Extractive processes, global production networks and inequalities

In the context of an increasing economic integration and the rising importance of the Global South regarding global trade and companies, scholarly debates that try to grasp the shape of this increasingly integrated global economy addressed global production networks. They have mostly focused on manufacturing and agricultural activities and to a lesser extent on services, whereas analysis on traditional extractive activities has been incorporated only recently. In this paper, I focus on the relevance of extractive processes for global production networks in a broader sense. I argue that these matter not only in terms of traditional extractive activities such as mining and hydrocarbons. Extractive processes matter for all production networks, because they all depend upon the extractive capture of nature. This focus points to struggles around nature appropriation, the co-constitution of social relations and the “natural” environment and processes of valuation. I then specifically sketch how inequalities in extractive production networks can be traced in terms of unequal labor division and power relations (specifically the hegemonic stability of production networks). Combining global production network analysis, regulation theory and extractivism analysis can furthermore reveal how these inequalities unfold in specific political economic contexts and across scale

Use of and attitudes towards new technologies of persons 50+ in Austria

A dynamic new field for health related technologies has emerged over the past decade. Many innovations aim at assisting elderly persons in monitoring and managing their personal health status. Other technologies support these persons in their activities of daily life, and make them feel safe and shepherded while still being able to live on their own. In times of ageing populations and stressed health care systems such technologies provide an interesting alternative to rather classic approaches in health and care services. New technologies become always more accessible to ordinary citizens. In many cases ownership of smartphones or tablets is sufficient for being able to participate in these benefits. But while smartphones and tablets are becoming ever cheaper and technically more sophisticated, attitudes of human beings towards new technologies only slowly change. One major problem is that many older individuals are eager to use new technologies and - especially for persons with disabilities - technologic innovations are becoming ever more relevant in their daily life; however due to age related changes in health and cognitive skills, these people are confronted with an invisible "technological barrier" (see Friesdorf et al., 2000; Czaja and Lee, 2007). This article aims to shed a first light on the mindset of persons 50+ in Austria towards new health and care technologies by looking at the relationship between gender, age, educational background, geographic living area and attitudes towards new technologie

The political geographies of D/decolonization: Variegation and decolonial challenges of /in geography

Anglophone and North Atlantic geography is enmeshed institutionally, epistemically and racially in colonial modern privilege, highlighting the urgent task of addressing its modes of theorization, interpretation, and research. Decolonizing analysis builds from postcolonial, critical, feminist and racism critiques, and problematizes accounts of knowledge, subjectivity and power. In pursuit of decolonizing knowledge production and addressing global inequalities, this paper enjoins political geography to more systematically engage with decolonial analysis, conceptualization and theory. Political geography has much to contribute to interdisciplinary decolonial scholarship through contextualized, grounded, multiscalar and granular analysis of socio-spatial relations. The paper examines the common ground and potential tensions between Anglophone political geographies and decolonial theory (῾decoloniality’), then examines the case of Ecuador's politics of plurinationalism to illustrate a decolonizing political geographical analysis. The case highlights how the variegated political geographies of decolonization arising within and against coloniality require from political geography a decolonial turn, which would entail divesting core political geography concepts of western norms, including plural epistemologies of space and power in analysis, and recalibrating knowledge production processes

Crescita Economica o Sviluppo Civile? Altre Vie per il Mezzogiorno.

For over 60 years conspicuous sums of money have been diverted to southern Italian regions. Nonetheless the positive effect of the so called extraordinary intervention has been limited. The south continues to be characterized by stagnant economies with high unemployment rates and rather low levels of income. Associated therewith are high rates of organized crime, poor public services and many social problems that make life difficult in the Mezzogiorno of Italy. So why did more than 60 years of special policies not lead to the desired outcome? This book is about analysing the economic situation of the Mezzogiorno of Italy on the basis of a comparative descriptive approach, which is later on extended to a sectoral analysis of the southern economy based on an input-output model elaborated by IRPET. This allows for analysis of exogenous growth options (trade) as well as endogenous ones. Special attention is furthermore drawn to the the logistics, that appears to offer significant potential for an economic revival of the southern regions. The characteristic of this book is that it focuses not only on economic issues, but proceeds to check for a link between the economic situation and social issues. Policies have so far been directed mainly to the economic environment. Recent literature has however increasingly focused on social matters that impede higher rates of economic growth. Not only human capital or crime matter, but especially political and institutional characteristics, that can be considered simple mirrors for the grade of civil development of the southern societies. Bureaucracy and the legal system figure amongst the principal culprits for the problematic situation of the Mezzogiorno. In the end civil issues can be considered at least as important for economic prosperity in southern Italy as strictly economic factors

E-Learning 2.0 in der gewerkschaftlichen Bildung

Vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit Kommunikation bei E-Learning in der Erwachsenenbildung. Der Schwerpunkt bezieht sich dabei auf die computervermittelte Kommunikation. Ziel ist die Darstellung, welchen Zweck computergestützte Kommunikation bei E-Learning erfüllen kann und/oder soll. Dazu ist auf einer allgemeinen Ebene zunächst der derzeitige Erkenntnisstand zu E-Learning und Neuen Medien (Web 2.0) theoretisch zusammengeführt und in einen Kontext gestellt. Hier spielt neben grundsätzlicher Überlegung und Analyse zur Entwicklung von Online-Kommunikation und E-Learning auch eine weiter gefasste Beziehungssetzung zu Lernparadigmen eine Rolle: Beim theoretischen Zugang ist die konstruktivistische Position dargestellt und fließt an mehreren Stellen in die Darstellungen mit ein. Auf einer zweiten – konkreten – Ebene ist anhand eines realen Beispiels das Kommunikationsverhalten in E-Learning Seminaren in der Erwachsenenbildung empirisch untersucht und dargestellt worden. Untersuchungsgegenstand ist das gewerkschaftliche E-Learning Bildungsangebot. Quintessenz dabei ist, dass eine relativ neue Form der didaktischen Vermittlung (E-Learning) nach einer adäquaten Anpassung im Lern- und Kommunikationsverhalten verlangt. Dies setzt allerdings eine Medienkompetenz voraus, welche bei der untersuchten Zielgruppe nur peripher zu beobachten ist. Als Endresümee wurde daraus gezogen, dass beim Einsatz von Kommunikationsmedien in E-Learning Architekturen auf die Fähigkeiten und Bedürfnisse der E-Lerner mehr Rücksicht genommen werden muss, damit E-Learning seitens der Teilnehmer als erfolgreiche Lernmethode empfunden wird

Crescita Economica o Sviluppo Civile? Altre Vie per il Mezzogiorno.

For over 60 years conspicuous sums of money have been diverted to southern Italian regions. Nonetheless the positive effect of the so called extraordinary intervention has been limited. The south continues to be characterized by stagnant economies with high unemployment rates and rather low levels of income. Associated therewith are high rates of organized crime, poor public services and many social problems that make life difficult in the Mezzogiorno of Italy. So why did more than 60 years of special policies not lead to the desired outcome? This book is about analysing the economic situation of the Mezzogiorno of Italy on the basis of a comparative descriptive approach, which is later on extended to a sectoral analysis of the southern economy based on an input-output model elaborated by IRPET. This allows for analysis of exogenous growth options (trade) as well as endogenous ones. Special attention is furthermore drawn to the the logistics, that appears to offer significant potential for an economic revival of the southern regions. The characteristic of this book is that it focuses not only on economic issues, but proceeds to check for a link between the economic situation and social issues. Policies have so far been directed mainly to the economic environment. Recent literature has however increasingly focused on social matters that impede higher rates of economic growth. Not only human capital or crime matter, but especially political and institutional characteristics, that can be considered simple mirrors for the grade of civil development of the southern societies. Bureaucracy and the legal system figure amongst the principal culprits for the problematic situation of the Mezzogiorno. In the end civil issues can be considered at least as important for economic prosperity in southern Italy as strictly economic factors

Whose Voice Counts? Diversity, Postcolonial Continuities and Participation in Plurinational Andean States

Book Review Essay Dilemmas of Difference. Indigenous Women and the Limits of Postcolonial Development Policy, by Sarah A. Radcliffe. Duke University Press, 2015.Demokratie und Dekolonisierung in Bolivien. Visionen und Praktiken jenseits des liberalen Paradigmas [Democracy and Decolonization in Bolivia. Visions and Practices beyond the liberal paradigm], by Tanja Ernst. 2015, https://kobra.bibliothek.uni-kassel.de/bitstream/urn:nbn:de:hebis:34-2015061648546/5/DissertationTanjaErnst.pdf.El horizonte plurinacional [The plurinational horizon], by Luis Tapia. Editorial Autodeterminación, 2015

Toward global citizenship? People (de)bordering their lives during COVID-19 in Latin America and Europe

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted global interdependencies, accompanied by widespread calls for worldwide cooperation against a virus that knows no borders, but responses were led largely separately by national governments. In this tension between aspiration and reality, people began to grapple with how their own lives were affected by the global nature of the pandemic. In this article, based on 493 qualitative interviews conducted between 2020 and 2021, we explore how people in Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Ecuador, Ireland, Italy and Mexico experienced, coped with and navigated the global nature of the pandemic. In dialogue with debates about the parameters of the ‘global’ in global health, we focus on what we call people's everyday (de)bordering practices to examine how they negotiated (dis)connections between ‘us’ and ‘them’ during the pandemic. Our interviewees’ reactions moved from national containment to an increasing focus on people's unequal socio-spatial situatedness. Eventually, they began to (de)border their lives beyond national lines of division and to describe a new normal: a growing awareness of global connectedness and a desire for global citizenship. This newfound sense of global interrelatedness could signal support for and encourage transnational political action in times of crises

CSO BROADBAND MOLECULAR LINE SURVEYS II: INTIAL CORRELATION ANALYSIS RESULTS FOR COMPLEX ORGANIC MOLECULES

Author Institution: Emory University, Department of Chemistry, Atlanta, Georgia 30322As was presented in the previous talk, we have conducted 25 broadband line surveys of interstellar sources in the $\lambda$=1.3 mm band using the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. Using the results from the spectral analysis of these observations, the influence of physical environment on molecular complexity can be examined. Our broader research goal is to improve astrochemical models to the point where accurate predictions of complex molecular inventory can be made based on the physical and chemical environment of a given source. The CSO observations include a statistically-significant sample of sources, cover a range of physical environments, and target selected frequency windows containing transitions from a set of known complex organic molecules. We are now analyzing these line surveys to search for correlations between the relative abundances of organic molecules and the physical properties of the source (i.e. temperature, density, mass, etc.), as well as correlations between sets of molecules. Here we present the results from the initial quantitative analysis of these surveys, as well as chemical trends that have been determiend. The implications of these results for astrochemical models will also be discussed