69 research outputs found
Dialectics and difference: against Harvey's dialectical post-Marxism
David Harvey`s recent book, Justice, nature and the geography of difference (JNGD), engages with a central philosophical debate that continues to dominate human geography: the tension between the radical Marxist project of recent decades and the apparently disempowering relativism and `play of difference' of postmodern thought. In this book, Harvey continues to argue for a revised `post-Marxist' approach in human geography which remains based on Hegelian-Marxian principles of dialectical thought. This article develops a critique of that stance, drawing on the work of Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. I argue that dialectical thinking, as well as Harvey's version of `post-Marxism', has been undermined by the wide-ranging `post-' critique. I suggest that Harvey has failed to appreciate the full force of this critique and the implications it has for `post-Marxist' ontology and epistemology. I argue that `post-Marxism', along with much contemporary human geography, is constrained by an inflexible ontology which excessively prioritizes space in the theory produced, and which implements inflexible concepts. Instead, using the insights of several `post-' writers, I contend there is a need to develop an ontology of `context' leading to the production of `contextual theories'. Such theories utilize flexible concepts in a multilayered understanding of ontology and epistemology. I compare how an approach which produces a `contextual theory' might lead to more politically empowering theory than `post-Marxism' with reference to one of Harvey's case studies in JNGD
Connecting Social Provisioning and Functional Finance in a Post-Keynesian Institutional Analysis of the Public Sector
Technological elites, the meritocracy, and postracial myths in Silicon Valley
Entre as modernas elites tecnolĂłgicas digitais, os mitos da meritocracia e da façanha intelectual sĂŁo usados como marcadores de raça e gĂȘnero por uma supremacia branca masculina que consolida recursos de forma desproporcional em relação a pessoas nĂŁo brancas, principalmente negros, latinos e indĂgenas. Os investimentos em mitos meritocrĂĄticos suprimem os questionamentos de racismo e discriminação, mesmo quando os produtos das elites digitais sĂŁo infundidos com marcadores de raça, classe e gĂȘnero. As lutas histĂłricas por inclusĂŁo social, polĂtica e econĂŽmica de negros, mulheres e outras classes desprotegidas tĂȘm implicado no reconhecimento da exclusĂŁo sistĂȘmica, do trabalho forçado e da privação de direitos estruturais, alĂ©m de compromissos com polĂticas pĂșblicas dos EUA, como as açÔes afirmativas, que foram igualmente fundamentais para reformas polĂticas voltadas para participação e oportunidades econĂŽmicas. A ascensĂŁo da tecnocracia digital tem sido, em muitos aspectos, antitĂ©tica a esses esforços no sentido de reconhecer raça e gĂȘnero como fatores cruciais para inclusĂŁo e oportunidades tecnocrĂĄticas. Este artigo explora algumas das formas pelas quais os discursos das elites tecnocrĂĄticas do Vale do SilĂcio reforçam os investimentos no pĂłs racialismo como um pretexto para a re-consolidação do capital em oposição Ă s polĂticas pĂșblicas que prometem acabar com prĂĄticas discriminatĂłrias no mundo do trabalho. Por meio de uma anĂĄlise cuidadosa do surgimento de empresas de tecnologias digitais e de uma discussĂŁo sobre como as elites tecnolĂłgicas trabalham para mascarar tudo, como inscriçÔes algorĂtmicas e genĂ©ticas de raça incorporadas em seus produtos, mostramos como as elites digitais omitem a sua responsabilidade por suas reinscriçÔes pĂłs raciais de (in)visibilidades raciais. A partir do uso de anĂĄlise histĂłrica e crĂtica do discurso, o artigo revela como os mitos de uma meritocracia digital baseados em um âdaltonismo racialâ tecnocrĂĄtico emergem como chave para a manutenção de exclusĂ”es de gĂȘnero e raça.Palavras-chave: Tecnologia. Raça. GĂȘnero.Among modern digital technology elites, myths of meritocracy and intellectual prowess are used as racial and gender markers of white male supremacy that disproportionately consolidate resources away from people of color, particularly African Americans, Latino/as and Native Americans. Investments in meritocratic myths suppress interrogations of racism and discrimination even as the products of digital elites are infused with racial, class, and gender markers. Longstanding struggles for social, political, and economic inclusion for African Americans, women, and other legally protected classes have been predicated upon the recognition of systemic exclusion, forced labor, and structural disenfranchisement, and commitments to US public policies like affirmative action have, likewise, been fundamental to political reforms geared to economic opportunity and participation. The rise of the digital technocracy has, in many ways, been antithetical to these sustained efforts to recognize race and gender as salient factors structuring technocratic opportunity and inclusion. This paper explores some of the ways in which discourses of Silicon Valley technocratic elites bolster investments in post-racialism as a pretext for re-consolidations of capital, in opposition to public policy commitments to end discriminatory labor practices. Through a careful analysis of the rise of digital technology companies, and a discussion of how technology elites work to mask everything from algorithmic to genetic inscriptions of race embedded in their products, we show how digital elites elide responsibility for their post-racial re-inscriptions of racial visibilities (and invisibilities). Using historical and critical discourse analysis, the paper reveals how myths of a digital meritocracy premised on a technocratic colorblindness emerge key to perpetuating gender and racial exclusions.Keywords: Technology. Race. Gender
Numerical models of phosphate esters in the Chattahoochee River
Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-127).A numerical model was constructed to assess the magnitude of organophosphoric acid triester sinks in the Chattahoochee River and to identify concentration patterns downstream of point source discharges. The model was built using WASP5 and supporting software packages. The model simulated mass transport of tri-butyl phosphate, tri (2-butoxyethyl) phosphate, and tri (2-chloroethyl) phosphate within a reach of the river bounded by Buford Dam and Northern Atlanta. Several potential mechanisms for the removal of the phosphate esters from the water column were considered. These were biodegradation, sorption to settling solids, volatilization, and oxidation by free radicals. Of the three phosphate esters considered by the model, tri (2-chloroethyl) phosphate was predicted to be the most resistant to degradation by natural attenuation processes. Tri (2- butoxyethyl) phosphate showed the most potential for degradation in surface waters. Biodegradation and sorption to settling solids were predicted to be the most effective processes for the removal of tri (2-butoxyethyl) phosphate. Concentration patterns at several locations downstream of point source discharges were predicted for the three compounds. Concentration patterns were found to be affected by the diurnal flow variation caused by the operation of two hydroelectric dams within the modeled reach.by Samuel Fraad Haffey.M.Eng
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