Sense-making, Agency, and Globalization: Local Representations of Development Encounters in Nicaragua

In recent years language and globalization has emerged as an important topic of study in linguistics and linguistic anthropology (Blommaert 2010, Coupland 2011, Fairclough 2006. Scholars have considered the macro-level effects of globalization through the lenses of language and materiality (Heller 2010) and political economy (Shankar and Cavanaugh 2012), as well as the function of individual agency within larger structures of globalization (Alim et al. 2008, Canagarajah 2013). Building on such work, the current paper examines Nicaraguan community members’ agentive participation within the structural constraints of globalizing encounters. Data are drawn from everyday interactions and interviews recorded in the course of ethnographic research on NGO-community relationships in central Nicaragua. I analyze locals’ discursive representation of development encounters as either moments of agentive acceptance of, or resistance to, globalizing processes. Drawing on a linguistic-anthropological approach to agency (Ahearn 2001, Duranti 2004), I examine the use of linguistic resources such as tense shifts, generic pronouns, and stance-taking to construct the NGO-community relationship as one that either affects the norms and practices of the inhabitants, therefore facilitating greater connectivity between the local and international communities, or one that provides solely material benefits, therefore limiting such connectivity and restricting development encounters to the transfer of material goods. Ultimately, I argue that while structural forces create globalizing interactions and constrain the frames within which community members can represent development encounters, individuals agentively participate in or resist globalization through interpreting their own roles in the interactions as well as the role of NGOs in the community

Identification and Modelling of Religious Tourism Supply Chain Enablers in Post-Covid Era Using ISM

Post-Covid-19 pandemic, the supply chains of all the trades faced a setback, but the tourism sector faced an extended jolt of this disaster. Religious tourism, which has been adding a sizeable revenue to Indian GDP, came to a downfall. This manuscript aims to identify and model the enablers of the religious tourism supply chain for reviving the economy in the post-Covid era. The research paper elucidates that post-shock of Covid-19, understanding religious tourism enablers will provide opportunities to all the stakeholders of this chain. Eleven enablers for the religious tourism supply chain were identified. The modelling of these enablers using ISM (Interpretive Structural Modelling), provides insight into their hierarchy and interdependence upon each other. The ISM model also illustrates that the enabler Pilgrims belief and value, a mandatory obligation is the most crucial enabler and influence all other enablers. Religious tourism supply chain stakeholders can employ this model to formulate strategies to overcome the post-pandemic challenges. Subsequently focusing upon the key enablers essential in reviving the tourism sector economy.

Qualitative Fault Detection and Hazard Analysis Based on Signed Directed Graphs for Large-Scale Complex Systems

Nowadays in modern industries, the scale and complexity of process systems are increased continuously. These systems are subject to low productivity, system faults or even hazards because of various conditions such as mis-operation, equipment quality change, externa

Towards a theory of automated elliptic mesh generation

The theory of elliptic mesh generation is reviewed and the fundamental problem of constructing computational space is discussed. It is argued that the construction of computational space is an NP-Complete problem and therefore requires a nonstandard approach for its solution. This leads to the development of graph-theoretic, combinatorial optimization and integer programming algorithms. Methods for the construction of two dimensional computational space are presented

An approach for analysing supply chain complexity drivers through interpretive structural modelling

Today’s greater product variety, shorter product life cycle, and lower production costs are pushing companies to look beyond their own boundaries, thereby, creating complexity in the management of the supply chain. To manage such complexity, it is imperative that the management understand the associated complexity drivers and their interrelationships. This study identified twenty-three drivers responsible for supply chain complexity and classified them by using various criteria. In addition, the study presents a structural model using interpretive structural modelling (ISM) methodology to understand the inter-relationships between one driver to another. The research findings showed that drivers such as customer need, competitor action, and government regulation are beyond the control of supply chain partners, and have found the highest dominance with respect to supply chain complexity. Conversely, drivers related to tactical issues such as production planning and control, logistics and transportation, forecasting error, and marketing and sales are found to be the dependent drivers. Remaining drivers, such as company culture, number of suppliers, product variety, and organizational structure fall between the former two classifications. These drivers are related to strategic issues and require action from the upper level of the management hierarchy.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Dynamics over Signed Networks

A signed network is a network with each link associated with a positive or negative sign. Models for nodes interacting over such signed networks, where two different types of interactions take place along the positive and negative links, respectively, arise from various biological, social, political, and economic systems. As modifications to the conventional DeGroot dynamics for positive links, two basic types of negative interactions along negative links, namely the opposing rule and the repelling rule, have been proposed and studied in the literature. This paper reviews a few fundamental convergence results for such dynamics over deterministic or random signed networks under a unified algebraic-graphical method. We show that a systematic tool of studying node state evolution over signed networks can be obtained utilizing generalized Perron-Frobenius theory, graph theory, and elementary algebraic recursions.Comment: In press, SIAM Revie

Benchmarking the Interactions among Challenges for Blockchain Technology Adoption:A Circular Economy Perspective

The chances of food contamination and spoilage get enhanced as it passes through various stages, and prudent consumers often need transparency on the origin of food products, their production and processing facilities utilized. Blockchain, an emerging digital technology, offers food traceability solutions to consumers and supply chain partners. But presently, blockchain adoption in Indian supply chains is in the nascent stages. The present study identified the challenges of adopting blockchain technology in Indian food supply chains and modelled them using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM). As per the ISM, the ‘regulatory structure’ and ‘lack of realised need’ emerged as the most significant driving forces that impact other challenges, viz. ‘privacy breach issues’, ‘high costs’, ‘lack of skills’, ‘lack of technology’, ‘lack of trust’ and ‘lack of infrastructure’. These challenges have an impact on the ‘scalability problem’. The paper underlines the significance of enabling regulatory structure, improved information and communication technologies infrastructure, and convincing the supply chain stakeholders to use blockchain technology to resolve the underlying challenges and achieve its adoption and scalability in the Indian food industry.<br/