The paradox of victory: social movement fields, adverse outcomes, and social movement success

Recent work on social movement fields has expanded our view of the dynamics of social movements; it should also expand our thinking about social movement success. Such a broader view reveals a paradox: social movements often snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by narrowly targeting authorities with their actions instead of targeting the broader social movement field. Negative impacts from the wider social movement field can then reverse or overshadow initial victories. We distinguish between a social movement’s victory over the immediate target, and more lasting success that arises from shifting alignments in the broader social movement field. To test the predictive value of the distinction, we compare two very similar student-led social movements, both of which targeted university policies regarding sensitivity to race issues and changes in university personnel. One built a broad coalition of support that extended across its social movement field and was thereby able to institute durable change. The other did not, and despite its clear initial success, this protest movement produced consequences mainly adverse to its preferred outcomes. We demonstrate how pervasive this paradox is with examples from other U.S. protest outcomes and studies of revolutions. The paradox is resolved by focusing on changes in the entire social movement field. We thus argue that achieving, and understanding, lasting social movement success requires attention to the entire social movement field.

Unconventional Combat

Unconventional Combat illuminates the generational transformation of the U.S. veterans’ peace movement, from one grounded mostly in the experiences of White men of the Vietnam War era, to one increasingly driven by a younger and much more diverse cohort of “post-9/11” veterans. Participant observation with two organizations (Veterans For Peace and About Face) and interviews with older men veterans form the backdrop for the book’s main focus, life-history interviews with six younger veterans—all people of color, three of them women, one a Native Two-Spirit person, one a genderqueer non-binary person. The book traces these veterans’ experiences of sexual and gender harassment, sexual assault, racist and homophobic abuse during their military service (some of it in combat zones), centering on their “situated knowledge” of intersecting oppressions. As veterans, this knowledge shapes their intersectional praxis, which promises to transform the veterans’ peace movement, and provides a connective language through which veterans’ anti-militarism work links with movements for racial justice, stopping gender and sexual violence, addressing climate change, and building anti-colonial coalitions. This promise is sometimes thwarted by older veterans, whose commitment to “diversity” often falls short of creating organizational space for full inclusion of previously marginalized “others.” Intersectionality is the analytic coin of today’s emergent movement field, and the connective tissue of a growing coalitional politics. The veterans that are the focus of this book are part of this larger shift in the social movement ecology, and they contribute a critical understanding of war and militarism to progressive coalitions.

Análise da dinâmica morfossedimentar no litoral de Paracuru – Ceará

As praias são os ambientes costeiros de primeira interação continente-oceano, apresentam por esse motivo dinâmica morfológica intensa, tornando as comunidades que residem e causam intervenções antrópicas, mais vulneráveis. Com base nisso, o presente trabalho tem por objetivo identificar processos erosivos e deposicionais no litoral de Paracuru, Ceará. Para isso, foram realizadas atividades de campo entre os anos de 2018 e 2019, para traçar perfis de praia e realizar a coleta de sedimentos na área de berma e do estirâncio; os perfis topográficos foram realizados utilizando estação total conforme técnicas apontadas por Borges (1977). Além disso, para corroborar os dados foi mapeada a variação da linha de costa usando movimento da linha costeira do DSAS. Foram realizadas atividades de campo nas praias Boca do Poço, praia do Farol, praia Carnaubinha e praia da Barra indicadas pela equidistância e proximidade da sede urbana. Os resultados revelaram que há processo erosivo conforme balanço sedimentar negativo nas praias do Farol, Carnaubinha e da Barra. Nas praias Boca do Poço e Praia do Farol, os imóveis públicos e privados apresentam-se em alguns casos na faixa de praia, que por vezes é tomada pelas ondas com influência da preamar. E nesse contexto, a inundação dos estabelecimentos pode causar prejuízos, tornando assim a análise necessária para contribuir com subsídios às decisões político-governamentais. Analysis of morphosedimentary dynamics on the coast of Paracuru – Ceará A B S T R A C TThe beaches are the coastal environments of first continent-ocean interaction, for this reason they present intense morphological dynamics, making the communities that reside and cause anthropic interventions, more vulnerable. Based on this, the present work aims to identify erosive and depositional processes on the coast of Paracuru, Ceará. For this, field activities were carried out between the years 2018 and 2019, to draw beach profiles and collect sediment in the area of berm and styrene; the topographic profiles were made using a total station according to the techniques pointed out by Borges (1977). In addition, to corroborate the data, a variation of the coastline was mapped using the DSAS coastline movement. Field activities were carried out on the Boca do Poço beaches, Farol beach, Carnaubinha beach and Barra beach indicated by the equidistance and proximity to the urban headquarters. The results revealed that there is an erosive process according to a negative sedimentary balance on the beaches of Farol, Carnaubinha and Barra. On Boca do Poço and Praia do Farol beaches, public and private properties are in some cases on the beach strip, which is sometimes taken by the waves influenced by the high tide. And in this context, the flooding of establishments can cause losses, thus making the analysis necessary to contribute with subsidies to political-governmental decisions.Keywords: beaches, erosive processes, topographic profiles.

Propagandist or objective observer? Independent documentaries in/on Hong Kong's recent social movements

PurposeThis article explores recent changes in Hong Kong’s independent documentary filmmaking during a decade of escalating protests in the territory, focusing in particular on cinema's role in Hong Kong's “movement field.”Design/methodology/approachThe article focuses on Ying E Chi, an important distributor and promoter of Hong Kong independent films; the annual Hong Kong Independent Film Festival it organizes; three recent documentaries it distributes that are relevant to the 2019–2020 protests. The findings in this article are based on interviews, the textual analysis of relevant films and participant observation at film screenings.FindingsThis study argues that independent documentaries function in Hong Kong's “movement field” in three main ways: by contributing to and providing a space for civic discourse, by facilitating international advocacy and by engaging in memory work. Its contributions to civic culture, it asserts, are reflected in the films' observational aesthetic, which invites reflection and discussion. Public screenings and lengthy post-screening discussions are important ways in which these functions are realized.Originality/valueThis article builds on existing literature to propose a new way of thinking about cinema's role in Hong Kong social movements. It also analyses three important recent films that have not yet been covered much in existing academic literature.

Occurrence and characteristics of ice-debris landforms in Poiqu basin (central Himalaya)

<p>Rock glaciers and other ice-debris landforms (I-DLs) are an important part of the debris-transport system in high mountains and their internal ice could provide a relevant contribution to water supply especially in dry regions. Recent research has shown that I-DLs are abundant in High Mountain Asia, but knowledge about their occurrence and characteristics is still limited.</p><p>We are therefore investigating I-DLs in the Poiqu basin (~28°17´N, 85°58´E) – central Himalaya/southern Tibetan Plateau using remote sensing aided by field observations. We use very high-resolution stereo Pleiades data from the contemporary period and stereo Corona and Hexagon data from the 1970s to generate digital elevation models, applied satellite radar interferometry based on ALOS-1 PALSAR and Sentinel-1 SAR data and feature tracking using Sentinel-2 and the Pleiades data. Generated DEMs allowed us to create a hillshade to support identification, to derive their topographical parameters and to investigate surface elevation changes. I-DLs were identified and classified based on their characteristic shape, their surface structure and surface movement. Field observationssupported the identification of the landforms.</p><p>We found abundant occurrence of rock glaciers (with typical characteristics like lobate-shaped forms, ridges and furrows as well as steep fronts) but also significant movements of both former lateral moraines and debris-slopes in permafrost area. Preliminary results revealed the occurrence of more than 350 rock glaciers covering an area of about 21 km<sup>2</sup>. About 150 of them are active. The largest rock glacier has an area of 0.5 km<sup>2</sup> and three have an area of more than 0.3 km<sup>2</sup>. The rock glaciers are located between ~3715 m and ~5850 m with a mean altitude of ~5075 m a.s.l.. The mean slope of all rock glaciers is close to 17.5° (min. 6.8°, max. 37.6°). Most of the rock glaciers face towards the Northeast (19%) and West (18.5%). Surface elevation changes between the 1970s and 2018 show no significant changes but indicate slight elevation gain at the front of active rock glaciers caused by their downward movements.</p><p>Work will be continued to generate an inventory of all I-DLs in the study area including information about their activity and surface elevation changes.</p>

Observed performance of three adjacent 48 m depth concrete diaphragm wall panels in silty soils

The performance of three adjacent 48 m depth concrete diaphragm wall panels in silty soils is measured throughout the complete process of the wall installation including trench excavation, trench concreting, and concrete hardening. The analysis of the field measurement data shows that the ground movement induced by the wall installation is a function of construction activities. The maximum lateral movement occurs during the trench excavation. The trench concreting reduces the lateral movement. Field measurement at the end of wall installation may not catch the value of the maximum lateral movement. The ground settlement continues to increase during the complete process of panel installation, but with a decreasing rate. Roughly 90% of the settlement occurs during the trench excavation. The ground movement is also closely related to the properties of subsurface strata. The weak superficial fill materials sustain high disturbance, which consequently results in relatively large ground movement. With current engineering means and methods and good construction workmanship, the ground movement can be well controlled. In the current project, the maximum lateral ground movement was controlled within 2.0 cm and the maximum settlement was controlled within 0.05% of trench depth.

Is the eye-movement field confused about fixations and saccades? A survey among 124 researchers

Eye movements have been extensively studied in a wide range of research fields. While new methods such as mobile eye tracking and eye tracking in virtual/augmented realities are emerging quickly, the eye-movement terminology has scarcely been revised. We assert that this may cause confusion about two of the main concepts: fixations and saccades. In this study, we assessed the definitions of fixations and saccades held in the eye-movement field, by surveying 124 eye-movement researchers. These eye-movement researchers held a variety of definitions of fixations and saccades, of which the breadth seems even wider than what is reported in the literature. Moreover, these definitions did not seem to be related to researcher background or experience. We urge researchers to make their definitions more explicit by specifying all the relevant components of the eye movement under investigation: (i) the oculomotor component: e.g. whether the eye moves slow or fast; (ii) the functional component: what purposes does the eye movement (or lack thereof) serve; (iii) the coordinate system used: relative to what does the eye move; (iv) the computational definition: how is the event represented in the eye-tracker signal. This should enable eye-movement researchers from different fields to have a discussion without misunderstandings.

The superior colliculus and the steering of saccades toward a moving visual target

ABSTRACTFollowing the suggestion that a command encoding the expected here-and-now target location feeds the oculomotor system during interceptive saccades, we tested whether this command originates in the deep superior colliculus (SC). Monkeys generated saccades to targets that were static or moving along the preferred axis, away from (outward) or toward a fixated target (inward) with a constant speed (20°/s). Vertical and horizontal motions were also tested. Extracellular activity of 57 saccade-related neurons was recorded in 3 monkeys. The movement field (MF) parameters (boundaries, center and firing rate) were estimated after spline fitting the relation between the saccade amplitude and the average firing rate of the motor burst. During radial motion, the inner MF boundary shifted in the same direction as the target motion for some neurons, not all. During vertical motion, both lower and upper boundaries were shifted upward during upward motion whereas the upper boundary only shifted during downward motions. For horizontal motions, the medial boundaries were not changed. The MF center was shifted only for outward motion. Regardless of the motion direction, the average firing rate was consistently reduced during interceptive saccades. Our study shows an involvement of the saccade-related burst of SC neurons in steering the gaze toward a moving target. When observed, the shifts of MF boundary in the direction of target motion correspond to commands related to antecedent target locations. The absence of shift in the opposite direction shows that SC activity does not issue predictive commands related to the future target location.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTBy comparing the movement field (MF) of saccade-related neurons between saccades toward static and moving targets, we show that the motor burst issued by neurons in the superior colliculus does not convey commands related to the future location of a moving target. During interceptive saccades, the active population consists of a continuum of neurons, ranging from cells exhibiting a shift in the center or boundary of their MF to cells which exhibit no change. The shifts correspond to residual activity related to the fact that the active population does not change as fast as the target in the visual field. By contrast, the absence of shift indicates commands related to the current target location, as if it were static.