Development discourse and the Batwa of South West Uganda: representing the 'other' : presenting the 'self'

This thesis focuses on a group of former forest based hunter-gatherers, the Batwa of South West Uganda, whose livelihoods and situations have been dramatically affected through their recent interactions with non-Batwa peoples. Once inhabitants of the rainforests of South West Uganda, the Batwa today live in bonded labour arrangements with their local neighbours and exist as a despised and marginalised group, positioned on the margins of Ugandan society. In the first part of this thesis, Global Powers, I seek to lay out the theoretical foundations for the marginalisation of the Batwa by discussing the more general marginalisation and representation of Indigenous Peoples. In the rest of the thesis, I move on to discuss two specific questions. In the second section, Local Realities, I ask why the Batwa have ended up in their current situation and I investigate the historical and social contexts of the south west of Uganda that have shaped their present predicament. In the third section, Current Interface, I ask why national and international interventions, aimed at helping the Batwa, have failed to achieve their stated aims, and in some circumstances deepened their present marginalisation? The thesis argues that representations of, and knowledge about the Batwa are constructed from an epistemology that seeks to create a subordinate ‘Other’ in order to assert a dominant ‘Self’. As such, their marginalised position replicates the situation of similar ‘Exotic Others’ found throughout the world. Importantly this construction plays a crucial role in the progression and validation of distinct social ontologies that the dominant ‘Modern World’ holds as self evident and true to its own social reality. As a result, the Batwa have only two futures which are presented to them by the dominant forces that regulate their situation. On the one hand, they are coerced to assimilate towards the identity of the dominant ‘Self’ and in doing so cast off the identity which the dominant ‘Self’ has deemed to account for their ‘Otherness’. Or on the other hand, if they choose to maintain those aspects of their identity which identifies them as the ‘Other’, they are ostracised and depicted as unfit for the ‘Modern World’. I conclude this thesis by suggesting that the current predicament of the Batwa has been constructed by external forces and that Development discourse continues to construct this marginalised position. I also conclude that in positioning the Batwa as the ‘Other’, what is being asserted is the identity of a dominant ‘Self’. This relationship between the dominant ‘Self’ and the marginalised ‘Other’, whilst being declared as a distinct and exclusionary relationship, is in fact an intertwined and entangled relationship. Finally, I argue that a fundamental shift in the paradigm of the ‘Modern World’ is needed in order to allow the Batwa, and other Indigenous Peoples, to be seen not as ‘Exotic Others’ but as equal participants in an interconnected world where multiple ways of knowing and being are mutually supported and validated

The Narrow Cold-Frontal Rainband of 22/23 November 2013

The recent paper in Weather by Young (2014) provided a detailed analysis of an intensive cold front as it passed over the UK on 2223 November 2013. This was an extremely good example of linear convection, as it is described in the paper, or a narrow cold-frontal rainband (NCFR; Hobbs and Biswas, 1979). These features are associated with a low-level jet that lies ahead and parallel to the surface cold front, generating a band of intense but relatively shallow convection (see Koch and Kocin, 1991). Although the structure associated with these systems is not uncommon (e.g. Gatzen, 2011), this case was notable for the (linear) length and the longevity of the feature. Critically, fine-scale radar observations using the 1km, 5min UK composite radar product, produced by the UK Met Office and supplied by the British Atmospheric Data Centre, enabled the timing and progression of the most intense band of this feature tobe examined (see Figure 1)

Derivation of Sky-View Factors from LIDAR Data

The use of Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging), an active light-emitting instrument, is becoming increasingly common for a range of potential applications. Its ability to provide fine resolution spatial and vertical resolution elevation data makes it ideal for a wide range of studies. This paper demonstrates the capability of Lidar data to measure sky view factors (SVF). The Lidar data is used to generate a spatial map of SVFs which are then compared against photographically-derived SVF at selected point locations. At each location three near-surface elevations measurements were taken and compared with collocated Lidar-derived estimated. It was found that there was generally good agreement between the two methodologies, although with decreasing SVF the Lidar-derived technique tended to overestimate the SVF: this can be attributed in part to the spatial resolution of the Lidar sampling. Nevertheless, airborne Lidar systems can map sky view factors over a large area easily, improving the utility of such data in atmospheric and meteorological models

Explorations in engagement for humans and robots

This paper explores the concept of engagement, the process by which individuals in an interaction start, maintain and end their perceived connection to one another. The paper reports on one aspect of engagement among human interactors--the effect of tracking faces during an interaction. It also describes the architecture of a robot that can participate in conversational, collaborative interactions with engagement gestures. Finally, the paper reports on findings of experiments with human participants who interacted with a robot when it either performed or did not perform engagement gestures. Results of the human-robot studies indicate that people become engaged with robots: they direct their attention to the robot more often in interactions where engagement gestures are present, and they find interactions more appropriate when engagement gestures are present than when they are not.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures, 3 table

Reaching the NFL Playoffs Based on Week One Results: A Probability Model with Simulation

We consider the question of how important winning the first game of the season is to making the playoffs for an NFL team. We analyze this question both statistically and probabilistically. First we examine historical data from past NFL seasons to consider whether the first week of the season is any more important than other weeks of the season. Secondly, we attempt to explain probabilistically how winning in any given week changes the probability of that team making the playoffs. The purpose of the research in this paper was to determine if the first week of the NFL season is more significant than other weeks in terms of whether or not the team in question makes the playoffs. We used data of games from past seasons to analyze each week across all seasons. Week One was shown to be no more significant than any other week

Building an Architectural Component Model for a Telehealth Service

Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY).Models of services, processes and technology are useful tools for conceptualizing complex systems such as healthcare. The application of a component architecture helps illustrate the processes and technologies that are important to the operation of a health service and conceptualize the relationships between each component. Telehealth services are relatively recent and have characteristics that do not fit neatly into established models of health services. This paper analyzes the components used to build a telehealth in the home service in South Australia and the design choices that were taken. The service used commodity-based devices and systems to deliver simple to use, low-cost in the home care. Building on this analysis, the components required in an architectural component model of a telehealth service are identified enabling a provisional architecture for telehealth services to be derived from an existing internationally recognized architectural model for eHealth systems. Situated within the broad family of eHealth architectures, a Telehealth Architectural Model of telehealth processes, software, devices, common systems and ICT infrastructure is proposed that represents the components required to support telehealth and allows for customization of services according to clinical models of care

Can Video Conferencing Be as Easy as Telephoning?-A Home Healthcare Case Study

Copyright © 2016 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY).In comparison with almost universal adoption of telephony and mobile technologies in modern day healthcare, video conferencing has yet to become a ubiquitous clinical tool. Currently telehealth services are faced with a bewildering range of video conferencing software and hardware choices. This paper provides a case study in the selection of video conferencing services by the Flinders University Telehealth in the Home trial (FTH Trial) to support healthcare in the home. Using pragmatic methods, video conferencing solutions available on the market were assessed for usability, reliability, cost, compatibility, interoperability, performance and privacy considerations. The process of elimination through which the eventual solution was chosen, the selection criteria used for each requirement and the corresponding results are described. The resulting product set, although functional, had restricted ability to directly connect with systems used by healthcare providers elsewhere in the system. This outcome illustrates the impact on one small telehealth provider of the broader struggles between competing video conferencing vendors. At stake is the ability to communicate between healthcare organizations and provide public access to healthcare. Comparison of the current state of the video conferencing market place with the evolution of the telephony system reveals that video conferencing still has a long way to go before it can be considered as easy to use as the telephone. Health organizations that are concerned to improve access and quality of care should seek to influence greater standardization and interoperability though cooperation with one another, the private sector, international organizations and by encouraging governments to play a more active role in this sphere

R We Fooling Ourselves: Does the Occlusion Technique Shortchange R Estimates?

The occlusion technique was originally used to evaluate the cognitive demands of the roadway. Recently, the occlusion technique has been used as a cost-effective tool for assessing the visual demand of in-vehicle devices. Occlusions simulate glances from an in-vehicle device to the roadway by interrupting visual sampling. However, occluding the in-vehicle device does not impose any additional cognitive demand on the participant like true glances back to the roadway. The purpose of this study was to compare standard no-task occlusions with occlusions requiring participants to perform a visual-motor tracking task. Results suggest that overestimates of resumability may result by not including a task during occlusions. Furthermore, estimations of visual demand based on individual post-occlusion resumption times may provide a more precise measure of transition costs and resumability than measures based on Total Shutter Open Time

Nature-based tourism, resource dependence, and resilience of Arctic communities: framing complex issues in a changing environment

This is an original manuscript / preprint of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Sustainable Tourism on 16 May 2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/ https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1612905.Current research on tourism in the Arctic has focused largely on the extent, location, and type of tourism activities that occur in the region. Recently, challenges have been identified that the tourism industry is likely to face in the wake of global changes, including climate change. Related research, conducted within and outside of the Arctic, suggests that rural communities can become economically dependent on natural resource extraction (e.g. oil, gas, timber harvesting, and mining of minerals) and non-extractive resources (e.g. nature-based recreation and tourism), limiting diversification and potentially threatening resilience of rural communities. In the western USA, communities have become dependent on both extractive and non-extractive natural resource activities including nature-based tourism; however, it is less clear whether a similar situation is occurring in Arctic communities. In this article, we propose a framework and indicators to analyze the potential dependence of Arctic communities on nature-based tourism and the resilience of Arctic communities to potential boom–bust cycles of nature-based tourism. To do so, we examine the current state-of-knowledge about tourism and nature-based tourism in the Arctic through the lens of boom–bust dynamics and social-ecological systems

Backcountry Visitor Experience and Social Science Indicators for Glacier Bay National Park

Glacier Bay National Park (GBNP), located in the panhandle of southeast Alaska, preserves more than 3.2 million acres and provides for a range of visitor opportunities. Marine waters make up nearly one fifth of the park, and no point of land is more than 30 miles from the coast. A range of backcountry experiences are possible, both on land in designated Wilderness (e.g., camping and hiking) and on water (e.g., sea kayaking, fishing, sightseeing, natural and cultural interpretation, and wildlife viewing)