that are attracting global audience. A crop of emerging designers has been identified as the driving force behind the innovation and creativity. While studies either focus on the creative works of fashion production or the emerging designers behind the production, this study seeks to explore the connection between the emerging designers and their works: the rise of contemporary designers from Africa who are innovatively producing fashion that cuts across geographical boundaries without losing its indigenous distinctiveness. Contemporary fashion from Africa reflects aesthetic cosmopolitanism (Regev, 2009); the combination of indigenous cultural elements with foreign influence to produce innovative fashion that speaks to the cosmopolitan nature of world societies. Engaging in a qualitative research on Nigerian fashion industry (Lagos), the study shares emerging fashion designers’ experience of negotiating global influence with local culture to produce fashion that are both indigenous and internationally appealing. Designers’ first step to aesthetic cosmopolitanism is their dual fashion background (local and international training) which position them at intersection of two or more cultures, offering them varied range of cultural possibilities to draw on when designing. They are conscious of their position as cultural intermediaries between the local and the global and in innovative ways, they are fusing the two spaces in their work to produce aesthetic cosmopolitanism fashion. Fashion designers are adopting skills and technologies from the global fashion industry, merging them with local elements and expertise to professionalise the craft of fashion production. This professionalism is seen through their cosmopolitan designs, the diversification of production, and standardisation of production structures

    Anthropological Explorations in Queer Theory

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    Anthropological Explorations in Queer Theory offers a wide ranging fusion of queer theory with anthropological theory, shifting away from the discussion of gender categories and identities that have often constituted a central concern of queer theory and instead exploring the queer elements of contexts in which they are not normally apparent. Engaging with a number of apparently 'non-sexual' topics, including embodiment and fieldwork, regimes of value, gifts and commodities, diversity discourses, biological essentialisms, intersectionality, the philosophy of Bergson and Deleuze, and the representation of heterosexuality in popular culture, this book moves to discuss central concerns of contemporary anthropology, drawing on both the latest anthropological research as well as classic theories. In broadening the field of queer anthropology and opening queer theory to a number of new themes, both empirical and theoretical, Anthropological Explorations in Queer Theory will appeal not only to anthropologists and queer theorists, but also to geographers and sociologists concerned with questions of ontology, materiality and gender and sexuality

    Healthcare Access

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    Adequate healthcare access not only requires the availability of comprehensive healthcare facilities but also affordability and knowledge of the availability of these services. As an extended responsibility, healthcare providers can create mechanisms to facilitate subjective decision-making in accessing the right kind of healthcare services as well various options to support financial needs to bear healthcare-related expenses while seeking health and fulfilling the healthcare needs of the population. This volume brings together experiences and opinions from global leaders to develop affordable, sustainable, and uniformly available options to access healthcare services

    Management controls, government regulations, customer involvement: Evidence from a Chinese family-owned business

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    This research reports on a case study of a family-owned elevator manufacturing company in China, where management control was sandwiched between the state policies and global customer production requirements. By analysing the role of government and customer, this thesis aimed to illustrate how management control operated in a family-owned business and to see how and why they do management control differently. In particular, it focused on how international production standards and existing Chinese industry policies translated into a set of the management control practices through a local network within the family-owned business I studied. Based on an ethnographic approach to research, I spent six months in the field, conducted over 30 interviews, several conservations, and reviewed relevant internal documents to understand how management control (MC) techniques with humans cooperated in the company. I also understood how two layers of pressure have shaped company behaviour, and how a company located in a developing country is connecting with global network. I also found there is considerable tension among key actors and investigated how the company responded and managed it. Drawing on Actor Network Theory (ANT), I analysed the interviews from key actors, examined the role of government regulations and customer requirements to see how management control being managed under two layers of pressure, i.e., the government regulations (e.g., labour, tax, environment control) and customer requirement (e.g., quality and production control). Management controls were an obligatory passage point (OPP), and transformation of those elements of Western production requirements and government requirements arrived at the Chinese local factory and influenced management control and budgeting. The findings suggest that management control systems are not only a set of technical procedures, but it is also about managing tensions. This understanding shows a linear perspective on MC practices rather than a social perspective. However, when we use ANT as a theoretical perspective, we see those actors who, being obliged and sandwiched, and controlled by external forces for them to follow. Consequently, human actors must work in an unavoidable OPP. This is the tension they face which constructed mundane practices of MC. Hence, MCs are managing such tensions. This study contributes to management control research by analysing management controls in terms of OPP, extends our understanding by illustrating the role of the government and customers, and our understanding of family-owned business from a management controls perspective in a developing country
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