Transition in place: dynamics, possibilities, and constraints

The Transition Movement is a translocal phenomenon circulated through transnational grassroots networks. This study explores the geographies of the Transition Movement with a theoretical framework that perceives it as both a social movement and a grassroots innovation. Participant-observation of Transition Salt Lake (TSL), located in the suburban metropolis of Salt Lake City, Utah, was conducted, as the United States remains a largely understudied country in regards to this particular movement. In this pursuit, we asked: (i) how and what this transition initiative draws from geographically extensive and intensive relations, (ii) how it combines place-specific elements and generalized models (embeddedness), and (iii) how this impacts the success of the transition initiative and how these impacts (positive or negative) are generated. Place, space, and scale played a large role in defining the nature, dynamics, possibilities, and constraints of this transition initiative. Specifically, geographically intensive and extensive relations were critical for the mobilization of complementary resources. The Transition model was found to be flexible, allowing for the initiative to adopt those elements that worked in place and to focus on locally relevant topics. TSL faced many challenges identified by previous researchers regarding finances, participation, diversity, and intragroup competition. While networking with other similar groups, TSL demonstrated that fertile environments of activism are incubatory pools for grassroots innovations and social movements, and a trade-off was found with competition for resources between local groups

“WAROENG SEMAWIS”: COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES FOR CULTURAL AREA CONSERVATION IN CHINATOWN SEMARANG

Semarang one northern Java coastal city has a large port as the gateway entrance of trading activity by its history. Great influence the field of trade affects the development of the city which also has a district characterized by ethnic landscape like Chinatown, Arab village, Indian village, Kauman village, but the ethnic majority today are ethnic Chinese. Beginning of the arrival of the Chinese in Semarang to trade, then they stay here. Almost every city in Indonesia has a Chinatown that serves as a center for economic and residential. As a component of urban unique, Chinatown has a unique potential in the aspect of urban, architectural, economic and socio-cultural activities are interrelated. Chinatowns as one part of the old village conservation Semarang had most of artifacts that reflect the history of past products include characteristics of economic activities, social and cultural communities still survive to this day. In the development of Chinatowns grow with unique characteristics as a regional trade (Chinese Bussiness District). In the area of Chinatown's social and cultural life of ethnic Chinese are still there, so it held a routine activity every Friday, Saturday and Sunday to preserve it. An arena of retail trade activities related products typical or identity Chinatown. These activities are in a public space that is the road that was partially closed to vehicles. The activity is called "Waroeng Semawis" (Semarang to Tourism), while the word 'Semawis' comes from the Javanese language to soften the word 'Semarang'. Activities "Waroeng Semawis" has been going on since 2005 until now is still lively. "Waroeng Semawis" has given characteristic of Semarang as one of the objects of cultural and culinary destinatio

In Search of a Singular I: A Structurational Analysis of Passing

It is easy to envision the socio-cultural phenomenon of passing as a relic of a bygone era, yet passing is markedly more. From a historical perspective, passing-as-white is a strategy of representation through which light-skinned, white-looking, legally non-white Americans attempt(ed) to reconcile two unreconciled ideals: their limited opportunities as non-white people in a segregated society with their idealized life goals as full American citizens (DuBois, 1903; Candy, 1998). Recent scholarship on the phenomenon explains that passing is more than a masquerade. Passing can be accidental, incidental, or a committed lifestyle that is noted: when people effectively present themselves as other than who they understand themselves to be...[and] when other people actually see or experience the identity that the passer is projecting, whether the passer is telegraphing that identity by intention or by chance (Kroger, 2003, p. 7-8)

Proximities and innovation : evidence from the Indian IT industry in Bangalore

Much has been written on the success of the Indian software industry, enumerating systemic factors like first-class higher education and research institutions, both public and private; low labour costs, stimulating (state) policies etc. However, although most studies analyzing the 'Indian' software industry cover essentially the South (and West) Indian clusters, this issue has not been tackled explicitly. This paper supplements the economic geography explanations mentioned above with the additional factor social capital, which is not only important within the region, but also in transnational (ethnic) networks linking Indian software clusters with the Silicon Valley. In other words, spatial proximity is complemented with cultural proximity, thereby, extending the system of innovation. The main hypothesis is that some Indian regions are more apt to economic development and innovation due to their higher affinity to education and learning, as well as, their more general openness, which has been a main finding of my interviews. In addition, the transnational networks of Silicon Valley Indians seem to be dominated by South Indians, thus, corroborating the regional clustering of the Indian software industry. JEL Classifications: O30, R12, Z13, L8

The global in the local. Unusual thoughts about immigration in Italy

The flow of immigrants from the South of the world is the sign of spatial and social imbalances of global dimensions, which involve the same most economically advanced regions. The Italian case offers the opportunity to understand the real extent of immigration phenomenon, as it has coincided with the spread of a meta-consumerist global culture, and because it retains the characteristics of a spontaneous phenomenon, still lacking, in many ways, of the filters of institutional regulation. After highlighting the connotations of the immigration phenomenon in Italy, this article offers a critical reading of glocal processes - to which immigration can be ascribed - in the wider debate about both the goals of environmental sustainability and the enhancement of cultural specificities, foreshadowing for Italy the opportunity to play a pioneering role in the redefinition of the global-local relationships

Project THANKS: A Socio-Ecological Framework For An Intervention Involving HIV Positive African American Women With Comorbidities

HIV-positive individuals are living longer today as a result of continuing advances in treatment but are also facing an increased risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes, and hypertension. These conditions result in a larger burden of hospitalization, outpatient, and emergency room visits. Impoverished African American women may represent an especially high-risk group due to disparities in health care, racial discrimination, and limited resources. This article describes an intervention that is based on the conceptual framework of the socio-ecological model. Project THANKS uses a community-based participatory, and empowerment building approach to target the unique personal, social, and environmental needs of African American women faced with the dual diagnosis of HIV and one or more chronic diseases. The long-term goal of this project is to identify features in the social and cultural milieu of these women that if integrated into existing harm reduction services can reduce poor health outcomes among them

Traditional Methods of Protecting the Infant and Child Illness/Disease Among the Wazigua at Mvomero Ward, Morogoro, Region, Tanzania

Even though child and infant protection against health problems using various methods is as old as mankind, there is limited literature on traditional methods used to protect infant and child in Tanzania. To collect and critical analyze traditional methods used to protect child and infant against health problems in rural settings. Qualitative methods for sampling and data collection on both traditional and conventional methods for protecting child and infant against health problems were used. A total of 203 children of whom 48.3% were females were observed when medical students were assessing infant/children nutritional status. Besides the children a total of 20 women aged 20-48 years; and five traditional health practitioners (THPs) who were purposeful sampled were interviewed. The findings showed two methods were used; and these were traditional/indigenous and conventional methods. The used traditional methods included oral and bathing remedies, abstaining when mother was breast feeding, use of “hirizi” (amulet) for illness believed to be caused by personalistic factors, and herbs for “degedge” (convulsion) and other infant illnesses. Whereas on conventional methods were child growth monitoring; and vaccination against killer diseases to infants and children. The two different methods (traditional and conventional methods) used for protection of the child were not competing; but complemented each other on health care. Parents/guardians and (THPs) were aware some health problems affecting infants and children could be protected by conventional medicine and some needed use of traditional remedies. The problem is hygiene of traditional remedies and proper dosage to infants and children. There is a need to examine critical the used herbal remedies on healthcare in laboratories. These herbal remedies might have some curative elements on health problems currently cannot be treated by conventional medicine

Diversities in Diversity: Exploring Moroccan Migrants’ Livelihood in Genoa

It is a largely accepted idea that complexity and recent global phenomena have generated a multi-layered diversification process in Western societies. Migration phenomena are largely responsible for this process both in receiving European societies as well as in original sending countries. Migration has been and continues to be a ubiquitous human experience. Yet, while this fact has aided the understanding of the world as something other than a mosaic of distinct cultural spaces with clearly demarcated borders, it has not decreased the incomprehension, fear and suspicion with which non–European migrants are often greeted within the industrialised cities of Europe. This article deals with one aspect of this process that seems to be quite underestimated in media, public opinion and academia. It is the idea that “ethnicity” can be approached, explored and investigated as a heterogeneous and multi-faced form of diversity itself. This is what can be defined as “diversities within diversity”. Departing from the presentation of an empirical research in Genoa it will be possible to analyse these phenomena at two different levels: namely, in terms of methods and methodology. By focusing on the idea of livelihood and employing an approach based on “Tracing” techniques, different ways of acting and being Moroccan migrants in Genoa will be revealed, presented and discussed. This method newly integrates both quantitative and qualitative information. It will allow us to analyse the experience of livelihood in a way that will reveal the simultaneous existence of many underlying different invisible and unconscious social constructions as well as visible concrete and conscious expressions of everyday life. Disclosing how the same people in the same local context produce different “adaptive” strategies and lifestyles will lead to outline a potential conceptual methodological framework of reference based on an open/close principle. In this case ideas of openness and closeness will be assumed in a dialectical double-faced process. It is not only a matter of how systems can be defined open or closed by themselves, but also how the encounter and interplay of many different systems – generation of diversity - establish the conditions and limits within which different individuals can reproduce their culture as social actors- production of diversities. After having discussed the methodological implications of this approach it will be possible to draw some final theoretical considerations. If we believe that new ways of investigating social phenomena are a determinant in the way we describe, analyze, explain and understand their complexity, we should recognize that not only theory might generate and define what we call social reality but also vice-versa. Approaching the world out there in new ways might result in rethinking and adjusting the conceptual taxonomies that drive social scholars in their search for gaining and catching social reality. This principle becomes crucial if we want social sciences to be heuristically oriented, in other words if we want to develop the capacity to hand back positive analytical readings and comparisons of social phenomena as well as useful recommendations for policy makers.Migration, Italy, Morocco, Methodology, Tracing, Open/close Model

Background paper on the international seafood trade and poverty

(121 p.

Proximities and Innovation Evidence from the Indian IT Industry in Bangalore

Much has been written on the success of the Indian software industry, enumerating systemic factors like first-class higher education and research institutions, both public and private; low labour costs, stimulating (state) policies etc. However, although most studies analysing the ‘Indian’ software industry cover essentially the South (and West) Indian clusters, this issue has not been tackled explicitly. This paper supplements the economic geography explanations mentioned above with the additional factor social capital, which is not only important within the region, but also in transnational (ethnic) networks linking Indian software clusters with the Silicon Valley. In other words, spatial proximity is complemented with cultural proximity thereby extending the system of innovation. The main hypothesis is that some Indian regions are more apt to economic development and innovation due to their higher affinity to education and learning as well as their more general openness, which has been a main finding of my interviews. In addition, the transnational networks of Silicon Valley Indians seem to be dominated by South Indians, thus corroborating the regional clustering of the Indian software industryProximities; India; Social Capital; Transnational networks.