Cosmopolitanism, Literary Nationalisms and Linguistic Activism

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55
Author(s):  
Mélanie Bourlet
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Transnational Literature ◽  
African Language ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This article explores the relationship between cosmopolitanism and nationalism through the example of a transnational literature written in an African language, Pulaar, considered from a multi-located perspective. It seeks to understand to what extent a linguistically based transnational literary nationalism may be considered a form of “bottom-up cosmopolitanism” (Appadurai) that carries social aspirations. In the context of globalization, movements of linguistic revitalisation continue to grow and language has become a veritable tool for social action. This essay argues that, from a methodological standpoint, a more focused attention to the local and to translocal ties allows us to bring to light the connectivity of literature and its tendency to challenge institutionalized global literary geographies.

Influence of the Intestinal Microbiota on Diabetes Management

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 1603-1615
Author(s):  
Eva Alvarez-Vieites ◽  
Arora López-Santamarina ◽  
José M. Miranda ◽  
Alicia del Carmen Mondragón ◽  
Alexandre Lamas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Intestinal Microbiota ◽  
Diabetes Management ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Experimental Animals ◽  
Low Intensity ◽  
New Treatments ◽  
The Relationship

In recent decades, there has been a very rapid increase in the prevalence of diabetes globally, with serious health and economic implications. Although today there are several therapeutic treatments for this disease, these do not address the causes of the disease and have serious side effects, so it is necessary to seek new treatments to replace or complement the existing ones. Among these complementary treatments, a strong link between the intestinal microbiota and diabetes has been demonstrated, which has focused attention on the use of biotherapy to regulate the function of the intestinal microbiota and, thus, treat diabetes. In this way, the main objective of this work is to provide a review of the latest scientific evidence on diabetes, gathering information about new trends in its management, and especially, the influence of the intestinal microbiota and microbiome on this pathology. It is possible to conclude that the relationship between the intestinal microbiota and diabetes is carried out through alterations in energy metabolism, the immune system, changes in intestinal permeability, and a state of low-intensity systemic inflammation. Although, currently, most of the experimental work, using probiotics for diabetes management, has been done on experimental animals, the results obtained are promising. Thus, the modification of the microbiota through biotherapy has shown to improve the symptoms and severity of diabetes through various mechanisms related to these alterations.

scholarly journals Assessing the Market for Poultry Litter in Georgia: Are Subsidies Needed to Protect Water Quality?

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Mullen ◽  
Ulugbek Bekchanov ◽  
Berna Karali ◽  
David Kissel ◽  
Mark Risse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Poultry Litter ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Water Protection ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
Transportation Model ◽  
Synthetic Fertilizer ◽  
Protection Goals ◽  
Subsidy Program ◽  
The Relationship

Concerns about nutrient loads into our waters have focused attention on poultry litter applications. Like many states with a large poultry industry, Georgia recently designed a subsidy program to facilitate the transportation of poultry litter out of vulnerable watersheds. This paper uses a transportation model to examine the necessity of a poultry litter subsidy to achieve water protection goals in Georgia. We also demonstrate the relationship between diesel and synthetic fertilizer prices and the value of poultry litter. Results suggest that a well-functioning market would be able to remove excess litter from vulnerable watersheds in the absence of a subsidy.

scholarly journals Representing nonhuman animals as equals: An ecolinguistic analysis of vegan campaigns

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alena Zhdanava ◽  
Surinderpal Kaur ◽  
Kumaran Rajandran
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Action Theory ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
Ecological Philosophy ◽  
Social Action Theory ◽  
Image Shape ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Nonhuman Species

Abstract Ecolinguistics studies the interactions between language and ecology. It investigates whether the stories created by language are destructive or beneficial to all the constituents of the environment. In search of positive stories for our environment, this article focuses on vegan campaigns which generally bring awareness about veganism that, in turn, advocates protection of nonhuman animals and abstention from their exploitation. Nonhuman animals are part of the ecosystem and the way they are portrayed in language may determine the relationship between human and nonhuman animals. As vegan campaigns refer to nonhuman animals as sentient living beings, it is important to analyze whether the language and image of these campaigns articulate their purposes and create beneficial stories for nonhuman species. This article explores the stories regarding nonhuman animals in 27 posters of the vegan campaign “Go Vegan World” and examines how these stories are shaped and whether they are aligned with vegan values. The study is approached from an ecolinguistic perspective with a focus on multimodality where the language was analyzed through van Leeuwen’s Social Actor and Social Action theory, and the image was analyzed with Kress and van Leeuwen’s Grammar of Visual Design. Further, the analysis involves the ecosophy defined as a personal ecological philosophy of relationships between human and nonhuman animals, plants, and the physical environment. The findings suggest that the campaign language and image shape three stories: salience where nonhuman animals are individuals with their own feelings and lives; conviction that nonhuman animals matter as much as humans; ideology where biocentrism is promoted. By comparing these stories with the article’s ecosophy, an ecolinguistic analysis showed that they are largely beneficial in representing nonhuman animals as sentient living beings who are equal to humans.

scholarly journals Making a House a Home: Motivations for Earthquake Strengthening   Domestic Homes in Dunedin, an Argument Towards Domestic Heritage

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Imogen Stockwell
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Heritage Studies ◽  
Heritage Buildings ◽  
Southern City ◽  
The Relationship

<p>Following the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, earthquake strengthening is one of the biggest issues facing heritage buildings in New Zealand. This process is mainly affecting commercial and public buildings; residential buildings are generally exempt from earthquake-prone building policies. However, some homeowners are choosing to do what is often perceived to be an expensive and time-consuming process. This research explores whether there is a heritage relationship between the homeowner and their house that motivates conservation work, such as earthquake strengthening. The central question for this research is: “What makes a heritage house a home? Is “home” a motivation for owners to earthquake strengthen their building? a case study of Dunedin”.  The relationship between homeowners and the heritage of their homes and domestic conservations practices has been underexamined in heritage studies in New Zealand. The current dissertation addresses this problem and contributes to the literature of Museum and Heritage Studies. The theoretical framework employed in this research draws on the field of Critical Heritage Studies in order to explore the relationship between ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up heritage’, the notion of ‘peoples-based’ heritage, the value of intangible heritage and a cycle of care. This research utilised qualitative research methods, involving the interviewing three heritage homeowners and two heritage professionals. These provided detailed findings about homeowners’ perceptions of their houses and the interaction between heritage practitioners and homeowners. The southern city of Dunedin was the case study which framed this research, because it has a rich collection of heritage buildings and a council which has been proactive in encouraging earthquake strengthening.  It was found that the heritage homeowner’s relationship with their home played a role in conservation how decisions are undertaken and that there is a lack of outreach from heritage authorities to heritage homeowners. This research provides information about the nature of the interaction between top-down and bottom-up heritage, and how this relationship can lead to positive heritage outcomes. Recommendations include developing open channels of communication between officials and homeowners, increased acknowledgement of the homeowner’s role in the conservation practice, and the establishment of a concept of Domestic Heritage to assist within the development of a cycle of care by heritage homeowners.</p>

scholarly journals Youth in the margin in Morocco: a qualitative approach to the perception of subjectivity and agency politics

2021 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 01007
Author(s):  
Ilham Sadoqi
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Youth Agency ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Third Moment

This paper seeks to investigate the potentials of youth agency in the margin of society and understand the prospects for social action or “Hirak” as an ongoing sweeping protest wave of a marginalized population. Based on a national qualitative study about youth and marginality in Morocco, this paper will focus on three moments. First, it will examine youth perception, their representation of their subjectivities, and how the realities and experiences of exclusion and “Hogra” manifested in inequalities, injustice, and systematic violence have shaped their beliefs and desire to act. The second moment brings to the fore their apprehension of the hegemonic powers of state institutions and social actors to determine their motivations and initiatives to articulate their actions locally and nationally under conditions of domination. The third moment will shed light on the dynamics of youth agency and the nature of their actions, be it individual or collective, subjective or rational. Similarly, it will also consider the structural limitations impinging on the social, political, cultural life, and gender relations. This paper examines the relationship between youth agency in the margin and the emergence of a new quest for social action “Hirak” in different regions of Morocco and how this might pave the way towards renegotiating the existing social contract between society and state.

The Two Traditions in the Sociology of Emotions

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 10-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Shilling
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Sociological Theory ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sociology Of Emotions ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Brief Assessment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Moral Dimensions ◽  
Emotional Issues ◽  
The Relationship

The sociology of emotions is an established specialism within the discipline and its products have become increasingly visible parts of the sociological landscape since the late 1970s. This specialism has also demonstrated, at least to its own satisfaction, the importance of emotions for social action and order, and for those related moral issues concerned with self-determined and other-oriented action. Paradoxically, however, the relationship between the sociology of emotions and mainstream sociology remains relatively cool. Emotional issues are still portrayed in many general accounts of the discipline as a luxurious curiosity that properly resides on the outer reaches of the sociological imagination. Just as unfortunately, certain sociologists of emotions have accused the foundations of the discipline of neglecting emotional issues, and have sometimes excluded classical theorists from their discussions. This chapter argues that emotional phenomena occupy an important place in sociology's heritage which has yet to be explicated fully by the sub-discipline. The subject of emotions, like the closely related subject of the body, may fade from various classical writings. Nevertheless, the major traditions of sociological theory developed particular orientations towards the social and moral dimensions of emotional phenomena. I begin by examining the relevance of emotions to the context out of which the discipline emerged, and then focus on how the major theorists of order (Comte and Durkheim) and (inter)action (Simmel and Weber) conceptualized emotional phenomena. The chapter concludes with a brief assessment of Parsons's contribution, and suggests that his analysis of the religious foundations of instrumental activism provides a provocative account of the relationship between values, emotions and personality that can usefully be built on.

The “Two-Way Street” of Having an Impact: A Democratic School's Attempt to Build a Broad Counterhegemonic Alternative

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Assaf Meshulam
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Critical Education ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Impact

Background/Context Critical education studies tries to make sense of the relationship between education and differential power in an unequal society and to what degree schools impact the social order. A premise in this field is that a fundamental aim of critical education is exposing unequal social, cultural, and economic power relations and engaging in social action that transcends the setting of the classroom and school. Counterhegemonic schools are thus generally characterized by an aspiration to be meaningful beyond the school community and a commitment to social transformation. Purpose/Focus of Study The study examines a unique bilingual, multicultural school in Israel/Palestine in its struggle to be broadly meaningful and sustainable by opening up enrollment beyond its binational (Jewish-Palestinian) community. In particular, the study analyzes the impact of incorporating external students on the school's counterhegemonic curricula, pedagogy, and dynamics, as well as the implications for the transformative potential of bottom-up democratic education initiatives in the absence of accompanying policy change more generally. Research Design The findings draw on data collected in a broader qualitative case study on multicultural, bilingual schools educating for democracy and social justice in different national, political, and cultural contexts. Data were collected and analyzed from semistructured open-ended individual interviews with school staff, parents, and founders; field observations; and document analysis. Findings The primary finding of this research is the paradox of being impacted while making an impact: The school's attempt to infiltrate the hegemony and expand and sustain its social impact led to the infiltration of external goals, interests, and power relations into its counterhegemonic agenda, curricula and pedagogy, and governance. This in turn undermined transformativity and transcultural border-crossing potential at the school and triggered a neoliberal process of commodification. Yet it also emerged that students still succeed in crossing national and religious identity-borders and in overcoming hegemonic perspectives of their essentialized identities. Conclusions Many obstacles stand between a counterhegemonic school and being socially meaningful, including sociohistorical and political factors. No less important, however, are the broader structural aspects to creating a space in which transformative schools can succeed. Although bottom-up attempts may push hegemonic forms to incorporate certain aspects of their vision, they cannot have meaningful and widespread impact if unaccompanied by broad support and action at the policy level and if they do not become organic parts of a larger transformative agenda.

Concluding Remarks to Part 1

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Preminger
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Labor History ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Union Democracy ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Relationship

Chapter 6 summarizes the chapters which addressed the first sphere, union democracy or the relationship between workers and their representative organization. Noting the confused picture created by the in-depth analysis of recent labor campaigns, the chapter emphasizes a common desire to act: workers are drawing on various resources including what remains of the old structures to make their voices heard and influence their trade union and workplace – and possibly beyond their workplace too. This bears the signs of union revitalization but the chapter asserts that recent labor campaigns should be seen more broadly as the renegotiation of union democracy and the emergence of a kind of activism among workers that had never existed in the context of a Histadrut-dominated neocorporatism – an activism which, in a break with most of Israel’s labor history, has grown from the bottom up.

“Happy at Last”

2019 ◽  
pp. 124-136
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Q. McCune
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Nation State ◽  
National Image ◽  
Nation States ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Sexual Economies

“Branded Beautiful” examines the relationship between individual pop celebrity, the promotion of a national identity, and the use of sexuality while branding each. Barbados promotes itself as a site of controlled abandon straddling performances of modernity while cashing in on imaginaries of “primitive” exoticism. Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty’s pop stardom is built on an ever-changing boldness that often includes in your face sexuality. The relationship between Rihanna and representations of Barbados is fraught with ambiguity. Using Rihanna’s August 2011 LOUD tour concert in Barbados, “Branded Beautiful” argues that the events surrounding the show shed light on the differing sexual economies of pop stardom and national tourism; that such divergences highlight the insecurities of nation-states seeking to make a name for themselves within a global market; and that despite the distinctions it is quite hard for a nation-state to divorce celebrity focused attention from an ideal national image.

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