Knowledge Society

2022 ◽  
pp. 144-165
Author(s):  
Artur Parreira ◽  
Rui Duarte Moura ◽  
Ana Lorga da Silva

This chapter is developed along three conceptual axes: citizenship; knowledge society: transparency; and trust and participation. It begins by explaining the concept of citizenship and its historical roots, the Greek polis and the Roman civitas; the revival of cities in the Late Middle Ages and their consolidation in the Modern Age. It analyzes the citizenship construct with the affirmation of each inhabitant as a citizen involved in improving the several plans of the quality of urban life. The second axis evaluates the characteristics of knowledge societies as promoting factors to a citizenship based on socio-political indicators that build trust between the citizen. The third axis deals with transparency and trust as active disseminators of timely and relevant information to the public and its impact on corruption, as a barrier against a broad citizenship. At the methodological level, the study combines bibliographic research with a field research by questionnaire.

Author(s):  
Artur Parreira ◽  
Rui Duarte Moura ◽  
Ana Lorga da Silva

This chapter is developed along three conceptual axes: citizenship; knowledge society: transparency; and trust and participation. It begins by explaining the concept of citizenship and its historical roots, the Greek polis and the Roman civitas; the revival of cities in the Late Middle Ages and their consolidation in the Modern Age. It analyzes the citizenship construct with the affirmation of each inhabitant as a citizen involved in improving the several plans of the quality of urban life. The second axis evaluates the characteristics of knowledge societies as promoting factors to a citizenship based on socio-political indicators that build trust between the citizen. The third axis deals with transparency and trust as active disseminators of timely and relevant information to the public and its impact on corruption, as a barrier against a broad citizenship. At the methodological level, the study combines bibliographic research with a field research by questionnaire.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-141
Author(s):  
Rudá Peixoto Teles ◽  
Maria Lucineide Gomes da Silva ◽  
Rosemary de Matos Cordeiro

The urbanization process of the majority of the Brazilian cities has occurred without appropriate planning that would consider the importance of environmental components. Nevertheless, it is widely known that the quality of urban life depends on a variety of factors, such as infrastructure, socioeconomic development and environment related aspects. With regard to these last factors, public green areas are essential for the maintenance of public welfare and, among these places, the public squares function as social interactive and leisure options for citizens. Due to their beauty, the squares contribute to urban ornamentation and usually host civic or religious events. Thereby, this study aimed to characterization the social and environmental role played by the public squares in the municipality of Crato-CE.  As a methodological approach, bibliographic researches, as well as, the application of 50 questionnaires have provided the necessary information. The results suggest that there is a diversification of the squares frequenters at different times of the day, in addition to a variety of reasons that influence people to stay at or pass by these places. It was perceived that being at squares stimulates positive feelings, as the feeling of happiness described by 46% of the interviewers, freedom experienced by 30% and contact with nature by 15%.  Therefore, it is undoubtedly possible to emphasize the importance of public squares for the municipality and the wellbeing of its citizens.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramly Hasan ◽  
Noriah Othman ◽  
Faridah Ismail

Trees in urban areas are an invaluable resource. Careful consideration and attention should be given to tree species selection. “Right tree at the right place” is the key to get the benefits offered by the tree. Objectives have been formulated as follows (i) to investigate the selection of tree species at selected local councils (ii) to analyse the issues related to the selection of the tree species looking at the public perspectives. A mixed method approach was undertaken in the data collection. Future considerations of the tree species as street planting based on the findings can reduce problems thus increase the quality of urban life.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clair Cooper

<p>An increased awareness of the way in which urbanisation, climate change, a reduction in the quality, quantity of and access to green space and natural infrastructure (such as blue spaces) all interact to threaten health and well-being of urban populations (Nesshover, et al, 2017; Kabisch & van de Bosch, 2017) has led to the emergence of a new conceptual framework, Nature-based Solutions. Through the management and use of nature, this concept aims to co-produce ecosystems services that not only allow cities to mitigate and adapt against the effects of climate change and increased urbanisation, but also reduce the public health risks associated with these challenges(WHO, 2016, 2017; Hartig at el. 2014; Kabisch et al. 2017), stimulate economies to improve inequality in cities (Nesshover, et al, 2017) and improve the quality of urban life (Mitchel & Popham, 2008; Mitchell et al. 2015). Using data from the Urban Nature Atlas, a database of a 1000 nature-based solutions from across a 100 European cities, this paper examines how the differing characteristics of these solutions (such as their ecological domains, ecosystems services, forms of governance, innovation, etc) are clustered and how the characteristics of these clusters relate to different social, economic and health factors that influence quality of life in our cities.</p>


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 724
Author(s):  
Alicja K. Zawadzka

The paper presents the results of a study on the attractiveness to tourists and natives of the cultural qualities of coastal towns on The Pomeranian Way of St. James that are members of the Cittaslow network. Attention to the quality of urban life is inscribed in the development policies of towns applying to join the Cittaslow movement. In order to join the network (apart from the size criterion), towns need to meet a minimum of 50% plus one of the 72 criteria grouped into seven categories. One of the category is Quality of Urban Life Policy, so the towns applying to join Cittaslow commit themselves to actions aimed at improving the quality of urban life. The study on the attractiveness of cultural qualities of towns to tourists and natives was conducted using the author’s BRB method, whose added value is its universality and the possibility to study small towns regardless of their membership in the Cittaslow network. BRB is an acronym that stands for BUILDINGS, RELATIONSHIPS, BALANCE, and comprises three scopes of activities: BUILDINGS (iconic building and important sites where the inhabitants and the tourists are present); RELATIONSHIPS (the visual effects of the relations between the inhabitants and the town) and BALANCE (solutions that implement modern technologies). This method enables identification of places that are important to the inhabitants, where urban life takes place and which are often created with the involvement of the inhabitants. These are often the same spaces as those that attract tourists and perhaps stimulate them the desire to visit the town again (BRB—be right back). The aim of the BRB method is shown the attractiveness of small towns. The study has shown that the characteristic feature of Polish Cittaslow towns is their diversity: the architectural attractiveness of three towns is high both to tourists and natives. On the other hand, the urban attractiveness of the examined towns is an insufficient.


Author(s):  
Christof Paulus ◽  
Albert Weber

AbstractVenice is considered the best-informed community of the late Middle Ages. The study examines the availability of information for the second half of the 15th century, particularly with regard to the key year 1462/1463, and as a case study concentrates on areas of the supposed Venetian periphery of interest, above all Hungary and the two principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. The result is a thoroughly differentiated system of information acquisition, verification and control. Means of communication, as well as different areas of interest of the Serenissima, can be identified. A distinction is made between information maps and communication maps. The latter also include the distribution of news from the lagoon city exchanged with foreign envoys. During the period concerned, news was exchanged in an astonishingly liberal way, in turn integrating the Serenissima into the information networks of the other Italian states. The study thus places the „information commodity“ within the research field of late medieval gift exchange and patronage structures. In short, a thoroughly pragmatic Venetian approach to news acquisition and evaluation can be observed. Verification of the quality of the information obtained was subject not least to quantitative and ranking criteria. Ultimately, the informational power of Venice was based above all on its outstanding reputation among its contemporaries.


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
XI PAN ◽  
JASLEEN K. CHAHAL ◽  
ROSE MARIE WARD

ABSTRACTThe concept of quality of urban life (QoUL) can be interpreted quite differently across different cultures. Little evidence has shown that the measure of QoUL, which is based on Western culture, can be applied to populations cross-culturally. In the current study, we use data from the 2006 Assessing Happiness and Competitiveness of World Major Metropolises study to identify underlying factors associated with QoUL as well as assess the consistency of the QoUL measurement among adults, aged 60 and older, in ten world major metropolises (i.e. New York City, Toronto, London, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Stockholm, Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul). Exploratory factor analysis and multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) are used to analyse the data. Findings of the study suggest that the measure of QoUL is sensitive to socio-cultural differences. Community factor and intrapersonal factor are two underlying structures that are related to QoUL among older adults in ten metropolises cross-culturally. Results from the CFA indicate that Toronto is comparable with Beijing, New York City, Paris, Milan and Stockholm in QoUL, while other cities are not. The results provide insights into the development of current urban policy and promotion of quality of life among older residents in major metropolitan areas. Future researchers should continue to explore the relationship between QoUL and socio-cultural differences within international urban settings, while remaining cautious when making cross-cultural comparisons.


Curationis ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Cilliers ◽  
F.P. Retief

The evolution of the hospital is traced from its onset in ancient Mesopotamia towards the end of the 2nd millennium to the end of the Middle Ages. Reference is made to institutionalised health care facilities in India as early as the 5th century BC, and with the spread of Buddhism to the east, to nursing facilities, the nature and function of which are not known to us, in Sri Lanka, China and South East Asia. Special attention is paid to the situation in the Graeco-Roman era: one would expect to find the origin of the hospital in the modem sense of the word in Greece, the birthplace of rational medicine in the 4th century BC, but the Hippocratic doctors paid house-calls, and the temples of Asclepius were visited for incubation sleep and magico-religious treatment. In Roman times the military and slave hospitals which existed since the 1st century AD, were built for a specialized group and not for the public, and were therefore also not precursors of the modem hospital. It is to the Christians that one must turn for the origin of the modem hospital. Hospices, initially built to shelter pilgrims and messengers between various bishops, were under Christian control developed into hospitals in the modem sense of the word. In Rome itself, the first hospital was built in the 4th century AD by a wealthy penitent widow, Fabiola. In the early Middle Ages (6th to 10th century), under the influence of the Benedictine Order, an infirmary became an established part of every monastery. During the late Middle Ages (beyond the 10th century) monastic infirmaries continued to expand, but public hospitals were also opened, financed by city authorities, the church and private sources. Specialized institutions, like leper houses, also originated at this time. During the Golden Age of Islam the Muslim world was clearly more advanced than its Christian counterpart with magnificent hospitals in various countries.


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