scholarly journals The Architectural Object as a Sociospatial System

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 41-53
Author(s):  
Lubomir Popov ◽  
Franklin Goza
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Material Objects ◽  
User Centred Design ◽  
Social Inadequacy ◽  
Usability Problems ◽  
The Social ◽  
Holistic Interpretation ◽  
User Friendly

AbstractConcerns with the social inadequacy of architecture and the movement towards user-centred design call for new perspectives and architectural visions that can help alleviate usability problems and make buildings more user-friendly and accommodating in supporting user operations. Accordingly, this study proposes the concept of the sociospatial system. This conceptualization is based on premises of the systems approach and a social science interpretation of the problem. We provide a foundation for relating spatial-material objects and sociocultural phenomena, for homogenizing different discipline perspectives, and for developing relational descriptions of the systems components. This allows the built environment to be represented in terms of the sociocultural organism that it accommodates. The elastic concept of the sociospatial system described herein can be used as a holistic framework for the study of sociospatial interactions; including facilities programming and design, where this way of thinking can facilitate a holistic interpretation of a wide array of considerations.

scholarly journals Do–It–Yourself Urban Design: The Social Practice of Informal “Improvement” Through Unauthorized Alteration

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon C. C. Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
Analytical Category

There are numerous ways in which people make illegal or unauthorized alterations to urban space. This study identifies and analyzes one that has been largely ignored in social science: explicitly functional and civic–minded informal contributions that I call “do–it–yourself urban design.” The research, which began as an investigation into more “traditional” nonpermissable alterations, uncovered these cases—from homemade bike lanes and street signs to guerrilla gardens and development proposals—that are gaining visibility in many cities, yet are poorly accounted for by existing perspectives in the literature. This article examines the existing theories and evidence from interviews and other fieldwork in 14 cities in order to develop the new analytical category of DIY urban design. I present findings on the creators of these interventions, on their motivations to “improve” the built environment where they perceive government and other development actors to be failing, and on the concentration of their efforts in gentrifying areas. This introduces the possibility of conflict and complicates their impact. I argue that DIY urban design has wide–ranging implications for both local communities and broader urban policy.

scholarly journals Cross-Disciplinary Theory in Construction of a World-Historical Archive

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Manning ◽  
Sanjana Ravi
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Interdisciplinary Cooperation ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Interdisciplinary Dialogue ◽  
The Social

Interdisciplinary cooperation and collaboration have proven to be desirable yet difficult goals to achieve in social science research. The nuanced differences among the domains, frameworks, assumptions, and methods of the various fields of study that comprise such research often hinder attempts to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue that is both meaningful and productive. We show that demography, economics, political science, and sociology are a few of the fields at the vanguard of the interdisciplinary frontier that emerged following the Second World War. In light of the challenges that these fields (along with the natural sciences) face in initiating and sustaining interdisciplinary dialogue, we aim to accomplish several tasks. First, we seek to describe the theoretical and epistemological linkages among the cores of these four social-science disciplines. Second, we explore systems theory as a potential foundation for interdisciplinary unity. Third, we extrapolate the implications of the systems approach to encompass the study of human populations from multiple disciplinary perspectives. In this vein, we also seek to characterize key features of human populations, parse their functions in various disciplinary contexts, and prospectively identify challenges in data interpretation and analysis that will likely emerge in practice. The ultimate goals of this study are to delineate a set of methodological standards with which to guide interdisciplinary inquiry in the social and natural sciences, and consider how we might implement these standards in the construction of a world-historical data archive. 

“We Speak the Truth!”

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-80
Author(s):  
Sari Hanafi
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Science ◽  
The Political ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
The Social ◽  
Academic Qualifications

This study investigates the preachers and their Friday sermons in Lebanon, raising the following questions: What are the profiles of preachers in Lebanon and their academic qualifications? What are the topics evoked in their sermons? In instances where they diagnosis and analyze the political and the social, what kind of arguments are used to persuade their audiences? What kind of contact do they have with the social sciences? It draws on forty-two semi-structured interviews with preachers and content analysis of 210 preachers’ Friday sermons, all conducted between 2012 and 2015 among Sunni and Shia mosques. Drawing from Max Weber’s typology, the analysis of Friday sermons shows that most of the preachers represent both the saint and the traditional, but rarely the scholar. While they are dealing extensively with political and social phenomena, rarely do they have knowledge of social science

Approach to the Social Sciences in Religion Past and Present

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
Robert Segal
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
The Social

The social sciences do threaten theology/religious studies even when they do not challenge either the reality of God or the reality of belief in the reality of God. The entries in RPP ignore this threat in the name of some wished-for harmony. The entries neither recognize nor refute the challenge of social science to theology/religious studies. They do, then, stand antithetically both to those whom I call "religionists" and to many theologians, for whom there is nothing but a challenge.

Cases of social innovations implemented in the public health sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1600-1621
Author(s):  
E.V. Molchanova
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Demographic Challenges ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Demographic Processes ◽  
Disease Study ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life Year

Subject. The article discusses medical and demographic processes in Russia and Finland. Objectives. I evaluate cases of social innovations implemented for the preservation and strengthening of public health in Finland under the auspices of The Global Burden of Disease Study. Methods. Methodologically, the study relies upon the ideology of the GDB Project, which rests on the DALY (the Disability Adjusted Life Year). Results. I analyzed the morbidity and mortality rates, DALY in Russia and Finland, determined what mainly triggers the risk (environmental, behavioral, metabolic) fueling some public health degradation. The article provides the insight into the efficiency of some social innovations implemented in Finland and suggests what should be done to outline medical and demographic programs in Russia. Conclusions and Relevance. The medical and demographic situation in Russia requires new tools to find innovative solutions for the social policy and, inter alia, the use of the GBD technique, which proved to be effective. Referring to evidence from Finland, demographic challenges in Russian can be handled through a systems approach, i.e. socio-economic actions, improvement of the healthcare and social security, wellness propaganda.

HERITAGE IN THE LIVED ENVIRONMENT OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AND THE GULF REGION

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph John Hobbs
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Gulf Region ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
Spatial Features ◽  
Gulf Countries ◽  
The Social ◽  
Islamic Values

This paper examines how the architectural, social, and cultural heritage of the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries may contribute to better development of this region’s lived environment. Modern urbanism has largely neglected heritage in architectural design and in social and private spaces, creating inauthentic places that foster a hunger for belongingness in the UAE’s built environment. The paper reviews recent urban developments in the UAE and the Gulf Region, and identifies elements of local heritage that can be incorporated into contemporary planning and design. It proposes that adapting vernacular architectural heritage to the modern built environment should not be the principal goal for heritage-informed design. Instead we may examine the social processes underlying the traditional lived environment, and aim for social sustainability based on the lifeways and preferences of local peoples, especially in kinship and Islamic values. Among the most promising precedents for modern social sustainability are social and spatial features at the scale of the neighborhood in traditional Islamic settlements. Interviews with local Emiratis will also recommend elements of traditional knowledge to modern settings. 

Diplomasi Versi Minangkabau

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-144
Author(s):  
Muhammad Yunis
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Pragmatic Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Qualitative Observation

Pasambahan a Minangkabau society how to speak, the speech full of philosophy which delivery indirectly. This turned out to be complicated understood by some people who did not understand the pasambahan. In the present study, the authors sought to express the values of the philosophy contained in pasambahan as how to speak the traditional Minang community. As time goes, these traditions are disappearing from everyday society, for it needs a way to preserve it back. Pariaman is one area that has always practiced this tradition. In this study, the authors attempted to peel pasambahan text in a manner which according to the author deconstruction approach is one approach that is very controversial in the social sciences today. The process of data analysis by using some theories of social science (eclectic). Among the pragmatic theory and semiotics. The method used in the form of qualitative observation, the authors go directly spaciousness and interact with competent informants. From the discussion, the authors found ten diplomatic elementscontained in tradition and pasamabahan text. These elements in them, '' opener, apology, positioning/element of certainty, stringsattached, request (permission), receipt, delivery destination, contracts/agreements/agreements, offers, and resolver ''.

ISLAMIC SOCIAL SCIENCES

1988 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona Abul Fadl
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Foundations ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Human Value ◽  
The Social ◽  
Western Values ◽  
Culture Brokers

The need for a relevant and instrumental body of knowledge that can secure the taskof historical reconstruction in Muslim societies originally inspired the da’wa for the Islamizationof knowledge. The immediate targets for this da’wa were the social sciences for obvious reasons.Their field directly impinges on the organization of human societies and as such carries intothe area of human value and belief systems. The fact that such a body of knowledge alreadyexisted and that the norms for its disciplined pursuit were assumed in the dominant practiceconfronted Muslim scholars with the context for addressing the issues at stake. How relevantwas current social science to Muslim needs and aspirations? Could it, in its present formand emphasis, provide Muslims with the framework for operationalizing their values in theirhistorical present? How instrumental is it in shaping the social foundations vital for the Muslimfuture? Is instrumentality the only criteria for such evaluations? In seeking to answer thesequestions the seeds are sown for a new orientation in the social sciences. This orientationrepresents the legitimate claims and aspirations of a long silent/silenced world culture.In locating the activities of Muslim social scientists today it is important to distinguishbetween two currents. The first is in its formative stages as it sets out to rediscover the worldfrom the perspective of a recovered sense of identity and in terms of its renewed culturalaffinities. Its preoccupations are those of the Muslim revival. The other current is constitutedof the remnants of an earlier generation of modernizers who still retain a faith in the universalityof Western values. Demoralized by the revival, as much as by their own cultural alientation,they seek to deploy their reserves of scholarship and logistics to recover lost ground. Bymodifying their strategy and revalorizing the legacy they hope that, as culture-brokers, theymight be more effective where others have failed. They seek to pre-empt the cultural revivalby appropriating its symbols and reinterpreting the Islamic legacy to make it more tractableto modernity. They blame Orientalism for its inherent fixations and strive to redress its selfimposedlimitations. Their efforts may frequently intersect with those of the Islamizing current,but should clearly not be confused with them. For all the tireless ingenuity, these effortsare more conspicuous for their industry than for their originality. Between the new breadof renovationists and the old guard of ‘modernizers’, the future of an Islamic Social Scienceclearly lies with the efforts of the former.Within the Islamizing current it is possible to distinguish three principal trends. The firstopts for a radical perspective and takes its stand on epistemological grounds. It questionsthe compatibility of the current social sciences on account of their rootedness in the paradigmof the European Enlightenment and its attendant naturalistic and positivist biases. Consistencedemands a concerted e€fort to generate alternative paradigms for a new social science fromIslamic epistemologies. In contrast, the second trend opts for a more pragmatic approachwhich assumes that it is possible to interact within the existing framework of the disciplinesafter adapting them to Islamic values. The problem with modern sciene is ethical, notepistemological, and by recasting it accordingly, it is possible to benefit from its strengthsand curtail its derogatory consequences. The third trend focuses on the Muslim scholar, rather ...

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document