Convention Center Wars and the Decline of Local Democracy

Since 2002, Sunni jihadi groups have been active in Iranian Baluchistan without managing to plunge the region into chaos. This book suggests that a reason for this, besides Tehran’s military responses, has been the quality of Khomeini and Khamenei’s relationship with a network of South-Asia-educated Sunni ulama (mawlawis) originating from the Sarbaz oasis area, in the south of Baluchistan. Educated in the religiously reformist, socially conservative South Asian Deoband School, which puts the madrasa at the centre of social life, the Sarbazi ulama had taken advantage, in Iranian territory, of the eclipse of Baluch tribal might under the Pahlavi monarchy (1925-79). They emerged then as a bulwark against Soviet influence and progressive ideologies, before rallying to Khomeini in 1979. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, they have been playing the role of a rampart against Salafi propaganda and Saudi intrigues. The book shows that, through their alliance with an Iranian Kurdish-born Muslim-Brother movement and through the promotion of a distinct ‘Sunni vote’, they have since the early 2000s contributed towards – and benefitted from – the defence by the Reformist presidents Khatami (1997-2005) and Ruhani (since 2013) of local democracy and of the minorities’ rights. They endeavoured to help, at the same time, preventing the propagation of jihadism and Sunni radicalisation to Iran – at least until the ISIS/Daesh-claimed attacks of June 2017, in Tehran, shed light on the limits of the Islamic Republic’s strategy of reliance on Deobandi ulama and Muslim-Brother preachers in the country’s Sunni-peopled peripheries.

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Post-election Survey Data: Local Democracy and the 2018 Local Elections in the Czech Republic

Data in Brief ◽

10.1016/j.dib.2021.107039 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 107039

Author(s):

Pavel Šaradín ◽

Tomáš Lebeda ◽

Jakub Lysek ◽

Michal Soukop ◽

Daniela Ostrá ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Czech Republic ◽

Survey Data ◽

Local Elections ◽

Local Democracy ◽

The Czech Republic

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‘Seeing like a city’, or ‘seeing like a state’ in a city? Paris, capital of femonationalism

Environment and Planning C Politics and Space ◽

10.1177/23996544211002524 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 239965442110025

Author(s):

Claire Hancock

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Urban Politics ◽

Policy Making ◽

Common Factor ◽

Local Democracy ◽

Municipal Policy ◽

City Life ◽

Women In Decision Making ◽

The City

This paper questions the ‘seeing like a city’ vs. ‘seeing like a state’ opposition through a detailed discussion of urban politics in the city of Paris, France, a prime example of the ways in which the national remains a driving dimension of city life. This claim is examined by a consideration of the shortcomings of Paris’s recent and timid commitment local democracy, lacking recognition of the diversity of its citizens, and the ways in which the inclusion of more women in decision-making arenas has failed to advance the ‘feminization of politics’. A common factor in these defining features of the Hidalgo administration seems to be the prevalence of ‘femonationalism’ and its influence over municipal policy-making.

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KDD 2020 Highlights

ACM SIGKDD Explorations Newsletter ◽

10.1145/3447556.3447558 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 1-1

Author(s):

Rajesh K. Gupta ◽

Yan Liu

Keyword(s):

Executive Committee ◽

Financial Impact ◽

Full Time ◽

Concerted Effort ◽

Considerable Uncertainty ◽

Diverse Communities ◽

Convention Center ◽

Multiple Levels ◽

Virtual Conference ◽

Financial Outcome

KDD made history in 2020. It was planned to be held in the San Diego Convention Center in an environment that would attract a large number of participants, companies to an attractive location. The program planners also made a concerted effort to broaden the intellectual scope of the forum as well as participation by diverse communities. In particular, the conference planned for offering complimentary full-time daycare to enable participation by women and parents with young children. The emergence of COVID-19 disease in March, however, caused considerable uncertainty leading to a final determination for a first-ever entirely virtual conference. This shift was dramatic at multiple levels since KDD is more than a meeting of presenters and their audience. It is also a place for demonstrations, chance encounters and a very engaging floor exhibition with its own ongoing events. Without exhibitors, their sponsors, and missing attendees, KDD won't be KDD. And it will also have a significant financial liability to the conference for the event contracts already in place. With significant cooperation from ACM and support from SIGKDD Executive Committee the team not only avoided financial impact but emerged with a net positive financial outcome even after reducing the registration fees by over 80%.

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Infection Prevention Considerations for a Multi-Mission Convention Center Field Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2021.210 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Jennifer A. Jones ◽

Zishan K. Siddiqui ◽

Charles Callahan ◽

Surbhi Leekha ◽

Sharon Smyth ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Diagnostic Testing ◽

The United States ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Field Hospital ◽

First Case ◽

Convention Center ◽

Set Up ◽

And Control

Abstract The state of Maryland identified its first case of COVID-19 on March 5, 2020. The Baltimore Convention Center (BCCFH) quickly became a selected location to set up a 250-bed inpatient Field Hospital and Alternate Care Site. In contrast to other field hospitals throughout the United States, the BCCFH remained open throughout the pandemic and took on additional COVID-19 missions, including community SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing, monoclonal antibody infusions for COVID-19 outpatients, and community COVID-19 vaccinations. At the time of publication, the BCCFH had cared for 1,478 COVID-19 inpatients, performed 108,155 COVID-19 tests, infused 2,166 COVID-19 patients, and administered 115,169 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. To prevent the spread of pathogens during operations, infection prevention and control guidelines were essential to ensure the safety of staff and patients. Through multi-agency collaboration, utilization of infection prevention best practices, and answering what we describe as “PPE-ESP”, an operational framework was established to reduce infection risks for those providing or receiving care at the BCCFH during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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