32 research outputs found
The Presence of the Prophet in Early Modern and Contemporary Islam
This second volume of the series The Presence of the Prophet, explores the growing importance of the figure of the Prophet Muhammad for questions of authority and power in many regions in early modern and modern times.; Readership: Scientific and general readership interested in Islam and Muslim culture and politics in different regional and historical contexts, Historical Anthropology, Sociology of Religion, Religion and Politics
Religious Transformation in the Middle East
This Special Issue draws attention to religious transformations currently emerging in the Middle East that diverge from the dominating rhetoric surrounding âradicalizationâ, âpolitical Islamâ, or the âIslamic awakeningâ. Particularly after the Arab uprisings, other currents seem to be coming more to the fore that need careful examination, such as the contemporary realities of religious ambivalence, religious doubts, disengagement from religious movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the search for alternative forms of spirituality or individualized piety, de-veiling, and different forms of non-conformism, free thinking, non-belief, and atheism. Accordingly, the contributions to this Special Issue provide highly relevant insights into several contemporary debates that are crucial in the social sciences and religious studies. This includes processes of individualization; the study of everyday lived (non-)religion; the anthropology of doubt, ambivalence, and ambiguity; and, last but not least, the deconstruction of the religiousâsecular divide, a divide that is seen as almost impenetrable according to many actors in the Middle East. This Special Issue consists of a cross-section of current works in social science, religious studies, and related fields on Islam/religion and non-religion in the Middle East. The articles present case studies from different countries in the Middle East, with examples from Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, and Syria, as well as studies on diaspora and social media
Evaluating the Impact of Nature-Based Solutions: Appendix of Methods
The Handbook aims to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive NBS impact assessment framework, and a robust set of indicators and methodologies to assess impacts of nature-based solutions across 12 societal challenge areas: Climate Resilience; Water Management; Natural and Climate Hazards; Green Space Management; Biodiversity; Air Quality; Place Regeneration; Knowledge and Social Capacity Building for Sustainable Urban Transformation; Participatory Planning and Governance; Social Justice and Social Cohesion; Health and Well-being; New Economic Opportunities and Green Jobs. Indicators have been developed collaboratively by representatives of 17 individual EU-funded NBS projects and collaborating institutions such as the EEA and JRC, as part of the European Taskforce for NBS Impact Assessment, with the four-fold objective of: serving as a reference for relevant EU policies and activities; orient urban practitioners in developing robust impact evaluation frameworks for nature-based solutions at different scales; expand upon the pioneering work of the EKLIPSE framework by providing a comprehensive set of indicators and methodologies; and build the European evidence base regarding NBS impacts. They reflect the state of the art in current scientific research on impacts of nature-based solutions and valid and standardized methods of assessment, as well as the state of play in urban implementation of evaluation frameworks
Law in the present future : approaching the legal imaginary of smart cities with science (and) fiction
This doctoral research concerns smart cities, describing digital solutions and social issues related to their innovative technologies, adopted models, and major projects around the world. The many perspectives mentioned in it were identified by online tools used for the textual analysis of two databases that were built from relevant publications on the main subject by authors coming from media and academia. Expected legal elements emerged from the applied process, such as privacy, security, transparency, participation, accountability, and governance. A general review was produced on the information available about the public policies of Big Data in the two municipal cases of Rio de Janeiro and MontrĂ©al, and their regulation in the Brazilian and Canadian contexts. The combined approaches from science and literature were explored to reflect on the normative concerns represented by the global challenges and local risks brought by urban surveillance, climate change, and other neoliberal conditions. Cyberpunk Science Fiction reveals itself useful for engaging with the shared problems that need to be faced in the present time, all involving democracy. The results achieved reveal that this work was, in fact, about the complex network of practices and senses between (post)modern law and the imaginary of the future.Cette recherche doctorale centrĂ©e sur les villes intelligentes met en Ă©vidence les solutions numĂ©riques et les questionnements sociĂ©taux qui ont trait aux technologies innovantes, ainsi quâaux principaux modĂšles et projets dĂ©veloppĂ©s autour dâelles Ă travers le monde. Des perspectives multiples en lien avec ces dĂ©veloppements ont Ă©tĂ© identifiĂ©es Ă lâaide dâoutils en ligne qui ont permis lâanalyse textuelle de deux bases de donnĂ©es comprenant des publications scientifiques et des Ă©crits mĂ©diatiques. De ce processus analytique ont Ă©mergĂ© des Ă©lĂ©ments juridiques relatifs aux questions de vie privĂ©e, de sĂ©curitĂ©, de transparence, de participation, dâimputabilitĂ© et de gouvernance. De plus, Ă partir de ces informations a Ă©tĂ© rĂ©alisĂ©e une revue des politiques publiques relatives aux mĂ©gadonnĂ©es dans les villes de Rio de Janeiro et de MontrĂ©al, ainsi que des rĂ©glementations nationales du Canada et du BrĂ©sil en lien avec ce sujet. Finalement, Ă travers lâexploration dâĂ©crits scientifiques et fictionnels de la littĂ©rature, les principaux enjeux normatifs soulevĂ©s localement et mondialement par la surveillance urbaine, les changements climatiques et les politiques nĂ©olibĂ©rales ont pu ĂȘtre mis Ă jour. Le courant cyberpunk de la science-fiction sâest avĂ©rĂ© particuliĂšrement utile pour rĂ©vĂ©ler les principaux problĂšmes politiques, en lien avec la prĂ©servation de la dĂ©mocratie, auxquelles sont confrontĂ©es nos sociĂ©tĂ©s prĂ©sentement. Les rĂ©sultats de la recherche dĂ©montrent finalement la prĂ©sence dâun rĂ©seau de pratiques et de significations entre le droit (post)moderne et les reprĂ©sentations imaginaires du futur
La CittĂ Altra:Storia e immagine della diversitĂ urbana: luoghi e paesaggi dei privilegi e del benessere, dellâisolamento, del disagio, della multiculturalitĂ
This volume proposes a rich corpus of papers about the âOther Cityâ, a subject only few times dealt with, but worthy of all our attention: it imposes itself on the scene of international modern and contemporary historiography for its undeniable topicality. Throughout history, the city has always had to deal with social âothernessâ, i.e. with class privileges and, consequently, with discrimination and marginalization of minorities, of the less well-off, of foreigners, in short, with the differences in status, culture, religion. So that the urban fabric has ended up structuring itself also in function of those inequalities, as well as of the strategic places for the exercise of power, of the political, military or social control, of the spaces for imprisonment, for the sanitary isolation or for the âtemporaryâ remedy to the catastrophes. From the first portraits of cities, made and diffused at the beginning of the fifteenth century for political exaltation purposes or for religious propaganda and for devotional purposes, which often, through increasingly refined graphic techniques, distort or even deny the true urban image, we reach, at the dawn of contemporary history, the new meaning given by scientific topography and new methods of representation; these latter aimed at revealing the structure and the urban landscape in their objectivity, often unexpected for who had known the city through the filter of âregimeâ iconography. The representation of the urban image still shows the contradictions of a community that sometimes includes and even exalts the diversities, other times rejects them, showing the unease of a difficult integration
Autonomous Trade Unions in Algeria: An Expression of Nonviolent Acts of Citizenship
Algeriassa toimii kymmeniÀ autonomisia ammattiyhdistyksiÀ. Niiden muodostama monitahoinen poliittinen ryhmÀ on osa maan hajanaista oppositioliikettÀ. Autonomiset ammattiyhdistykset ovat sosiaalisia joukkoliikkeitÀ, joiden tarkoituksena on puolustaa työlÀisten oikeuksia ihmisoikeusjÀrjestöjÀ, kansalaisyhteiskunnan yhdistyksiÀ sekÀ poliittisia puolueita jÀrjestöverkostojen kautta. YksikÀÀn oppositioryhmÀ, olivatpa kyseessÀ autonomiset ammattiyhdistykset, poliittiset puolueet tai muut kansalaisyhteiskunnan toimijat, ei ole onnistunut muodostamaan uskottavaa, yhtenÀistÀ vastavoimaa valtaapitÀville.
Algerian ammattiyhdistysliikkeen kartoittamisen ja analysoinnin avulla hahmotetaan liikkeen verkostojen muotoutumista. Samalla sen yhteiskunnallisen muutoksen panosta problematisoidaan normatiivisen demokratian rakentamispuheen kautta. TÀssÀ vÀitöskirjassa keskitytÀÀn viimeisten 30 vuoden aikana toimineisiin nÀkyvimpiin hallituksen vastaisiin ammattiyhdistysliikkeisiin, jotka perustettiin asteittain vuoden 1989 perustuslaillisen uudistuksen yhteydessÀ, sekÀ yksittÀisten ammattiyhdistysten muodostamiin konfederaatioihin. VÀitöskirja tarkastelee, kuinka maan viranomaiset hallinnoivat rauhanomaista sosiaalista protestia ja hallituksen vastaisten ammattiyhdistysten luomaa haastetta. LisÀksi pohditaan, kuinka autonomisten ammattiyhdistysliikkeiden aktivistien vaatimista kansalaisoikeuksista keskustellaan vÀkivallattomina kansalaisuustekoina (nonviolent acts of citizenship).
Työn empiirinen materiaali koostuu etnografisesta kenttÀtyöstÀ, osallistuvasta havainnoinnista ja media-analyysistÀ. Osittaisen tiedon filosofian (partial knowledge) avulla on mahdollista ymmÀrtÀÀ sosiaalisia ilmiöitÀ kuten ammattiyhdistystoimintaa ja poliittista aktivismia. Samalla kun ammattiyhdistysliikkeitÀ tarkastellaan sosiaalisina toimijoina yhteiskunnallisella tasolla, tutkimus lÀhestyy yksittÀisiÀ aktivisteja kansalaisuustekojen teoreettisesta viitekehyksestÀ. Se mahdollistaa
kansalaisoikeuksien muotoutumisen ymmÀrtÀmisen tekemisen kautta sen sijaan, ettÀ kansalaisoikeudet hahmotetaan institutionaalisena statuksena.
Analysoin haastatteluja ja tutkimusmateriaalia diskurssianalyysilla keskittyen vastakkaisten diskurssien rakentumiseen. Erilaiset âsolmukohdissaâ (nodal points) muodostuvat identiteetit ja hegemoniset diskurssit â myös katvealueille jÀÀneet diskurssit ja hajaantuneet toimijuudet â ilmentĂ€vĂ€t ymmĂ€rrystĂ€ sekĂ€ representaatioita maailmasta. Etenkin työhön, työoloihin ja -sopimuksiin liittyvĂ€t sosiaaliset epĂ€kohdat osallistavat eritaustaisia aktivisteja poliittiseen toimintaan ympĂ€ri maata rikkoen stereotypioita, joita liitetÀÀn uskontoon, poliittiseen ideologiaan ja sukupuoleen muslimienemmistöisissĂ€ maissa.There are dozens of autonomous trade unions in Algeria, forming a heterogeneous political body within the dispersed opposition in the country. Autonomous trade unions are social movements that aim to defend workersâ rights through multiple organizational networks that consist of human rights groups, civil society associations and political parties. None of the single oppositional groups, whether autonomous trade unions, oppositional political parties or civil society actors, have succeeded in the formation of a credible, cohesive and unified alternative force to the state authorities in order to challenge the power elite in the country.
In mapping and analyzing the trade union movement, its networks and development in Algeria as well as problematizing its functioning and contribution to social change through normatively expressed democracy building, this thesis concentrates on the most conspicuous oppositional unions and their created confederations over the last 30 years, since their official establishment amid 1989 constitutional reform. Secondly, it contemplates how the state authorities manage peaceful societal protest and the challenge presented by these oppositional unions. Thirdly, it explores how the citizenship demanded by these autonomous union activists are negotiated through nonviolent acts of citizenship in the public space.
The empirical material of this thesis comprises ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, interviews and media analysis. Through partial knowledge, it is possible to understand social phenomena such as trade unionism and political activism. While autonomous trade unions are observed as social actors within the societal level, this study approaches individual activists through the theoretical framework of acts of citizenship. It enables us to understand citizenship as transformation through acts instead of perceiving citizenship as an institutional status.
I analyze interviews and other existing research material, such as media articles and other available literature, through discourse analyses, concentrating on the historical and contemporary construction of antagonistic discourses. Various identities and hegemonic discourses are shaped within nodal points, forming understanding and representations of the world, as well as dislocated discourses within ruptures and the emergence of split subjects.
Political engagement involves activists around the country, from cities and villages. They depict and stress their political participation via social grievances especially related to work, working conditions and contracts of employment. Autonomous trade unions bring together members from varied backgrounds, breaking certain stereotypes related to religion, political ideology and gender associated with Muslim-majority countries
InfluĂȘncia do pensamento Lean e dos sistemas de informação na eficiĂȘncia dos portos de Angola
Na conjuntura da crise que atravessamos, a abordagem da simplificação dos serviços e para
maior eficiĂȘncia dos portos angolanos Ă© necessĂĄrio haver uma orientação baseada na integração da
comunicação entre portos para um desenvolvimento fundamentado nas especificidades e satisfação
de seus clientes. Para atingir esse objectivo urge fazer-se investimentos massivos para o
melhoramento cada vez maior no atendimento ao cliente. Os portos angolanos devem procurar
formas de maximizar os seus lucros investindo numa relação interactiva com o cliente para
proporcionar benefĂcios para ambas as partes. Essas relaçÔes devem ser duradouras e ter como pedra
angular um atendimento eficiente e de qualidade, pois um cliente satisfeito além de ser rentåvel é
um dos mais fortes meios de publicidade de um bom serviço prestado.
Este trabalho embora acadĂ©mico tem como preocupação analisar a influĂȘncia do pensamento
lean na melhoria da eficiĂȘncia dos portos, atravĂ©s da integração das informaçÔes que estĂŁo no imenso
conjunto de sistemas de tecnologias de informação (TI) utilizados em cada um dos portos em Angola.
Portanto, esse grande desafio Ă© de haver em cada porto soluçÔes e linguagens especĂficas. EntĂŁo, hĂĄ
toda a necessidade de fazer convergir tudo para uma linguagem Ășnica, pois, ao receber as
informaçÔes, a partir de um banco de dados, deve-se enviar esses dados às diversas autoridades
portuĂĄrias e seus intervenientes. Deve-se desenvolver o sistema de um porto para depois integrar
todos numa Ășnica central de dados. Esse enorme desafio de investigação passa na padronização dos
sistemas de TI de todos os portos em Angola, para fazer com que possam trocar informaçÔes entre si
e em tempo real. A aposta na tecnologia de informação é para aumentar a competitividade e a
eficiĂȘncia nos portos angolanos. Esse novo paradigma faz parte de acçÔes estratĂ©gicas para alavancar
o sector portuårio em Angola, tal como a desburocratização do sistema, a própria competitividade e
estimulo ao comércio exterior, porque quase a totalidade das exportaçÔes e importaçÔes passam
pelos portos, por isso deve-se assegurar a eficiĂȘncia desse sector que Ă© algo fundamental para o
comércio e desenvolvimento de Angola.In a context of crisis it is mandatory simplifying services and improving the efficiency of
Angolanâs ports supported on the integration of communication between ports for a better
development based on the specificities and satisfaction of its customers. In order to achieve this
goal, it is urgent to make massive investments for the improvement of customer service. Angolan
ports should seek ways to maximize their profits by investing in an interactive relationship with the
customer to provide benefits for both parties. These relationships should be of long time and having
as cornerstone an improvement of their efficiency and quality of customer service.
This work aims to analyse the influence of lean thinking on improving the efficiency of ports
by integrating the information contained in the vast set of information technology (IT) systems used
in each of the ports in Angola. Therefore, this great challenge is to have in each port solutions and
specific languages. So, it is mandatory to make everything converge to a single language, because,
when receiving the information, from a database, this data should be sent to the various port
authorities and their stakeholders. The system of a port must be developed and then integrated into
a single data center. This huge research challenge is to standardize the IT systems of all the ports in
Angola, so that they can exchange information among themselves and in real time. The focus on
information technology is to increase competitiveness and efficiency in Angolan ports. This new
paradigm is part of strategic actions to leverage the port sector in Angola, such as the
bureaucratization of the system, competitiveness itself and stimulation of foreign trade, because
almost all exports and imports pass through ports, so it is necessary to ensure the efficiency of this
sector, which is fundamental to Angola's trade and development
Parenting styles and their impact on childrenâs academic self-concept, behavioural problems and executive functions
Parental styles have a significant impact on childrenâs developmental outcomes. It could be argued that negative parenting characteristics, including strictness, neglect, control, punishment, and lack of support potentially impact child academic self-concept, behavioural problems as well as childâs cognitive abilities. The current thesis examines this question in Kurdish primary school children.
This thesis comprises 6 chapters: Chapter 1 and 2 consist of an introduction and literature review about the topic. Chapter 3 reports study 1 which examines parenting styles and their relationship with academic self-concept and behavioural problems. This chapter also considers whether academic self-concept serves as a mediator in the relationship between parenting styles and behavioural problems. In support of previous studies, results indicate a vital role of parenting styles on childrenâs academic self-concept and behavioural problems among Kurdish children. The results also indicate that academic self-concept serves as a significant mediator in the relationship between parenting styles with prosocial behaviour and internalising problems.
Chapter 4 reports study 2, which is an intervention study. This study tests the impact of Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) programme to improve parenting styles and decrease parental stress. After three months a follow-up study was carried out in order to examine the effectiveness of the STEP programme. It was found that the intervention was effective in promoting parenting styles and reducing the level of parental stress in Kurdish mothers. The follow-up study showed that the changes were sustained over a three months period. However, contrary to expectation, no significant statistical differences were found in academic self-concept and behavioural problems between children whose mothers attended STEP and others whose mothers did not attend.
Chapter 5 reports study 3 in which the individual differences in executive functions based on the parental monitoring and hyperactivity expressed by children was investigated. Additionally, a moderating role of parental monitoring in the relationship between childrenâs executive function and hyperactivity was performed in this study. Results indicated that children subjected to poor parental monitoring and showing a high level of hyperactivity had difficulties in inhibitory control, accuracy, processing speed and task persistence compared with the matched sample. PROCESS analysis indicated a significant moderating role of parental monitoring in the association between accuracy, verbal inhibition and task persistence with hyperactivity.
The last chapter, Chapter 6, summarizes the findings of the empirical studies and provides the discussion, conclusion, limitations, implications and suggestions for future research
La CittĂ Altra: Storia e immagine della diversitĂ urbana: luoghi e paesaggi dei privilegi e del benessere, dellâisolamento, del disagio, della multiculturalitĂ
[English]: This volume proposes a rich corpus of papers about the âOther Cityâ, a subject only few times dealt with, but worthy of all our attention: it imposes itself on the scene of international modern and contemporary historiography for its undeniable topicality. Throughout history, the city has always had to deal with social âothernessâ, i.e. with class privileges and, consequently, with discrimination and marginalization of minorities, of the less well-off, of foreigners, in short, with the differences in status, culture, religion. So that the urban fabric has ended up structuring itself also in function of those inequalities, as well as of the strategic places for the exercise of power, of the political, military or social control, of the spaces for imprisonment, for the sanitary isolation or for the âtemporaryâ remedy to the catastrophes. From the first portraits of cities, made and diffused at the beginning of the fifteenth century for political exaltation purposes or for religious propaganda and for devotional purposes, which often, through increasingly refined graphic techniques, distort or even deny the true urban image, we reach, at the dawn of contemporary history, the new meaning given by scientific topography and new methods of representation; these latter aimed at revealing the structure and the urban landscape in their objectivity, often unexpected for who had known the city through the filter of âregimeâ iconography. The representation of the urban image still shows the contradictions of a community that sometimes includes and even exalts the diversities, other times rejects them, showing the unease of a difficult integration / [Italiano]: Questo volume propone un ricco corpus di contributi sulla âCittĂ Altraâ, un tema sinora poco battuto ma degno di tutta la nostra attenzione, che sâimpone sulla scena della storiografia internazionale, moderna e contemporanea, per la sua innegabile attualitĂ . Nel corso della storia, la cittĂ ha dovuto sempre fare i conti con le âalteritĂ â sociali, ossia con i privilegi di classe e, conseguentemente, con la discriminazione e lâemarginazione delle minoranze, dei meno abbienti, degli stranieri, insomma con le diversitĂ di status, di cultura, di religione. SicchĂ© il tessuto urbano ha finito per strutturarsi anche in funzione di quelle diseguaglianze, oltre che dei luoghi strategici per lâesercizio del potere, del controllo politico, militare o sociale, degli spazi per la reclusione, per lâisolamento sanitario o per il rimedio âtemporaneoâ alle catastrofi. Dai primi ritratti di cittĂ elaborati e diffusi sul principio del Quattrocento per fini di esaltazione politica o per la propaganda religiosa e per scopi devozionali, che spesso, attraverso tecniche grafiche sempre piĂč raffinate, falsano o addirittura negano la vera immagine urbana, si giunge, allâalba della storia contemporanea, al nuovo significato dato dalla topografia scientifica e dai nuovi metodi di rappresentazione, atti a svelare la struttura e il paesaggio urbano nella loro oggettivitĂ , spesso cruda e inaspettata per quanti, prima di allora, avessero conosciuto la cittĂ attraverso il filtro dellâiconografia âdi regimeâ. La rappresentazione dellâimmagine urbana mostra ancora oggi le contraddizioni di una comunitĂ che a volte include, e persino esalta, le diversitĂ , altre volte le respinge, tradendo il malessere di una difficile integrazione
Natural Disasters and the Crusades: Framing Earthquakes in Historical Narratives, 1095-1170
This thesis explores perceptions of earthquake causality in the accounts of twelfth-century Syria and the ways that medieval views of natural disasters influenced historical writing. Examining the perceived causes, effects, and significance of cataclysmic seismic events provides insight into shared elements of faith perspectives, the role of nature in medieval worldviews, and how chroniclers framed accounts of natural disasters to reflect their religious and political prejudices. Medieval writers believed that natural phenomena were indicative of important world events and imbued with spiritual significance. Chroniclers perceived earthquakes as omens of future disaster or the apocalypse, and associated them with a need for repentance due to their belief that seismic disasters were divine punishment for moral failings. In addition, Christian and Muslim sources utilized these perceptions on divine causality to criticize the failings of political leaders and rival religious communities. These patterns of portrayal possess great significance in the context of the major conflicts and cultural convergences in the twelfth-century Near East.
In addition to the theological perspectives and political criticism present in the sources, terrestrial and astrological explanations for earthquakes were prevalent in the twelfth century and often used to complement, not disprove, perceptions of divine causation. Apocalyptic sentiment and crusading spirituality also influenced portrayals of earthquakes, particularly in the Christian sources. These intellectual patterns are evident in earthquake accounts from the period irrespective of religious and cultural differences, but were firmly grounded in the political realities of the Levant during the Crusades. The sourcesâ methods of portraying seismic disasters, therefore, provide important insight into the worldviews of medieval chroniclers and the broad effects of earthquakes amidst the complex dynamics of twelfth-century Syria