Somewhere over the Rainbow

Festival decorations are crucial indicators of the carnivalesque atmosphere of events as they capture celebratory experiences in tangible forms. Due to the strong presence of rainbow colors, LGBT+ Pride events provide fertile grounds for the discussion of decorative materials. While the acclaimed symbol of the rainbow is an expression of the LGBT+ community and their campaign for equality, the color combination is contested due to commercializing and appropriating forces. Next to altered color compositions highlighting particular identities and communities within the LGBT+ spectrum, explorations for alternative decorative patterns and visual expressions inform contemporary celebrations of equality during LGBT+ Pride events. In this article, I begin with a conceptual discussion of the carnivalesque notion, its inherent contradictions of subversion and discipline, and their expression in the form of decorative materials. Through an ethnographic study of the commemorative LGBT50 celebration in the context of Hull UK City of Culture 2017, I argue that alternative decorative approaches not only aesthetically influence the event but enable the reclaiming of the subversive atmospheres produced by the carnivalesque environment. Countering disciplining mechanisms of brand-like rainbow strategies, I outline how artistic practices negotiate innovative approaches to frame LGBT+ communities, identities, and celebrations.

COVID-19 Responses of South Korea as Hybrids of Governance Modes

The countries worldwide have adapted diverse governance approaches to the pandemic to suit their contexts. While the diversity of the country-specific governance responses has been widely discussed, the hybrids nature of those governance practices has been explored less. This study analyses the responses toward COVID-19 in South Korea as responsive dialogues of different modes of governance, i.e., consensus-based hierarchy, state-sponsored market, and principle-based network. This study aims to remind us that pandemic governance needs to enable organic and responsive processes for all actors in society. This conceptual discussion of the governance modes illustrates that the pandemic allowed the emergence of the hybrids of governance modes to cope better with the complex realities of the diverse sectors and actors in South Korea. The characteristic of the responses diverges from the conventional governance classification of or market-based. It is a responsive and evolving dialogue of different modes of governance. It would be productive to think beyond the oversimplified understandings of governance modes and embrace flexible and different hybrids of governance modes to be more responsive, effective, efficient, and equitable.

Nature, Significance and Implications of Telework

This article presents a conceptual discussion of telework. For the synthetic treatment of the subject through a general vision, we want to place this innovation in its macroeconomic context, highlighting the logic of production and accumulation of the dominant mode of production, which explains the conditions that allowed its emergence half a century ago. After analyzing the characteristics of this new work process and presenting the opinions of teleworkers and employers who employ them, we will see the main characteristics of the Legislation that has just been approved in Argentina inquiring about the risks to physical and mental health and mental it generates. Due to the scarcity of space, we will not reflect on the impact of the teleworking pandemic.

Niklas Luhmann's anti-totalitarian observation of systems

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the philosophical roots of Luhmann's theory in relation to its anti-totalitarian elements.Design/methodology/approachThe paper offers a conceptual discussion of the critical and anti-totalitarian angle in Niklas Luhmann's system theory.FindingsThis paper finds that systems theory has a critical potential.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge the anti-totalitarian element of Niklas Luhmann's system theory has not be discussed before the present contribution.

How to wield regional power from afar: a conceptual discussion illustrated by the case of France in Central Africa

What does it take to belong to a region and exert power over it? The scholarship on regional powers has elaborated sophisticated indicators to establish nuances of power, but the depiction of the region has remained vague. Most approaches are characterised by a narrow territorial interpretation that does not properly take into account power wielded by geographically distant actors. Using the case of France in Central Africa this article argues that a distant state can a) hold a dominant share of military, economic and soft power, b) use this power for hegemonic behaviour and c) be recognised as a leader in the region by both internal and external actors. The main specificity of distant actors as regional powers is the greater necessity for a legitimising narrative. France tackles this hurdle with the help of regional organisations that reproduce imperial structures. By holding the informal status of a quasi-member in regional governance structures, France participates in region-building processes from the inside rather than the outside.

Conceptual discussion around the notion of the human being as an inter and multiplanetary species

The current advances in our exploration of Mars have made us think of the human species as a multiplanetary species. However, we have certain challenges before we can truly consider ourselves such a species, especially moral ones. Therefore, astrobioethics would be the right one to examine what it takes to consider ourselves a multiplanetary species. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the meaning and significance of being an inter- and multiplanetary species. To achieve this, a philosophical and critical analysis will be made, using as input aspects of biology, ethics and moral community. We conclude that to be a truly multiplanetary species, more than the technological aspects that allow us to reach other planets, a change at different levels will be needed.

Habitus in the context of transnationalization: From ‘transnational habitus’ to a configuration of dispositions and fields

Ongoing transnationalization processes have deeply affected contemporary societies. One important aspect of this transformation is that people’s skills and dispositions change, thus the ways they think about, perceive and evaluate the world are altered. In order to capture these changes conceptually, the notion of transnational habitus has emerged, especially within migration and inequality studies. Reviewing this research literature, however, we argue that this notion only partly captures the different ways in which transnationalization impacts individuals. We therefore refer to the criticism of Bourdieu’s habitus concept by Lahire and conceive of habitus as a configuration of dispositions, which may be more or less transnationalized. Combining this conceptual discussion with a biographical case study from a research project on highly-skilled migrants, allows us to theorize how specific dispositions are activated or toned down over time in relation to specific field settings. As a result, we can highlight how different kinds of dispositions may be dissimilarly affected by transnationalization processes and how related habitual transformations may be seen as a gradual development. Rather than generally referring to the more static notion of transnational habitus, conceiving of habitus as a configuration of dispositions and contexts thus facilitates a more detailed and processual understanding of the interplay between dispositions and specific field settings in relation to transnationalization.

Digital placemaking and the datafication of forced migrants

The article conducts a conceptual discussion of digital placemaking practices related to forced migration. The literature has demonstrated that displaced people engage in digital placemaking to create belonging and to actualize aspirations. Simultaneously, state and suprastate actors expand digital data practices, which construct forced migrants as categories in digital place, thereby configuring their access to physical locations and to socio-legal positioning. This article argues that the digital data practices of both state and suprastate actors, such as biometric registration and metadata tracing, appropriate digital placemaking practices by forced migrants and dissect migrants’ subjectivity into data fragments that become agentic in shaping how the people access physical territory, identities, and resources. The article highlights opportunities for researching forced mobilities, place, and technologies. These opportunities include the study of nonhuman actors in placemaking processes, exploring the locus of agency in digital placemaking, and studying the intersections between embodied and digital placemaking practices.