scholarly journals The Bracketing of Presence: Dematerialization and Disembodiment in Times of Pandemic and of Social Distancing Biopolitics

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Giovanni Stanghellini ◽  
Louis Sass

The purpose of this paper is to help us understand how and why the COVID pandemic, and its associated biopolitics of social distancing, may have affected our relationships with our own bodies and other persons, thus helping to accelerate what might be termed a <i>bracketing of presence</i> that was already well underway in our modern and contemporary social practices. We focus on 3 historical vectors, all rooted in specific technologies, that have profound implications at the levels of our social imaginary and prereflective ways of being: architecture, social media, and medicine. Architecture has progressively eliminated “porosity” between spaces by establishing clear borders between public and private spaces (also within the private ones), thereby contributing to our drive for social distancing. Social media have provided apparatuses that replace intercorporeal encounters with disembodied, virtual interactions mediated by images. Visual experiences that are more embodied, participatory, and “immersed” are replaced by passive forms of “seeing”: the other becomes an image for me, and I for the other. The object of medicine has also recently dematerialized with the advent of the new “optical” and “digital” machines of modern medicine, which can operate remotely thanks to an increasingly powerful interface reliant on computational power and the resources of artificial intelligence, thereby dispensing with body-to-body interactions. We offer these reflections as routes to a better understanding of changes that have occurred and are occurring on the planes of both culture and individual psychological existence.

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-35
Author(s):  
Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh

How are refugees responding to protect themselves and others in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic? How do these responses relate to diverse local, national, and international structures of inequality and marginalization? Drawing on the case of Beddawi camp in North Lebanon, I argue that local responses—such as sharing information via print and social media, raising funds for and preparing iftar baskets during Ramadan, and distributing food and sanitation products to help people practice social distancing—demonstrate how camp residents have worked individually and collectively to find ways to care for Palestinian, Syrian, Iraqi, Kurdish, and Lebanese residents alike, thereby transcending a focus on nationality-based identity markers. However, state, municipal, international, and media reports pointing to Syrian refugees as having imported the virus into Beddawi camp place such local modes of solidarity and mutuality at risk. This article thus highlights the importance of considering how refugee-refugee assistance initiatives relate simultaneously to: the politics of the self and the other, politically produced precarity, and multi-scalar systems that undermine the potential for solidarity in times of overlapping precarities.


2021 ◽  
pp. 404-424
Author(s):  
Lisa Trentin

This chapter examines the representation and interpretation of “the Other” in Roman social practices. Employing a selection of images, representing ethnically and physically diverse citizens and noncitizens, Romans and non-Romans, surviving on a range of media from both public and private display contexts across the empire, new questions are raised to expand our understanding of diversity and difference in the Roman world. In Roman art, images of “Others” served an important role in the construction of Roman identity, underlining tensions in the representation and categorization of bodies and belonging. Emphasis is placed on viewers and viewing contexts, considering the cosmopolitan milieu of the cities and peoples under Roman rule.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (25) ◽  
pp. 732-749
Author(s):  
Nihan ÖZKAN ◽  
◽  
Şevki ULEMA

Coronavirus that arouse in the state of Hubey, Wuhan province in China in January 2019 has spread all around the globe and caused millions of people to be contracted with this disease and thousands of people to die of it. To prevent Covid-19 pandemic to spread, taking measures such as social distancing measures, isolation, travel restrictions and lockdowns have led to critical changes in economy and environmental and human activities. The pandemic disease that has affected several industries adversely has brought tourism industry to a halt. The effect of Covid-19 pandemic on individuals’ vacation plans is investigated in this study. The questionnaire generated in accordance with the objectives of the study was rearranged on Google Forms and conveyed to the participants through link address, social media and e-mail. 512 questionnaire forms convenient for data validation were attained after the conduction of the questionnaire. According to the results of the analysis, measures factor was identified as the most influential statement whereas procrastination as the least one. On the other hand, the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on participants’ vacations plans varied across demographic factors.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992098826
Author(s):  
Fatima Cody Stanford ◽  
Arghavan Salles

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on our daily lives and functioning. To reduce the potential transmission, countries throughout the world practiced social distancing. Unfortunately, this social distancing often contributed to a sense of social isolation and physical inactivity. Two physician athletes on opposite coasts of the United States sought to change this narrative by promoting physical activity among the general population with the #SocialDistancingFitnessChallenge. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April 2020, these physicians would post exercises during the 5-day workweek—one would post yoga/flexibility exercises, while the other would post high-intensity cardio and strength exercises on two social media platforms. Some posts would amass over 100,000 views. They received daily feedback on how this challenge not only encouraged others to be engaged in physical activity during the most challenging pandemic of our lifetimes, but it also improved their mental health and outlook on the future amid great uncertainty.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 171-174
Author(s):  
Tarare Toshida ◽  
Chaple Jagruti

The covid-19 resulted in broad range of spread throughout the world in which India has also became a prey of it and in this situation the means of media is extensively inϑluencing the mentality of the people. Media always played a role of loop between society and sources of information. In this epidemic also media is playing a vital role in shaping the reaction in ϑirst place for both good and ill by providing important facts regarding symptoms of Corona virus, preventive measures against the virus and also how to deal with any suspect of disease to overcome covid-19. On the other hand, there are endless people who spread endless rumours overs social media and are adversely affecting life of people but we always count on media because they provide us with valuable answers to our questions, facts and everything in need. Media always remains on top of the line when it comes to stop the out spread of rumours which are surely dangerous kind of information for society. So on our side we should react fairly and maturely to handle the situation to keep it in the favour of humanity and help government not only to ϑight this pandemic but also the info emic.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Amado C Gequinto ◽  
Do Mads

Skills and competencies are highly regarded in todays global market. Different agencies specifically those seeking for  technologists, technicians, and engineers, have stressed out that skills and competencies as major components  for individual workers.  This aimed to determine  the relevance and appropriateness of acquired skills and competencies by industrial technology graduates, and determine the extent of use of skills and competencies in the current employment. Review of related literatures and studies have been considered in the realization, understanding, analysis, and interpretation of this research exploration. A descriptive method of research was used with 78 graduates from 2015-2016 and 117 graduates from 2016-2017, who participated in the study survey process. The BatStateU Standardized Questionnaire was used to gather data. A brief interview and talk during the visit of alumni in the university was also considered, as well as the other means of social media like email, facebook, messenger, and text messaging.   Results show that skills and competecnices acquired by industrial technology graduates are all relevant and appropriate.  The study also found that there is some to great extent use of acquired skills and competencies to their current employment. The study implies that the acquired skills and competencies from the university significantly provided the graduates the opportunities ins the national and global markets and industries.


Author(s):  
Gabriela Fernandes

Aim: The aim of this survey study was to assess the level of awareness amongst Indian population regarding the COVID-19. Method: A survey was conducted amongst 745 individuals to assess their level of awareness regarding COVID-19 and steps to be taken for its prevention. Result: The results revealed that a considerable percentage of individuals learned about the pandemic through social media and news and were aware of the mode of spread of the virus and also steps to be taken to prevent it from spreading. But considerable percentage of people was also not fully aware regarding the age groups this virus will be affecting. Conclusion: Upon understanding the percentage of people not aware about the age groups this virus will be affecting, keeping in mind good amount of knowledge amongst individuals about maintaining hygiene and social distancing, this survey would help the health care workers to create awareness regarding the effect of this virus on different age groups to help prevent carelessness amongst youth in following the regime.


This book focuses on the relationship between private and public education in a comparative context. The contributors emphasize the relationship between private choices and public policy as they affect the division of labor between public and private non-profit schools, colleges, and universities. Their essays examine the kinds of choices offered by each sector, as well as the effects of present and proposed public policies on the intersectoral division of labor. Written from neither a pro-private nor a pro-public point of view, the contributors point to the ways in which they believe one sector or the other may be preferable for certain goals or groups.


1942 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 19-32
Author(s):  
H. Barnett

Much has been written of William Duncan, "the Apostle of Alaska", who came to the coast of northern British Columbia in 1857 as a missionary to the Tsimshian Indians. Although he deplored it, in the course of his sixty years' residence in this area controversy raged around him as a result of his clashes with church and state, and his work has been the subject of numerous investigations, both public and private. His enemies have called him a tyrant and a ruthless exploiter of the Indians under his control; and there are men still living who find a disproportionate amount of evil in the good that he did, especially during the declining years of his long life. On the other hand, he has had ardent and articulate supporters who have written numerous articles and no less than three books in praise of his self-sacrificing ideals and the soundness of his program for civilizing the Indian.


2021 ◽  
pp. 101269022110141
Author(s):  
Eunhye Yoo

This study explores the influence and sociocultural meaning of self-management of South Korean sports stars in the context of their social media activity. The study utilizes netnography to analyze social media posts to determine the meaning of sports stars’ self-management. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with study participants. Ten South Korean sports stars, who are active users of Instagram, were selected as the study participants. Photographs, videos, and stories from their accounts—around 1800 posts in total—were analyzed. The results indicated that the sports stars attempted to share their daily lives on social media to build a close relationship with the public. Moreover, they used their accounts to publicize their commercialized selves and to promote their sponsors. They uploaded only strictly composed and curated posts on their accounts as a form of self-censorship. Finally, it was determined that digital labor was used for self-management on social media, where there is no distinction between public and private territory. A sports star has become a self-living commercial today, and self-management is now a prerequisite for survival. Thus, self-management on social media has become a requirement for sports stars.


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