scholarly journals A Literary Perspective on the Environment: Rethinking Development through Art

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davi Silva Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Future ◽  
Biased Judgments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Amazonian Region ◽  
Separation Results

Due to the environmental crisis that chokes contemporaneity, it is of paramount importance for society to rethink our physical and abstract behaviours towards nature. Ecocriticism, providing a bridge between literature and nature, allows us to reorganise proven problematic notions, such as progress and development, which tend to gradually separate human beings from the space they occupy. Such separation results in a detachment that hinders our ability to transcend metropolitan, narrow-minded, biased judgments regarding the future of developing countries like Brazil, and perhaps artistic tools like literature are the only ones capable of broadening our reflections for inviting us to go beyond preconditioned perspectives. This article aims at showing how Milton Hatoum’s novel The Brothers (2000) implies that we must look for distinct possibilities of developing our spaces, more specifically the Amazon, and, through the analysis of the book as well as the impact of development on the region, the dialogue between literature and nature is proposed. First the theoretical approach on both nature and literature is delineated, followed by a discussion on how important it is to (re)connect subjects and environment, and then by analysing the novel’s characters which evince the side effects of “progress” and “growth” in the Amazonian region. The result is a problematisation of normative dichotomies such as savage/civilised, past/future, subject/space, underdeveloped/developed, and the conclusion that, for development to stop being detrimental to nature, we shall avoid believing in a “faceless environment” (Campbell, 18), that is, one needs to start observing the impact of such development on the lives of those inevitably and automatically marginalised by it.

scholarly journals Renewable Energy Development as a Driver of Economic Growth: Evidence from Multivariate Panel Data Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Singh ◽  
Richard Nyuur ◽  
Ben Richmond
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Renewable Energy Production ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact

Renewable energy is being increasingly touted as the “fuel of the future,” which will help to reconcile the prerogatives of high economic growth and an economically friendly development trajectory. This paper seeks to examine relationships between renewable energy production and economic growth and the differential impact on both developed and developing economies. We employed the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) regression model to a sample of 20 developed and developing countries for the period 1995–2016. Our key empirical findings reveal that renewable energy production is associated with a positive and statistically significant impact on economic growth in both developed and developing countries for the period 1995–2016. Our results also show that the impact of renewable energy production on economic growth is higher in developing economies, as compared to developed economies. In developed countries, an increase in renewable energy production leads to a 0.07 per cent rise in output, compared to only 0.05 per cent rise in output for developing countries. These findings have important implications for policymakers and reveal that renewable energy production can offer an environmentally sustainable means of economic growth in the future.

scholarly journals Job change and self-control of waste pickers: evidence from a field experiment in the Philippines

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-35
Author(s):  
Hide-Fumi Yokoo ◽  
Maki Ikuse ◽  
Aries Roda D. Romallosa ◽  
Masahide Horita
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Side Effect ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Negative Side ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Waste Pickers

Environmental policies may have a negative side effect on employment, often in a specific industry in the short run. Workers in regulated industries can be affected by losses in job-specific human capital. The informal sectors in developing countries are often associated with environmental pollution and thus targeted by such policies. Welfare loss due to this side effect can be problematic in developing countries, since they often lack safeguarding schemes, including unemployment insurance. Inducing workers in informal sectors to change their jobs can mitigate these negative side effects. This study examines efficient methods of inducing informal workers to change jobs. An alternative job is offered to informal workers at a dumpsite in the Philippines and whether changing the scheme of wage payment increases the acceptance of the offer is examined. The impacts of changing payment schemes are evaluated by using a randomized field experiment. The sampled 112 waste pickers each randomly receive one of four offers for an alternative job, and the number of those who accept the offer is observed to evaluate the impact of less frequent payment (i.e., once every three days instead of daily). Piece rates and fixed wages are also compared. Those offered less frequent payment are more likely to accept the job offer compared with those offered daily payment. This preferred payment scheme can mitigate the side effects of environmental policy and workers’ self-control problem related to savings, while minimizing moral hazard.

Seeds of Change and Emancipation: Towards a Cognitive Mapping of Globilisation in Literature

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-71
Author(s):  
Antonio Cuadrado-Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Global Capitalism ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Impact

200 years of industrial capitalism, and 500 years of colonialism, have caused the worst human and environmental crisis in the history of human kind. Rapid and unprecedented depletion of natura resources, global warming, the exploitation of human beings, the global economic crises, and the military might needed to enforce the free flow of capital, al these call for a common, emancipatory articulation of local struggles. However, the creation of a larger empowering discourse requires the formation of a cognitive mapping whereby different local struggles can identify and map the structural source of their oppression. In this paper I argue that recent approaches to globalisation from the perspective of complexity theory and recent developments in cognitive linguistics and poetics, can help to construct a cognitive mapping of contemporary postcolonial poetry that enables us to scrutinise the impact of global capitalism on the loca context. Complexity theory and cognitive theories regard language as rooted in human perception of a complex and dynamic environment. Cognitive mapping articulates the reader's bodily experience to the writer's embodied conceptualisations of the effects of global capitalism on their land. In this way modernity can be redefined in more democratic terms that incorporate the voice of the marginalised and the oppressed.

The London Convention 1972: Preparing for the Future

1998 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise de La Fayette
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Offshore Installations ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ocean Dumping

AbstractThis article examines the accomplishments and the future of the London Convention 1972 after the adoption of the 1996 Protocol. The 1996 Protocol contains an entirely new convention including the recent amendments to the London Convention, as well as going several steps further in adopting a reverse listing approach and in providing incentives for developing countries to join the regime. The importance of the London Convention has been enhanced through the coming into force of the LOS Convention, which requires parties to adopt legislation on ocean dumping at least as effective as the provisions of the London Convention. As shown by the proceedings of the first Consultative Meeting of the Parties since the adoption of the Protocol, there is still much to be done to protect the marine environment from the possible deleterious effects of ocean dumping. Not only do the parties still have to adopt guidelines to assess the impact and acceptability of substances on objects still permitted to be dumped, but also there remains a possibility of restricting further items. OSPAR Conventions are more restrictive, for example, in prohibiting the dumping of vessels of offshore installations.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Italian Nature-Based Programs in the Educational, Therapeutic, Training and Leisure Areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 394
Author(s):  
Chiara Borelli ◽  
Alessandra Gigli ◽  
Giannino Melotti
Keyword(s):  
Economic Impact ◽  
Experiential Education ◽  
Ecological Framework ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Global Crisis ◽  
The Future ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
Socio Economic Impact ◽  
The Impact

In these times of global crisis caused by COVID-19, there is an urgent need to address the topic of nature-based experiences in education: the pandemic has strongly highlighted both the interdependence between human beings and nature, and the need for mending the dichotomic vision that keeps them separate. Experiential education in natural contexts within an ecological framework might have a strategic role in this crucial period to develop anthropologic, civic, and dialogic conscience (Morin, 2001). Through this study, CEFEO Research Center had the objective of investigating the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on Italian nature-based programs in the educational, therapeutic, training, and leisure areas. From 28 May to 19 June 2020, an online questionnaire was distributed with the purpose of understanding the socio-economic impact of the pandemic on nature-based programs during the lockdown period and during the period of first reopening, and the related needs and new opportunities for the future. The results highlight a paradox: the COVID-19 crisis has caused more problems for a sector which was already suffering from a lack of funding and of social and institutional acknowledgment. Many agencies working in the field lost months of income and numerous working days, and they are uncertain about the future: they are having difficulties surviving in a moment when we need them more.

scholarly journals The Impact of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic on the Cuban Tourism Industry and Recommendations for Cuba’s Response

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-83
Author(s):  
Hilary Becker
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Planned Economy ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Future ◽  
Cuban Government ◽  
Manufacturing Facilities ◽  
Music Venues ◽  
The Impact ◽  
At Home

   Cuba has been affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic as has most countries. The pandemic has all but shut down the tourism industry, with global flights being cancelled and governments taking drastic actions to stop the spread of the virus. The impact will especially hurt developing countries without strong economies and those heavily reliant on the tourism industry, such as Cuba. Government initiatives have included stay at home orders and temporarily closing businesses, restaurants, sports, and music venues as well as manufacturing facilities. With these shutdowns, there exists the probabilities that many businesses will not survive, but for those with sufficient cashflow, this presents opportunities for organizations and governments to re-tool, re-balance and alter their methods of operations. Cuba is different, in that they have a centralized planned economy and do have an opportunity to make significant changes to their industries which can improve the future of Cuba. The present paper looks to evaluate the impact of this on the country and the tourism industry and make economic recommendations in order for the Cuban government to move forward. 

scholarly journals Application of Entropy Method to Quantify Future Ecological Flow in the Yellow River Basin

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Xinru Wang ◽  
Huijuan Cui
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Yellow River Basin ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ecological Flow ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Yellow River Basin ◽  
The Impact

Due to both anthropogenic and climate change impacts, precipitation and runoff in the Yellow River basin have decreased in the past 50 years, leading to more pressure in sustaining human beings and ecosystem needs. It is essential to evaluate the flow condition in the Yellow River basin and see whether it may satisfy its ecological flow in the future. Therefore, this study applied an entropy-based method to calculate the flow duration curves from both observed and simulated data to evaluate the impact of climate change on ecological flow in the Yellow River basin. The simulated FDCs from H08 and DBH models show good agreement with each other and fit observation well. Results show that the decadal FDC at each station is generally predicted to be higher or stay in the higher range under both RCP 2.6 and 8.5 scenarios, suggesting an increase in water amount in the future. It is found that the high flows increase much faster than the low flows, resulting in larger slopes than the references ones, which is due to the larger entropy and M values in the future. At most of the stations, the future values of Q95 and Q90 will safely exceed the threshold. It is found that at the Lanzhou, Wubao, Longmen, and Huayuankou stations, there will be no or little threat to future ecological flow. Still, at the Toudaoguai and Sanmanxia stations, the ecological requirement is not always satisfied. The water stress at the Tangnaihai station from the upper stream of the Yellow River may be threatened in the future.

The Impact of Religious and National Belonging on Attitudes Concerning the Social Importance of Religion

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Georg Ziebertz
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Moral Authority ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Social Authority ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Social Importance ◽  
The Impact

Culture and religion are both collective phenomena. Social identity theory shows how both can function as a connective frame of reference for a certain group of human beings. Frames are unique; nevertheless, different frames can overlap each other. In this research, both big categories will be used to explore if and how they predict attitudes towards the social importance of religious institutions. Religious institutions are guided by religious authorities and these authorities have a specific responsibility to keep these institutions alive and prepare them for the future. In this research, respondents were asked how religious institutions can best be prepared for the future: whether they should use their social authority, moral authority, spiritual or cultural authority? The second and main question of this paper is: can the appreciated social importance of religious institutions be predicted by religious or non-religious reasons, i.e. by either respondents’ religious belonging or their national identity? A requirement for such research is the availability of a cross-cultural and cross-religious sample. In this paper, data were taken from the “Religion and Human Rights” programme and respondents from 14 countries (N=13.004) were included in the analysis. The findings show that respondents regard the social importance of religion differently and that differences depend on respondents’ country of citizenship and their religious belonging. If the weight of these influences is compared, respondents’ views are more strongly predicted by their national than by their religious belonging. The findings also show that there is an overlap between national culture and religion, which explains a certain percentage of the variance.

Ecological Education: Extending the Definition of Environmental Education

1999 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 139-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Smith ◽  
Dilafruz R. Williams
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Ecological Education ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Impact

Except in small measure, environmental education in the United States has not yet challenged the status quo of Western notions of progress or monoculturalism, or recognized that moving through the environmental crisis may require significant shifts in generally unquestioned cultural attitudes and beliefs. In the U.S., environmental education has instead tended to focus on information regarding environmental problems and to explore topics such as endangered species, global climate change, or the water quality of local streams and rivers. Even this has become a source of controversy in the United States since the mid-1990s as a coalition of right-wing organizations has mounted a well-coordinated political campaign charging environmental educators with bias and a failure to present both sides of controversial issues (Sanera & Shaw 1996, Independent Commission on Environmental Education 1997). Despite this, we believe that if environmental education is to live up to its promise as a vehicle for developing a citizenry capable of making wise decisions about the impact of human activities on the environment, examining and altering fundamental cultural beliefs and practices that are contributing to the degradation of the planet's natural systems will be imperative.We have chosen to call this extended form of environmental education ecological education. For us, ecological education connotes an emphasis on the inescapable embeddedness of human beings in natural settings and the responsibilities that arise from this relationship. Rather than seeing nature as other—a set of phenomena capable of being manipulated like parts of a machine—the practice of ecological education requires viewing human beings as one part of the natural world and human cultures as an outgrowth of interactions between our species and particular places. We believe that the development of sustainable cultures will in fact require widespread acceptance of a relationship between humans and the earth grounded in moral sentiments that arise from the willingness to care. As Indian physicist and ecofeminist Vandana Shiva writes, the term ‘sustainability’ implies the ability and willingness ‘to support, bear weight of, hold up, enable to last out, give strength to, endure without giving way’ (Shiva 1992, p. 191).

scholarly journals The Human Digitalisation Journey: Technology First at the Expense of Humans?

Information ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 267
Author(s):  
Hossein Hassani ◽  
Xu Huang ◽  
Emmanuel Silva
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Vulnerability ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Human Value ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
The Impact

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the impact of digitalisation as a driver of transformation and advancements across almost every aspect of human life. With the majority actively embracing smart technologies and their benefits, the journey of human digitalisation has begun. Will human beings continue to remain solitary unaffected beings in the middle of the whirlpool—a gateway to the completely digitalised future? This journey of human digitalisation probably started much earlier, before we even realised. This paper, in the format of an objective review and discussion, aims to investigate the journey of human digitalisation, explore the reality of domination between technology and humans, provide a better understanding of the human value and human vulnerability in this fast transforming digital era, so as to achieve valuable and insightful suggestion on the future direction of the human digitalisation journey.

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