Gendering the City, Gendering the Nation: Contesting Urban Space in Fes, Morocco

An actor-centered approach to the gendering of urban spaces demonstrates how individuals respond to competing ideologies in determining the rules that surround women’s presence in urban, Muslim spaces. This article examines how women in the Ville Nouvelle of Fes, Morocco draw on local conceptualizations of hospitality, kinship, and shame as they debate the gendering of four urban areas: the street, the café, a cosmopolitan exercise club, and cyber space. Women’s tactics for occupying social space indicate the resilience of local culture in the face of ideologies that attempt to posit a specific vision of women in the Moroccan nation state

Engendering Knowledge in Organisations. Negotiating Development in Local and Translocal Social Spaces

"The paper looks at sites of production and negotiation of development knowledge which constitute translocal spaces and interfaces within organisations and their environment. Taking a gender approach, it assumes that there is a gendered structure of knowledge and that organisations are gendered with regard to conceptualisations and policies. Other dimensions of analysis are that of 'women in organisations' (as actors and members), as well as typical interfaces between different levels of organisations and their environment, i.e. clients and social reality of everyday life. The (global) knowledge society is discussed with regard to its gendered organisation and the issue of legitimate carriers and vertical coherence of social knowledge is addressed, looking at NGOs as knowledge producers which are supposed to contribute valid gender knowledge. The bureaucratic management of knowledge in organisations is studied as leading to technocratic, authoritarian modes, excluding gender knowledge and rendering accumulation of experience and learning impossible. The analysis is based on the study of the 'development world' especially in and regarding (West) Africa. In particular, development of local communities and decentralisation (especially referring to the case of Senegal) shows how female spaces are dwindling. No interfaces exist where women's livelihood-oriented and crosscutting knowledge and experience could be brought into the new formal political structures. There is a process of increasing informalisation of organisations of women, providing room to manoeuvre on the one hand, but also exclusion and marginalisation on the other. Men mainly organise themselves in formal groups, women usually in informal ones, thus diminishing their access to formal institutions and also the production of knowledge from their side - such as alternative modes of accumulation between men in the formal and women in the informal sectors. This hinders the upgrading and (resulting) lack of promotion of gendered forms of social cohesion and security. However, global networking and knowledge production are taking place not only in women's organisations and movements, but also in migration and other translocal spaces, with the internet possibly contributing to more horizontal exchange and enabling diversity." (author's abstract

Performative identity and the embodied avatar : an online ethnography of Final Fantasy XIV

This thesis explores the performative enactment of identity and embodiment through an online ethnography of the online game Final Fantasy XIV. It is argued that online identity must be viewed as performative, that is, enacted through speech and action, and embodied via the avatar, which acts as a body project for the player. The avatar identity is also constrained by the notion of authentic identity, which denotes how a single body is expected to hold a single identity. The thesis makes contributions to three areas. Firstly, in substantive terms, the thesis contributes original sociological knowledge of online social interaction, drawn from an online game and its related spaces, which remain under-researched sociologically. Secondly, the thesis makes a theoretical contribution through a theoretical framing of how online, embodied identity is achieved in an online game in a performative fashion, which is centred on the body of the avatar, coupled with the speech and actions of the player. Finally, the thesis also offers a methodological contribution through its original use of photo elicitation in online interviews, and furthers the debates around (online) ethnography. An 11 month programme of fieldwork was undertaken, comprising 36 asynchronous, image elicitation interviews, extensive participant observation of the game over the 11 months, and observation of the official forum lasting nearly six months. The thesis concludes that online identity and embodiment in these spaces are heavily constrained by norms drawn from everyday life, such as heteronormativity, and racism. The game design is also influenced by the developers‟ norms and values, such as the avatar appearance. The possibilities for performative identity and embodiment are severely constrained by the community, who reify the game space as separate from “real” life and reject the inclusion of non-normative avatars

We, the City

Given their unchecked neoliberal restructuring, Berlin and Istanbul have been exposed to various forms of political polarisation and social injustice over the last decade. As a result, the struggle for affordable housing, access to public space, fair working conditions, ecological justice and the right to different ways of life has intensified. Various forms of resistance "from below" have challenged the relationship between local governments and social movements, questioning where and how the city's political problems arise. In a mixture of dialogues, essays and critical reflections, this book explores the ways in which residents of Berlin and Istanbul experience, express and resist the physical, political and normative reorganisation of their cities. It poses the question: Who is the We in We, the City

Gendering migratory social spaces in Upper Egypt

Male out migration especially to Gulf countries is a well-established phenomenon in Upper Egypt. It is considered the easy way out of poverty and unemployment. Moreover, remittances represent the only monetary source for most migratory families. This thesis explores the impact of male out migration on their community of origin with a special focus on its impact on women. Fieldwork has been conducted in the village of Hekma, Qena, Upper Egypt where everything is influenced by the absence of men. A gendered approach is utilized to understand the everyday life of this community. This thesis consists of three main parts. The first part investigates how the social space is influenced by the absence of men. The second part explores remittances as a process and its role in the economic life with special attention to the role of women in this process. In addition, it discusses women’s empowerment from the understanding of Hekma women. The third part investigates the impact of remittances on consumption at the household level, as well as the difference between remittance receiving and non-receiving households. This thesis contributes to the gender and migration discourse as it offers a new understanding of social space, remittances and consumption in an Upper Egyptian context

First-year higher education students’ acquisition of digital content creation literacies in discipline-specific settings

Digital knowledge production involves the processing and presentation of digital information and content through the implementation of digital literacy practices in technical, cognitive and social-emotional dimensions. As such, this thesis addresses the question: How and why do first-year higher education students acquire digital content creation literacies in a discipline-specific setting? Firstly, this thesis contributes to the conceptualisation of digital literacy as a social practice through theorizing the complex and evolving nature of digital literacy practices in disciplinary-specific contexts in higher education. Secondly, the thesis develops a theoretical explanation to how higher education students acquire digital content creation literacies within their discipline-specific settings. Drawing on the New Literacies Studies’ theoretical approach, first-year students’ digital literacy practices, in particular content creation literacies, are explored in relation to sociocultural factors, and enablers and contradictions influencing their practices in disciplinespecific settings. Additionally, Gee’s (2008) principles of literacy and Discourse acquisition inform the analysis of student acquisition of digital literacy practices. An adaptation of Ng’s (2015) digital literacy framework is applied as an analytical tool for categorising students’ digital literacy practices and is further complemented by Engeström's (2001) second generation Activity theory framework when analysing the students’ digital literacy practices involved in assignment writing (the digital literacy event). Using a case study design with a mixed methods approach, quantitative (a questionnaire) and qualitative (focus groups, interviews and student assignments) data is obtained from a total of 103 and 27 students respectively. A key finding of this thesis is that discipline-specific learning and assessment activities (LAAs) instantiate individual and collaborative digital content creation and also drive the desire for students’ acquisition of digital literacies for content creation. However, there are some ‘actual processes’ (Maxwell, 2012) that are not directly perceptible, such as student experience in using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), age, volition, gender, course culture, historicity of practice and student histories of learning with ICT that influence student digital content creation practices. By the same token, this thesis highlights the importance of students owning or having technology access at university as lack of access is a constraining factor for their engagement in their LAAs. The main contribution of this thesis is the finding that, when LAAs, which foster the acquisition of digital content-creation literacies are part of the curriculum, students can acquire the respective literacies through self-teaching, scaffolding from peers or senior students, trial and error, and engaging in practice within their disciplines, implying that there is no need for overt instruction as is the case of digital skills training isolated from the context of practice. The implication of this finding is that universities need to annually review firstyear students’ prior digital literacy skills and practices to inform the responsive adaptation of the LAAs. Additionally, universities require a deliberate strategy for collaboration between their academics, library staff, writing centre staff and professional development units on the integration of digital literacies for learning into the curriculum

LOCATIVE MEDIA, AUGMENTED REALITIES AND THE ORDINARY AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

This dissertation investigates the role of annotative locative media in mediating experiences of place. The overarching impetus motivating this research is the need to bring to bear the theoretical and substantive concerns of cultural landscape studies on the development of a methodological framework for interrogating the ways in which annotative locative media reconfigure experiences of urban landscapes. I take as my empirical cases i) Google Maps with its associated Street View and locational placemark interface, and ii) Layar, an augmented reality platform combining digital mapping and real-time locational augmentation. In the spirit of landscape studies’ longstanding and renewed interest in what may be termed “ordinary” residential landscapes, and reflecting the increasing imbrication of locative media technologies in everyday lives, the empirical research is based in Kenwick, a middleclass, urban residential neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky. Overall, I present an argument about the need to consider the digital, code (i.e. software), and specifically locative media, in the intellectual context of critical geographies in general and cultural landscape studies in particular

The Life and Afterlife of Gay Neighborhoods

This open access book examines the significance of gay neighborhoods (or ‘gayborhoods’) from critical periods of formation during the gay liberation and freedom movements of the 1960s and 1970s, to proven durability through the HIV/AIDS pandemic during the 1980s and 1990s, to a mature plateau since 2000. The book provides a framework for contemplating the future form and function of gay neighborhoods. Social and cultural shifts within gay neighborhoods are used as a framework for understanding the decades-long struggle for LGBTQ+ rights and equality. Resulting from gentrification, weakening social stigma, and enhanced rights for LGBTQ+ people, gay neighborhoods have recently become “less gay,” following a 50-year period of resilience. Meanwhile, other neighborhoods are becoming “more gay,” due to changing preferences of LGBTQ+ individuals and a propensity for LGBTQ+ families to form community in areas away from established gayborhoods. The current ‘plateau’ in the evolution of gay neighborhoods is characterized by generational differences—between Baby Boom pioneers and Millennials who favour broad inclusivity—signaling various possible trajectories for the future ‘afterlife’ of these important LGBTQ+ urban spaces. The complicating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic provides a point of comparison for lessons learned from gay neighborhoods and the LGBTQ+ community that bravely endured the onset of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This book will be of interest to students and scholars in various disciplines—including sociology, social work, anthropology, gender and sexuality, LGTBQ+ and queer studies, as well as urban geography, architecture, and city planning—and to policymakers and advocates concerned with LGBTQ+ rights and social justice

City, Retail and Consumption

[Italiano]: City, Retail and Consumption si concentra sul cambiamento degli spazi urbani attraverso la chiave interpretativa offerta dal commercio e dal consumo, tra processi di globalizzazione e radicamento nei contesti locali. Il libro è stato pubblicato nel 2015 come risultato del quarto seminario internazionale sui tre temi, realizzato all'Università di Napoli “L’Orientale” dal 14 al 17 ottobre 2013 grazie al contributo di geografi di vari paesi (Brasile, Francia, Italia, Portogallo e Spagna) e arricchito da contributi di specialisti (architetti, urbanisti, ingegneri, economisti) e stakeholders. Il volume raccoglie quasi cinquanta testi scritti dopo un fruttuoso dibattito non solo su teorie, approcci e metodi, ma anche sulle implicazioni pratiche della pianificazione urbana per i luoghi dello shopping e del consumo. I casi studio spaziano da San Paolo a Presidente Prudente, da Buenos Aires a Città del Messico ed ancora da Barcellona e Lleida a Lisbona, Parigi, Ankara, Copenhagen e molte città italiane. Attraverso diverse scale di analisi, gli autori hanno posto la loro attenzione su temi rilevanti per gli studi urbani: resilienza, sostenibilità, dialettica tra spazi pubblici e privati, impatto dell’e-commerce nelle aree urbane, gentrificazione residenziale e commerciale, neoliberismo e diritto alla città. /[English]: City, Retail and Consumption focuses on changing urban spaces through the interpretative key offered by retail and consumption, between globalization processes and the embeddedness in local contexts. The book was published in 2015 as the result of the fourth international seminar on the three issues, carried out at the University of Naples “L’Orientale” from 14 to 17 October 2013 thanks to the contribution of geographers from various countries (Brazil, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain) and enriched by contributions from specialists (architects, urban planners, engineers, economists) and stakeholders. The volume collects almost fifty texts written after a fruitful debate not only about theories, approaches and methods but also about the practical implications of the urban planning for shopping and consumption places. The case studies range from Sao Paulo to Presidente Prudente, from Buenos Aires to Mexico City and again from Barcelona and Lleida to Lisbon, Paris, Ankara, Copenhagen and many Italian cities. Through different scales of analysis, the contributors have indeed paid their attention on relevant issues to urban studies: resilience, sustainability, dialectic between public and private spaces, impact of e-commerce in urban areas, residential and retail gentrification, neoliberalism and the right to the city