172 research outputs found

    Conflicting Visions: Political Struggle Over Urban Space in Lawrence Heights

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    This dissertation is a case-study of a public housing district in North York, Toronto known as Lawrence Heights, a so-called “priority neighborhood” undergoing the largest “urban revitalization” project in Canada. Typically, a revitalization is formed through a public-private partnership between a government and private developers, which together direct the razing of a disinvested area, followed by the building of new residential developments, commercial businesses, and public amenities in its place. It happens that government officials, planners, architects, and developers are employing enormous resources towards a revitalization project unfolding in the context of late neoliberalism (as a once revolutionary paradigm) undergoing fracturing since the crisis of 2008. In this situation, however, people continue struggling against, and are actively resisting, the long-standing and increasingly visible consequences of neoliberalism as a market-driven de-democratizing force that has leveled social service provision while also driving up living costs. The research uncovers forms of political conflict that have arisen during the Lawrence Heights revitalization. In so doing, I map out a chronological narrative detailing the past and present of this district as it continues transforming. To this end, I address the following questions: What do ongoing relations between interested parties involved in remaking Lawrence Heights tell us about the capacity for late neoliberalism to absorb and modify the multiple visions put forward for the neighbourhood’s future that align with its principles? What political outcomes arise in the deliberations over the use and distribution of resources associated with the revitalization? How do these interactions in this localized case study fit into larger struggles between different groups to leverage the state to institute certain policies in an environment where neoliberalism’s negative impacts on poorer communities have fueled energetic counter-pressures? Borrowing from Gramscian thought, this dissertation argues that the early stages of the Lawrence Heights revitalization suggests the potential unfolding of a localized passive revolution with grassroots anti-systemic organizers seizing meaningful levels of control over the direction of revitalization planning, as evidenced by their securement of resources for resident-led programs, employment opportunities, and decision making power, while struggling against the prevailing limits and power enforced by neoliberal policy regimes

    Decolonising Transculturally via JosĂ© Rizal’s Life & Legacy as Motif

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    While JosĂ© Rizal was not a separatist, he prompted the development for the Philippine Revolution from colonial Spain. His life and legacy are motifs for a movement away from colonial mentalities, which are evidenced in his writings, particularly his novels. This thesis encourages decolonisation as a praxis, by advocating plurilingualism and plurilingual literatures. By juxtaposing Rizal’s life and legacy with theories from (decolonial) thinkers, we may look for a decolonised future beyond nation-ness, nationalism, and sovereignty to create a personal and collective consciousness through enlightenment and empathy—a pluriversal humanity where love is the main cause; the heart as the forerunner for a mental revolution. We engage with creative resistance for plurality from Mikhail Bakhtin and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s ‘polyphony’ or ‘dialogism’ then delve into Jacques Derrida’s ‘Deconstruction of Language’ and his critiques on Emmanuel Levinas; Édouard Glissant’s Poetics of Relation then NgĆ©gÄ© wa Thiong'o ‘Politics of Language’, in effect inverting canonical comprehensions of colonialism to reinscribe the linguistically, culturally and discursively marginalised. Imagining the nation as an evolving community of language and culture, this thesis moves normative colonial Western hegemony that occupies the front and centre of thinking and practise through local self-determination while emphasising global decoloniality. This may be achieved primarily through linguistic and transcultural transformation and translation, i.e., plurilingualism. Going beyond our hegemonic monolingual ideologies refracts our consciousness by dislodging the sense of entitlement held by dominant groups and languages. This thesis and poetry collections help through enlightenment of Rizal’s polyglot consciousness—his life and legacy, and draws attention for Australians and regions of the world that remain oppressed where colonial subjugation are radically undermining ways of being, thinking, and relating

    Changing Priorities. 3rd VIBRArch

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    In order to warrant a good present and future for people around the planet and to safe the care of the planet itself, research in architecture has to release all its potential. Therefore, the aims of the 3rd Valencia International Biennial of Research in Architecture are: - To focus on the most relevant needs of humanity and the planet and what architectural research can do for solving them. - To assess the evolution of architectural research in traditionally matters of interest and the current state of these popular and widespread topics. - To deepen in the current state and findings of architectural research on subjects akin to post-capitalism and frequently related to equal opportunities and the universal right to personal development and happiness. - To showcase all kinds of research related to the new and holistic concept of sustainability and to climate emergency. - To place in the spotlight those ongoing works or available proposals developed by architectural researchers in order to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. - To underline the capacity of architectural research to develop resiliency and abilities to adapt itself to changing priorities. - To highlight architecture's multidisciplinarity as a melting pot of multiple approaches, points of view and expertise. - To open new perspectives for architectural research by promoting the development of multidisciplinary and inter-university networks and research groups. For all that, the 3rd Valencia International Biennial of Research in Architecture is open not only to architects, but also for any academic, practitioner, professional or student with a determination to develop research in architecture or neighboring fields.Cabrera Fausto, I. (2023). Changing Priorities. 3rd VIBRArch. Editorial Universitat PolitĂšcnica de ValĂšncia. https://doi.org/10.4995/VIBRArch2022.2022.1686

    ATHENA Research Book, Volume 2

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    ATHENA European University is an association of nine higher education institutions with the mission of promoting excellence in research and innovation by enabling international cooperation. The acronym ATHENA stands for Association of Advanced Technologies in Higher Education. Partner institutions are from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovenia: University of OrlĂ©ans, University of Siegen, Hellenic Mediterranean University, NiccolĂČ Cusano University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Polytechnic Institute of Porto and University of Maribor. In 2022, two institutions joined the alliance: the Maria Curie-SkƂodowska University from Poland and the University of Vigo from Spain. Also in 2022, an institution from Austria joined the alliance as an associate member: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences. This research book presents a selection of the research activities of ATHENA University's partners. It contains an overview of the research activities of individual members, a selection of the most important bibliographic works of members, peer-reviewed student theses, a descriptive list of ATHENA lectures and reports from individual working sections of the ATHENA project. The ATHENA Research Book provides a platform that encourages collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects by advanced and early career researchers

    Metaphors of London fog, smoke and mist in Victorian and Edwardian Art and Literature

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    Julian Wolfreys has argued that after 1850 writers employed stock images of the city without allowing them to transform their texts. This thesis argues, on the contrary, that metaphorical uses of London fog were complex and subtle during the Victorian and Edwardian periods, at least until 1914. Fog represented, in particular, formlessness and the dissolution of boundaries. Examining the idea of fog in literature, verse, newspaper accounts and journal articles, as well as in the visual arts, as part of a common discourse about London and the state of its inhabitants, this thesis charts how the metaphorical appropriation of this idea changed over time. Four of Dickens's novels are used to track his use of fog as part of a discourse of the natural and unnatural in individual and society, identifying it with London in progressively more negative terms. Visual representations of fog by Constable, Turner, Whistler, Monet, Markino, O'Connor, Roberts and Wyllie and Coburn showed an increasing readiness to engage with this discourse. Social tensions in the city in the 1880s were articulated in art as well as in fiction. Authors like Hay and Barr showed the destruction of London by its fog because of its inhabitants' supposed degeneracy. As the social threat receded, apocalyptic scenarios gave way to a more optimistic view in the work of Owen and others. Henry James used fog as a metaphorical representation of the boundaries of gendered behaviour in public, and the problems faced by women who crossed them. The dissertation also examines fog and individual transgression, in novels and short stories by Lowndes, Stevenson, Conan Doyle and Joseph Conrad. After 1914, fog was no more than a crude signifier of Victorian London in literature, film and, later, television, deployed as a cliche instead of the subtle metaphorical idea discussed in this thesis

    Homeland Fascism

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    "It can't happen here." This has been the prevailing sentiment about the possible emergence of fascism in the United States since the rise of international fascism in the 1930s. Yet there are signs that it may already be happening, and at the highest levels of government... In their copiously researched and documented work the Schwendingers outline the structural transformations, policies, and practices that raise the prospect of fascist governance in the 21st Century US. They show that a homeland fascism has significant supports within the framework of American liberal democracy. This is an important analysis in a context in which concerns about fascist demagoguery and far right mobilization appear to be growing in the US and beyond

    Rural Health

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    Rural health is the study of healthcare systems in rural settings. This book presents a comprehensive overview of rural health care and addresses such topics as human resources, maternal mortality in developing countries, safety of healthcare workers, zoonotic and veterinary diseases, and much more. Chapters include case studies and research in the field of rural health

    Turning Japanese: Japanization Anxiety, Japan-Bashing, and Reactionary White American Heteropatriarchy in Reagan-Bush Era Hollywood Cinema

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    Envisioned as a contribution to American Studies or, as it is now so often termed, American Cultural Studies, this dissertation examines how popular Hollywood films of the Reagan-Bush era registered prominent US anxieties about Japans then burgeoning economic empowerment and the shifting cultural currents of a globalizing and socioeconomically transforming America. Focusing specifically on the films Gung Ho (dir. Ron Howard, 1986), Die Hard (dir. John McTiernan, 1988), Black Rain (dir. Ridley Scott, 1989), Mr. Baseball (dir. Fred Schepisi, 1992), and Rising Sun (dir. Philip Kaufman, 1993), I explore how these films articulated Japan-bashing practices and Japanization anxieties of the era in alignment with reactionary white heteropatriarchal backlash politics, which surged as white men found their socioeconomic hegemony and privilege challenged by globalization, affirmative action, and the rise of the professional career woman. Arguing that these films constitute rich cultural-historical repositories of a pivotal period in American history, I demonstrate how they registered reactionary white heteronormative fears of being Japanized via emasculating succumbence to economic conquest, thereby yielding fecund insights into the psychosocial zeitgeist of a reactionary Reagan-Bush era that continues to resonate with us today. Inspired by the theoretical methodologies of neo-Gramscianism and neo-Orientalism, my dissertation is ultimately best defined as a work of American cultural history that is oriented towards an overarching cultural political economy approach

    Work and Climate Change Report 2011-2021 (PDF)

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    This PDF copy of the WCCR website is one long textual document containing every post from the website's 10-year existence (September 2011 - December 2021). It is captured in this way to allow for text-searching and retrieval of relevant posts

    Exploring the data needs and sources for severe weather impact forecasts and warnings : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Emergency Management at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

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    Figures 2.4 & 2.5 are re-used with permission.The journal articles in Appendices J, L & M are republished under respective Creative Commons licenses. Appendix K has been removed from the thesis until 1 July 2022 in accordance with the American Meteorological Society Copyright Policy, but is available open access at https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-21-0093.1Early warning systems offer an essential, timely, and cost-effective approach for mitigating the impacts of severe weather hazards. Yet, notable historic severe weather events have exposed major communication gaps between warning services and target audiences, resulting in widespread losses. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has proposed Impact Forecasts and Warnings (IFW) to address these communication gaps by bringing in knowledge of exposure, vulnerability, and impacts; thus, leading to warnings that may better align with the position, needs, and capabilities of target audiences. A gap was identified in the literature around implementing IFWs: that of accessing the required knowledge and data around impacts, vulnerability, and exposure. This research aims to address this gap by exploring the data needs of IFWs and identifying existing and potential data sources to support those needs. Using Grounded Theory (GT), 39 interviews were conducted with users and creators of hazard, impact, vulnerability, and exposure (HIVE) data within and outside of Aotearoa New Zealand. Additionally, three virtual workshops provided triangulation with practitioners. In total, 59 people participated in this research. Resulting qualitative data were analysed using GT coding techniques, memo-writing, and diagramming. Findings indicate a growing need for gathering and using impact, vulnerability, and exposure data for IFWs. New insight highlights a growing need to model and warn for social and health impacts. Findings further show that plenty of sources for HIVE data are collected for emergency response and other uses with relevant application to IFWs. Partnerships and collaboration lie at the heart of using HIVE data both for IFWs and for disaster risk reduction. This thesis contributes to the global understanding of how hydrometeorological and emergency management services can implement IFWs, by advancing the discussion around implementing IFWs as per the WMO’s guidelines, and around building up disaster risk data in accordance with the Sendai Framework Priorities. An important outcome of this research is the provision of a pathway for stakeholders to identify data sources and partnerships required for implementing a hydrometeorological IFW system
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