Research on space optimization of historic blocks on Jiangnan from the perspective of place construction

In the process of rapid urbanization, gentrification and commercialization have inevitably appeared in the historical districts of Jiangnan. Although they optimize the space environment of the historic district and promote the development of economy and tourism, they have resulted in disadvantages such as insufficient vitality of the space group, rigid space interface, lack of space quality and lack of regional culture. Mathematical calculation can be used to analyse the data of 15 historical blocks, determine the key points of the protection of historical blocks in Jiangnan area and then put forward reasonable construction strategies. This paper starts from the four elements of space group, space structure, space quality and space vitality, identifies the key points and key point of the historical block protection in Jiangnan area, and then puts forward the reasonable place building strategy.

The “Chicago Boys” Intellectual Transfer: a Gramscian Interpretation

In September 11, 1973, the democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende died in a confrontation with the army, led by General Augusto Pinochet. After the coup, a great shift in social and economic policies occurred, dismantling all the measures taken by the popular government and by its moderate antecessors as well. Recognizing the Chicago Boys as the organic intellectuals of neoliberalism in Chile, we describe how they were a key element to transform Chilean society in the attempt to form a Historical Block after Salvador Allende’s overthrown. This Gramscian perspective allows us to consider not only the ideological, but also the role of class struggle.

Does Democratic Peace Theory Genuinely Envision Global Peace? A Critical Approach

Democratic Peace Theory has been one of the most hotly debated topics ever since the 1980s. From Kant to the present day, the meaning of Democratic Peace Theory has changed, while the theory nowadays claims in principle that democratic states wage war against each other less often owing to their institutions’ and citizens’ abilities to urge their governments to establish a peaceful foreign policy. At this point, the critical theory offers an alternative explanation for the behaviors of democratic countries. This study was designed as a theoretical discussion utilising the analysis of primary and secondary sources in the field, both in printed and electronic materials. Employing the viewpoint of the critical theory, this paper argues that Democratic Peace is the disguise of hegemonic relations and the product of the historical block. This study revealed that democracies are not pacifist actors in the international realm. As articulated by the critical approach, the study also puts forth that the concept of Democratic eace facilitates the expansionist ambitions of hegemonic powers in the international system by utilizing various humanitarian interventions and serves as a means to maintain imperialist peace. Empirical evidence from the military intervention in Libya further reinforces this argument. Thus, this study asserts the idea to be cautious against the propositions of the Democratic Peace Theory because any activities done in the name of spreading democracy may involve a hidden agenda and disrupt the internal stability of non-democratic countries.

Negative Existentials

This chapter presents a critical discussion of the problem of negative existentials in the tradition of analytic philosophy of language. Firstly, it presents the problem as a compelling argument in support of the counterintuitive conclusion that sentences such as ‘Pegasus does not exist’ cannot be used to make true and informative assertions. Then, seven influential proposals for solving the problem are considered, each of which is construed as a response to this argument. The proposals considered are Russell’s (1905) theory of descriptions, Quine’s (1948) prescribed elimination of names, Donnellan’s (1974) ‘historical block’ view, Kripke’s (1973/2013) ‘no such proposition’ view, Salmon’s (1998) fictional entities view, Braun’s (1993) gappy proposition view, and Katz’s (1990) pure metalinguistic descriptivism. Though the official stance with regard to these proposals is neutral, the chapter concludes with a brief reactive summary that endorses a general pragmatic approach to the problem.

Research on Humanistic Technology of Urban Design of Historical Blocks in Harbin

Nowadays, with globalization sweeping across cities, more and more cities tend to develop in the same way, while the sense of existence of local identity becomes weaker. It is often the preferred choice of the city government to construct distinctive characteristics with the help of urban design. Historical blocks have their own unique cultural connotations. How to make them retain their own traditional context in the rapid urban renewal and maintain vitality with the development of the city is an urgent problem to be solved in urban design. In this paper, the research objects are two historical blocks in Harbin which is a representative historical city located on the Northeast China. One of objects is the Central Street of Harbin, which attracts countless foreign visitors every year as a popular tourist area. The other object is the Chinese Baroque Historical Block, which is deserted after renovation and planning. On the basis of urban design, this paper makes a comparative analysis of two historical blocks from the perspective of social humanities, and puts forward the humanistic technology of urban design. Humanistic technology are divided into two technical routes: human and culture. The study of human includes the living needs of local residents, the behavioural feelings of foreign users, the control and management of government development and the distribution of interests of investors. The study of culture includes the combing of the history and culture of the block, the embodiment of space culture and the promotion of value culture. This paper attempts to build a universal theory framework. Humanistic technology will be used as research foundation for urban design in the renovation and conservation planning of cultural heritage.

Research on online public participation and online platform construction for historical block protection in the data age

With the implementation of benefit-oriented urban renewal, many historical blocks have lost their identifiability. The historical block is an external entity that is a presentation of urban culture. The disappearance and homogenization of the historical block have directly led to the city losing its place attachment, with the overall identifiability of urban areas becoming weakened. Therefore, it is essential to develop a strategy to protect historical block identifiability in urban planning. Traditional urban planning is dominated by government and developers and is highly dependent on planners’ experience-based judgment but lacks quantitative analysis of public participation. As a result, it is difficult to carry out an objective and comprehensive analysis when facing the complicated situation of historical blocks. The issue of public participation has become an essential issue in the process of urban construction and renewal in China and other developing countries. Based on an analysis of the concept and the characteristics and techniques prevalent in the data age, this article discusses (1) the method and mechanism of public participation in the protection of urban historical blocks and (2) the content and structures of public participation platforms for historical districts. Research indicates that the application of cloud technology and reasonable platform design is the focus of public participation in historical block protection, which can change public participation from passive to active, from “lagged” to “synchronized”.