South Africa\u27s Electricity Crisis: The Need to Reconcile Environmental Policy Decisions with International Treaties

This Comment examines whether South Africa’s treaty obligations conflict with the requirement of the country’s government to provide electricity to a burgeoning home-owning population. Section II introduces Eskom, South Africa’s largest utility company, which produces most of the electricity used in South Africa and surrounding countries. Section III discusses South Africa’s role in the Southern Africa Power Pool and the additional obligations this membership places on the country. Section IV then examines the controversial loan that South Africa received from the World Bank to assist in building the Medupi coal-fired power plant. Section V illustrates South Africa’s climate change obligations imposed by its commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Millennium Development Goals the country agreed to meet. Lastly, Section VI examines the relationship between the World Bank loan for the Medupi coal-fired power plant and South Africa’s treaty obligations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This Comment then proposes the establishment of regulations to reconcile conflicting decisions or obligations of international institutions

Negotiating Brexit: migrant spatialities and identities in a changing Europe [Introduction to special issue]

No abstract available

Novel colours and the content of experience

I propose a counterexample to naturalistic representational theories of phenomenal character. The counterexample is generated by experiences of novel colours reported by Crane and Piantanida. I consider various replies that a representationalist might make, including whether novel colours could be possible colours of objects and whether one can account for novel colours as one would account for binary colours or colour mixtures. I argue that none of these strategies is successful and therefore that one cannot fully explain the nature of the phenomenal character of perceptual experiences using a naturalistic conception of representation

Protracted precarities : the residential mobilities of Poles in Scotland

Funding: ESRC (Grant Number(s): ES/N011430/1 and ES/J007374/1).The significant inflow of migrants to the United Kingdom following the Eastern EU Enlargement of 2004 is noteworthy due to its scale, intensity and geographic diversity. Recent statistical data suggest that these migrants exhibit spatial mobilities that reflect their disadvantage not just from the White British but also from other minority groups. Drawing on 83 interviews with Polish migrants living in Scotland, this paper illustrates the often‐persistent residential relocations experienced by this group postinternational migration and considers the drivers behind them. A key driver of this is the cycle of low paid and insecure employment that many migrants become entangled in, most frequently on arrival but often also longer term. These insights speak to wider debates about the scholarly dichotomy between international and internal migration and social inequalities in relation to labour market change and associated exposure to labour market and residential precarities.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Underperforming policy networks : the biopesticides network in the United Kingdom

Loosely integrated and incomplete policy networks have been neglected in the literature. They are important to consider in terms of understanding network underperformance. The effective delivery and formulation of policy requires networks that are not incomplete or underperforming. The biopesticides policy network in the United Kingdom is considered and its components identified with an emphasis on the lack of integration of retailers and environmental groups. The nature of the network constrains the actions of its agents and frustrates the achievement of policy goals. A study of this relatively immature policy network also allows for a focus on network formation. The state, via an external central government department, has been a key factor in the development of the network. Therefore, it is important to incorporate such factors more systematically into understandings of network formation. Feedback efforts from policy have increased interactions between productionist actors but the sphere of consumption remains insufficiently articulated

The Tourist Experience of Heritage Urban Spaces: Valletta as a Case Study

This article provides an understanding of how tourists experience heritage urban spaces by investigating features that influence tourist experiences most. It is framed within urban design literature which refers to three elements of urban space namely physical setting (or form), activity, and meaning. These elements are used to explore how urban spaces are experienced by tourists. Its findings are derived from an in-depth qualitative analysis of interviews with tourists to Valletta, Malta. The research suggests that the intrinsic qualities of the space are relevant to the tourist experience but what is even more relevant are the interactions of the tourist with different elements within that space, namely interactions with surroundings, interactions with others, and interactions with self/meaning. Within this broad conceptual model, the research identifies important sub-themes. Some of these reinforce the findings of existing work on tourist experiences, but others are often under-estimated or neglected