5,981,628 research outputs found
Actually existing Chinese matriarchy
The essays in this volume present contemporary anthropological perspectives on Chinese kinship, its historical complexity and its modern metamorphoses. The collection draws particular attention to the reverberations of larger socio-cultural and politico-economic processes in the formation of sociality, intimate relations, family histories, reproductive strategies and gender relations â and vice-versa. Drawing on a wealth of ethnographic material from the late imperial period and from contemporary Taiwan and the Peopleâs Republic of China, from northern and southern regions as well as from rural and urban settings, the volume provides unique insights into the historical and spatial diversities of the Chinese kinship experience. This emphasis on diversity challenges the classic âlineage paradigmâ of Chinese kinship and establishes a dialogue with contemporary anthropological debates about human kinship reflecting on the emergence of radically new family formations in the Euro-American context..
Europe: reinforcing existing trends
The main impact of 9/11 on European societies has been to crystallize the pre-existing debate on immigration around the culturalist paradigm. In mainstream thinking the culture of the immigrants came to be seen as the major obstacle to their integration. Issues as discrimination, disadvantaged socioeconomic position, and unemployment in the immigrant communities and their impact upon radicalization receded in the publicsâ mind. Whilst the febrile debate on the compatibility of Islam with western values that had ensued has abated, a decade long Islam-centered security obsession has left its mark. Anti-Muslim prejudice has gained traction in mainstream thinking â even if its most extremist expression has again become the hallmark of a new generation of radical right groups, who claim the anti-Islam and anti-immigration themes as their unique selling proposition. But as was the case before 9/11, the situation differs among countries, with some countries displaying a more serene debate about the place of Muslims and Islam in society than others. One could argue that as apprehension among the public about Islam fluctuates, polity and media shoulder a crucial responsibility as to the way this issue is framed and discussed.Immigration and integration will indeed undoubtedly continue to be matters of intense policy discussion, sometimes (but not always) linked to Islam. Since Europe too has become an immigration continent, it experiences the same fluctuating apprehensions about the newcomersâ impact on society as the United States did with the nativist movement from the 19th century onwards. Nativist anti-immigration sentiments indeed remain present in European countries as well as grievances resulting from the fragile socio-economical position of immigration communities. This mix remains a potent cocktail for polarization and a major challenge for society in general. But they are now by and large devoid of the national security concerns they were associated with in the years following 9/11
Connecting existing cemeteries saving good soils (for livings)
Background: Urban sprawl consumes and degrades productive soils worldwide. Fast and safe decomposition of corpses requires high-quality functional soils, and land use which competes with both agriculture and buildings. On one hand, cremation does not require much land, but it has a high energy footprint, produces atmospheric pollution, and is unacceptable to some religious communities. On the other hand, as exhumations are not practiced, "green burials" require more surface area than current burial practices, so a new paradigm for managing land use is required. Conclusions: In this paper, we propose a concept for 'green belt communalities' (i.e., ecological corridors with multiple, yet flexible, uses and services for future generations). With the expansion of urban centers, ecological corridors gradually disappear. Cemeteries for burial plots preclude alternative uses of the land for a long time. By combining these two aspects (need for connectivity and land take imposed by cemeteries), two positive results can be achieved: protecting memories of the past and connecting ecosystems with multiple-use corridors. This new paradigm works best in flat or hilly terrain where there are already several urban agglomerations that contain traditional cemeteries. Stakeholders who might consider this concept are local administrators, planners, and the communities of individuals who share specific beliefs on burial systems
Thermal improvement of existing dwellings
This report describes the outcome from a study to determine the impact of energy efficiency measures applied to the Scottish housing stock. Assuming conventional property type classifications, the present performance of the housing stock is quantified using available survey data. Building simulation techniques were then employed to generate a Web-based, decision-support tool for use by policy makers to estimate the impact of deploying energy efficiency measures in different combinations over time. The process of tool formulation is described and an example is given of tool use to identify best-value retrofitting options while taking factors such as future climate change and improved standard of living into account
Concrete Swelling in Existing Dams
Several chemical reactions are able to produce swelling of concrete for decades after its initial curing, a problem that affects a considerable number of concrete dams around the world. Principia has had several contracts to study this problem in recent years, which have required reviewing the state-of-the-art, adopting appropriate mathematical descriptions, programming them into user routines in Abaqus, determining model parameters on the basis of some parts of the damsâ monitored histories, ensuring reliability using some other parts, and finally predicting the future evolution of the dams and their safety margins. The paper describes some of the above experience, including the programming of sophisticated non-isotropic swelling models, that must be compatible with cracking and other nonlinearities involved in concrete behaviour. The applications concentrate on two specific cases, an archgravity dam and a double-curvature arch dam, both with a long history of concrete swelling and which, interestingly, entailed different degrees of success in the modelling effort
Co-existing structures in 105Ru
New positive-parity states, having a band-like structure, were observed in
105Ru. The nucleus was produced in induced fission reaction and the prompt
gamma-rays, emitted from the fragments, were detected by the EUROBALL III
multi-detector array. The partial scheme of excited 105Ru levels is analyzed
within the Triaxial-Rotor-plus-Particle approach
Existing Materials, Current Style and Ecclesiastical Architecture in Nigeria
Existing building materials coupled with the current style factor has been identified as one of the predominant determinants of
ecclesiastical architecture. This study examined various emerging materials and architectural styles with a view to identify how
and why these factors have affected the emergence and development of ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. The study area was
Lagos State because of many reasons. Lagos State was noted as the cradle of Christian evolution and growth in Nigeria. It was a
place that pioneered ecclesiastical architecture in Nigeria. Lagos State was arguably one of the most Christian religious cities in
the world having a long history of Independent African Churches dating back to the time of the great influenza epidemic of 1918.
Since this study was a theoretical research and historical in nature, qualitative methods in form of literature, unstructured
interview and non-participant observation were employed to gather the data and analysis was done by description and content
analysis. The study found that building materials and the architectural styles carried theological, liturgical and spiritual
meanings of the Church at different times and in different denominations. Each Church determined the choice of materials and
style to augment the preached word. This study concluded that these factors carried meanings that were capable to fulfil the
mission, vision and the aspirations of various Churches at various times
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