Borders

2020 ◽  
pp. 85-100
Author(s):  
Michael Gott
Keyword(s):  
Border Crossings ◽  
Border Theory ◽  
Spatial Terms ◽  
Physical Spaces

This essay argues for a broader conception of the ‘border’ in a contemporary, postcolonial context. French borders are increasingly diffuse geographically and conceptually. Multidirectional population flows, the effects of European border policies and the ideational borders that delineate between putative insiders and outsiders must all be taken into account. In strictly spatial terms, the contemporary borders of France and Europe are not simply physical lines (however fluid or permeable) where people cross or are compelled to stop, but zones, spaces of contact and back-and-forth, or a ‘borderland’, to use étienne Balibar’s concept. Drawing on historical studies of immigration and current border theory, the essay takes two primary approaches to borders: first as social and political concepts and then as physical spaces or zones. It then concludes examples of cinematic representations of border crossings and border experiences, taken from French, francophone and wider European film industries.

Spatial Terms Convey Distance Information

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric S. Covey ◽  
Laura A. Carlson-Radvansky
Keyword(s):  
Distance Information ◽  
Spatial Terms

“I’m just aware they’re labels”

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Smith
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Origin ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
Faith Communities ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Class Status ◽  
Sexual Identification ◽  
Minority Ethnic ◽  
Divine Order

This article discusses fieldwork in two research projects on Buddhists in London. It explores issues involved in researching lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning and/or intersex (LGBTQI) Buddhists. It also considers issues around heterosexual identities in Buddhist communi-ties. In researching dynamics of gender and sexual identification of participants it was observed that at times participant narratives treated these identities for these axes of difference as provisional and contingent rather than essential, fixed and a basis for socio-political organization. This contrasts with much of the work on religion and sexuality in mainstream theistic traditions, where their LGBTQI members often argue a “reverse discourse” asserting their place in a “Divine Order” in which their sexual/gender identity is a key part of “who they are.” It is argued that theoretical approaches based on queer theorizing could be particularly applicable to research on Western Buddhist perspectives on gender and sexual identities. This is attributed to the anti-essentialist approach Buddhism takes to questions of subjectivity and identification and its non-hegemonic status in the West. Such queer theorizing would, however, need to acknowledge the constraints to “border crossings” between identity positions arising from oppressive forces from gender minoritization, class status, minority ethnic origin, and so on. It is also suggested that research on the heterosexual majority can elucidate ways in which faith communities are gendered, racialized and stratified by class.

Reflections on Death by Spiritually Mature Elders

1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Eugene Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Spatial Terms ◽  
Present Life

Beliefs and feelings about death are excerpted from interviews conducted with elderly English men and women, who were viewed as spiritually mature by those in their community. Respondents reported a wide range of beliefs about death, reflecting their personal experience, but none reported fear of death. Subtle sex differences were noted: men tended to picture death in spatial terms, of moving into a new dimension, while women tended to describe death in terms of relationships. Overall the respondents indicated that they placed a positive value on death, viewing it as a continuation of, and source of meaning for their present life.

Conference report: innovation, interaction … and a lot of data: first time reflections on Internet Librarian International, UK 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-22
Author(s):  
Ray Harper
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Conference Report ◽  
Library Services ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Making A Difference ◽  
Analyse Data ◽  
Physical Spaces ◽  
First Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to summarise a number of presentations at Day 1 of the Internet Librarian International conference, London, UK (16 October 2018). This was the 20th conference in the series, and the three key themes included were the next-gen library and librarian; understanding users, usage and user experience; and inclusion and inspiration: libraries making a difference. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports from the viewpoint of a first-time attendee of the conference. This summarises the main issues raised by each presentation and draws out the key learning points for practical situations. Findings The conference covered a variety of practical ways in which libraries can use technology to support users and make decisions about services. These include developing interactive physical spaces which include augmented reality; introducing “chat-bots” to support users; using new techniques to analyse data; and piloting new ways to engage users (such as coding clubs). A key theme was how we use and harness data in a way that is ethical, effective and relevant to library services. Originality/value This conference focussed on practical examples of how library and information services across sectors and countries are innovating in a period of huge change. The conference gave delegates numerous useful ideas and examples of best practice and demonstrated the strength of the profession in adapting to new technologies and developments.

COVID-19 Certificates as a New Form of Mobility Control

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Jouni HÄKLI
Keyword(s):  
Air Traffic ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Border Crossings ◽  
Mobile Populations ◽  
Global Mobility ◽  
Travel Restrictions ◽  
Place Of Origin ◽  
New Form ◽  
International Border

The global volume of travel has grown steadily for decades and hence the border closures and travel restrictions in response to COVID-19 have created an unforeseen impact on the number of international border crossings. In air traffic alone the data show a striking 75.6% decrease in the number of scheduled international passengers. We might hasten to think that the strict travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 crisis have in principle treated mobile populations equally – for once we have all been banned from travelling. We could even consider the recent initiatives to introduce “vaccination certificates” as a fair and democratic way to reintroduce safe international travelling. In reality, the idea of a COVID-19 certificate is but a new layer in the broader landscape of highly uneven global mobility where travellers’ citizenship and place of origin truly matter. This article discusses some of the major inequalities embedded in the global mobility regime and argues that the idea of the COVID-19 certificate as an equaliser remains completely disconnected from these underlying realities. To conclude, the article discusses problems related to uneven access to digital travel documents, such as the proposed COVID-19 certificate.

scholarly journals #reimagining Arab Women’s Social Media Empowerment and the Postdigital Condition

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512110101
Author(s):  
Zoe Hurley
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Physical Spaces ◽  
Self Presentations

Social media intersects across physical spaces, digital infrastructures, and social subjectivities in terms of what is being called the “postdigital,” in an increasingly merging offline/online world. But what precisely does it mean to be “postdigital” if you are an Arab woman or social actor in the Global South? How does access to social networking sites, while increasing visibilities, also provide potential for increased agency? This study is concerned with the extent to which Arab women’s self-presentation practices on Instagram could be considered as empowering, or otherwise, within the postdigital condition. First, the study takes Instagram as a case to develop a theoretical framework for considering social media as a tertiary artifact, involving material, routine-symbolic, and conceptual affordances. Second, it applies the artifact framework to explore a corpus of self-presentations by five Arab women influencers. Feminist postdigital theorizing offers unique contributions to problematizing normative, ethnocentric, and neoliberal conceptions of Arab women’s empowerment. The application of the novel framework leads to an interpretative discussion of Arab women’s influencing practices across merging offline/online and transnational boundaries. Overall, the critical perspective begins to reimagine Arab women’s empowerment, not simply as individualized or material processes, but as agencies that are interwoven within the commercialized and conceptual dynamics of visual social media.

Post-digital prosumption and the sharing economy of space: The pay-per-minute cafe

2021 ◽  
pp. 146954052110220
Author(s):  
Alexandra Kviat
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Culture ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Cultural Impact ◽  
Pricing Policy ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Brick And Mortar ◽  
Physical Spaces

Although prosumption and the sharing economy are currently at the cutting edge of consumer culture research, little attempt has been made to explore the theoretical relationship between these concepts and approach them with a pluralistic, dynamic, nuanced and ethnographically informed lens moving beyond the dichotomies of capitalism versus anti-capitalism, rhetoric versus reality, exploitation versus empowerment and traditional versus digital consumer culture. This article addresses these gaps by focusing on the phenomenon of pay-per-minute cafes – physical spaces inspired by digital culture and meant to apply its principles in the brick-and-mortar servicescape. Drawing on a multi-site, multi-method case study of the world’s first pay-per-minute cafe franchise, the article shows a multitude of ways in which prosumption and the sharing economy, both shaped by different configurations of organisational culture, physical design, food offer and pricing policy, are conceived, interpreted and experienced by the firms and customers across the franchise and argues that conflicts and contradictions arising from this diversity cannot be reduced to the narrative of consumer exploitation. Finally, while both prosumption and the sharing economy are typically defined by the use of digital platforms, this article makes a case for a post-digital approach to consumer culture research, looking into the cultural impact of digital technology on traditional servicescapes.

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