The development of mathematics teacher professional competencies through social media

One of the competencies for mathematics teachers that needs to be developed continuously is professional competence. However, even if efforts for developing teachers’ competencies have been made formally by the government, it seems still lacking. This study, therefore, aims to develop mathematics teacher professional competencies through an informal development model using social media. This research used a qualitative method, a case study design, involving 19 mathematics teachers from various regions in Indonesia in the informal development process in the range of 2019-2021. The informal approach was carried out using question-and-answer techniques and guided discussions on mathematical problems. From the teacher development processes, 30 mathematics problems and their solutions were collected. As an illustration of this development process, this article presents five problems and their solutions, including solutions for two mathematics problems on conceptual understanding and three mathematics problems on problem-solving. We conclude that this informal approach is fruitful in helping mathematics teachers solve mathematics problems. This study implies that the teacher development process carried out in this study can be used as a model for informal teacher development by other higher education academics in their respective places.

Enabling Socio-Ecological Resilience in the Global South: Insights from Chennai, India

Addressing climate change adaptation in the cities of the Global South is crucial as they are the most at risk and, arguably, the least capable of coping with it due to their rapid expansion, informal development, and limited institutional capacity. This paper explores this challenge in the case of Chennai, India, a city which, in recent years, has faced several climate related disasters, including floods. Building on an innovative combination of research methods (policy documents analysis, stakeholder interviews, and a community workshop), the study analyses the barriers and explores potentials for operationalising socio-ecological resilience in Chennai in the face of an ongoing conflict between rapid urbanisation and the natural water system, compromising the region’s hydrological capacity and resilience to flooding. In particular, drawing on the notion of evolutionary resilience and multi-level approach, the paper investigates (1) the scope for developing an integrated vision for resilience of the Chennai region (macro level); (2) the presence and the capacity of institutions to connect the different stakeholders and mediate their interests (meso level); and (3) the barriers and potentials developing local adaptation strategies in a bottom-up manner (micro level). The study sheds light on the under-researched issue of socio-ecological resilience in Chennai, while identifying potentials for implementing it through a combination of top down and bottom-up approaches, which in turn provides useful lessons for planning for resilience in other cities in the Global South.

Post-Disaster Economies at the Margins

This chapter is concerned with the making of development zones in Nepal’s northern borderlands. Focusing on the shifting economic geographies of traders and businessmen, I demonstrate that the current revival of border markets and informal economies is inseparable from the combined processes of state restructuring and infrastructural reconstruction that ensued after the 2015 earthquakes devastated large parts of the country. I seek to develop the category of “informal development zones” to attend to the ways in which state power is enacted to control and discipline the margins in the post-disaster moment, while also foregrounding how rural inhabitants engage with, resist, or support the formalities of state laws and regulations. Looking closely at local narratives of social differences and insecurities, I show how people navigate the complex space between competition and choice to carve out investment strategies and entrepreneurial opportunities. Informal development zones are transforming life in borderlands and offer an urgent reminder of the uncertain and uneven outcomes of market economies following moments of rupture.

Migrants and Refugees: Bottom-Up and DIY Spaces in Italy

The term ‘arrival city’ was notoriously introduced by Saunders (2010) to indicate all places which provide first access to the city. For Saunders, migrants from rural third world villages confront the same challenges in their home country or abroad. The informal neighbourhood in developing countries is thus advocated as a model for cities in western countries. Through an ethnographic approach, the article considers emerging practices of refugees and migrants in the centre of Milan and in a small town on the outskirts of Rome investigating a varied set of reception models. In conclusion, the article revises the model of the arrival neighbourhood while criticizing the underlying assumption of informal development. Instead, it insists on the need for understanding the specific requirements of arrival places for better regulation of the reception of migrants.

From neighbourhood self-organisation to city building: the case of Bathore, Kamëz (Albania)

This chapter delves in the evolution of the city of Kamëz from a small town in the suburbs of Tirana, the capital of Albania, to a city of over 90,000 inhabitants. Practices of self-built are analysed in three main timeframes reflecting the different socio-political conditions of Albania. Initially, experiences of self-built are analysed in the pre-1990s in Kamëz during the dictatorial regime. Afterwards, the analysis is focused on the dynamic evolution of the area of Bathore, a neighbourhood in Kamëz, in a complete absence urban management by the state and where citizens through informal development populated the whole area. In the end, the chapter is focused on a project for the improvement of the neighbourhood which afterwards became a common practice for the evolution of the city through self-built practices. The main focus of the analysis is on the role of state, non-state and citizens in the process of self-built experiences in Albania.

What Has Emerged From 30 Years of the Orangi Pilot Project

The causes of what has emerged from 30 years of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) can only be understood through understanding the factors that have shaped its evolution. The OPP was established by Akhtar Hameed Khan whose experience-based thinking and theorization has shaped the project philosophy and methodology. Situated in Orangi Town in Karachi, Pakistan, the project has motivated local communities to finance and build their own neighborhood infrastructure while encouraging the local government to build the off-site infrastructure such as trunk sewers and treatment plants. The project expanded to other areas of Pakistan with the OPP’s Research and Training Institute, training local communities in surveying, estimating materials and labor required for construction works, and motivating communities in building their sanitation systems and negotiating with local government to build the off-site infrastructure. The project methodology has been adopted by local governments and bilateral and international development agencies. The philosophy and methodology have also become a part of universities’ and bureaucratic training institutions’ curriculum. So far, households on over 15,560 lanes all over Pakistan have built their sanitation systems by investing 412 million rupees (Rs). According to the OPP 153rd quarterly report in 2018, the total number of households in these lanes is 272,506. The model shaped the sanitation policy of the government of Pakistan and also influenced policies on housing and informal development, which has results in the upgrade in a much greater number of households in urban areas such as Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Kasur, Narowal, Sargodha, Nowshera, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Rawalpindi, Muzaffargarh, Swat, Lodhran, Kehror Pakka, Dunyapur, Khanpur, Bahawalpur, Khairpur, Jalah Arain, Yazman, Vehari, Uchh, Multan, Alipur, Gujranwala, Jampur, Sanghar, Amanullah, Parhoon, Mithi, and Sinjhoro, as well as 128 villages. The project suffered a major blow with the assassination of its director and one of its workers and an attempt on the life of its deputy director in 2013. Due to the resulting insecurity, project programs and various linkages with government and international agencies and nongovernmental organizations suffered. However, due to the OPP’s reputation of capability and its roots within the community, the project has survived (against all predictions) and is in the process of expanding its work and expertise.

Requalification of Residential Space in Tirana - Methodologies and Intervention Strategies

The city of Tirana is subject to constant physical and spatial metamorphosis. In its urban territory, the different residential typologies are well distinguished by socio-economic conditions and the technical-constructive characteristics which have been influenced by political development of the country. The multi-family residential buildings from the post-war period up to the 1990s, in addition to the problems that accompanied them from their initial construction, are found today in front of a physical degradation derived from the years they have. Problematic residential spaces are also most of the buildings constructed in the first decade after 1990, characterized by a low technological and housing quality, derived from an uncontrolled and informal development of the building sector. The building quality in this research, is focused on the applied architectural standards, the technological solutions adopted and the energy consumption derived from them. From the analysis made it has been reached in the conclusions that a renewal and requalification process is necessary to reduce the energy waste and to increase the quality of housing within residential spaces. The main objective of this research is to contribute to the sustainable development of the residential area of Tirana, referring to both the architectural and technological scale. Sustainable development in this paper is closely linked to the quality of residential spaces, which is directly related to the quality of life of the inhabitants. Due to the complexity of the urban environment and its transformations over time, the identification of light regeneration and redevelopment strategies is fundamental, minimizing demolition works. This article includes numerous European examples and a theoretical part, from which proposals for the future development of the residential areas of the city of Tirana can be extrapolated.