Role of Urban Agriculture for Livelihood Improvement, Waste Management and Greening in Case of Hawassa City

Background: Urban agriculture is one of the strategies to enhance the livelihood of the urban community, ensure food security and nutrition. Despite, the increasing development of the practice in Hawaassa city, its environmental and societal perspectives had been neglected. Moreover, the increase in urbanization due to several social-economic reasons has become a challenge for urban agriculture practices. Methodology: This study was aimed at investigating the roles of urban agriculture on livelihood improvement, waste management, and urban greening. A purposive random sampling technique was employed to select sample households. Besides questionnaire surveys and key informant interviews were used to elicit necessary information while literature analysis supplemented the data. Result: It was found that urban agriculture in the study area is maintaining the cultural experience of the local society, generating income, and introducing saving habits. It has also improved the esthetic value of the city via utilization of the organic waste. Hence, urban agriculture in the city is compatible with urban job creation, price adjustment, and provision of a green urban environment. Conclusion: Urban agricultural practices should keep the phase of increasing urbanization in the study area.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF RESIDENTIAL SPATIAL AND FORM IN KAUMAN VILLAGE YOGYAKARTA

Kauman village becomes a symbol of the Javanese philosophy and the Islamic ideology on which the local society orient their faith. This research aims to find the residential transformation factors and form in Kauman village in Yogyakarta and the characteristic of each object to conserve Kauman village as a constituent element that defines Yogyakarta City's identity. This research method is qualitative – descriptive research using a synchronic approach to present synthetic results from each object and detailed object characteristics conducted in a certain period. All data are collected by doing observation and interviewing second parties. The discussion led to the residential spatial change as an adaptation form of Batik skipper's and Ketib's residence in Kauman village of Yogyakarta. It can be concluded that the identity of the residents as a part of a modern community is gradually more dominant than the desire to reveal their identity as a part of a traditional Javanese community. Nevertheless, Batik skipper's residences retain Javanese architecture and Indische architecture characteristics as a symbol of the social status of the Batik Skipper and Ketib; The space for religious activities is no longer available in Batik skipper's residence. On the contrary, it is available in Ketib's home, where the residents still retain the function of langgar, which is located in the highest privacy zone.

The Officials

This chapter focuses on the gymnasial officials (in particular the gymnasiarchs, kosmetai, ephebarchs, lampadarchs, and agonothetai), drawing also parallels from the situation in other Hellenistic Kingdoms. The tenure, functions, involvement, and character of the various offices of the gymnasium and the position that their holders had in local society are investigated, thus providing a picture of the complex organization of the communities of the gymnasium. It is shown how gymnasiarchs were the people chiefly in charge of the gymnasium and how prestigious their office was. A subsection on village gymnasiarchs in the Augustan period provides evidence of the last traces of survival of a Ptolemaic habit into the early years of Roman domination.

The Gymnasium and Greek Identity

This chapter focuses on questions of identity more clearly and provides an analysis of its different implications, to show how the communities of the gymnasia of Hellenistic Egypt, while following traditions of Greek character, were thoroughly embedded in the socio-cultural world of the country in which they lived. It is argued that the members of the gymnasium displayed complex identities, which could encompass features deriving from various traditions; this goes beyond a simplistic interpretation and understanding of ethnicity. Beyond strict ethnic designations, Ptolemaic society also functioned in a less exclusive fashion, according to cultural definitions: the Ptolemaic category of Hellenes ‘Greeks’ was applied to people who displayed a certain degree of knowledge of Greek language and culture, not only to those who were of strict Greek ethnicity. As the prime institution of Greek cultural traditions, the gymnasium operated as the quintessential ‘association of the Hellenes’: the place where those who were willing to go Greek could express themselves as a well-defined group of people, while upholding specific aspects of Greek life. However, it is shown how the gymnasium’s members stretched over different layers of (normally) the middle and upper strata of local society and shared many features, which were foreign to Greek traditions and thought, including specific onomastic choices, religious practices, or marriage patterns. ‘Those of the gymnasium’ were fully embedded in and deeply intertwined with the local population—to the point that they essentially formed a part of it: they were the ‘Greeks’ of Egypt.

Japanese Immigrants In Sarawak Before World War Two: Assimilation Through Inter-Ethnic Marriages

The arrival of Japanese immigrants, especially karayuki-san, traders, and farmers in Sarawak between the 1880s and1940s, has rarely been given sufficient attention by scholars. For the most part, not only did the Japanese immigrants successfully integrate into the economic eco-system, but they also assimilated with the locals through inter-marriages. Archival records, primarily obtained from the Sarawak State Archives, suggests that families of inter-ethnic marriages went through a life of hardship, especially when Japanese spouses or relatives were imprisoned in the internment camps soon after World War Two ended. For the most part, the research mainly focuses on Seiji Kuno or otherwise known as Mohamed Towpik Kuno, who married a local Malay woman and embraced Islam. The life of Kuno depicts the extent to which a Japanese immigrant became absorbed into the dominant culture of the mainstream Sarawak society. Kuno’s general attitude towards the local society, his service to the community in various capacities, his attitude towards political matters and finally, his religious inclination showcased the extent to which assimilation had taken place voluntarily. Apart from Kuno, the research also examines other personalities’ lives, like Sunao Miyaji, who was married to Lamah Binti Bakar, and Maria Osaichi and Oasa, who were Japanese immigrants married to Chinese Sarawakians. It is against this background that this research argues that marriages between Japanese immigrants and locals in Sarawak before World War Two was indeed a cause for further assimilation into the host culture between spouses, family members and the broader community. At the same time, the research posits that cemeteries involving Japanese immigrants should be promoted as tourist destinations as they reflect Sarawak’s rich multicultural heritage and history of assimilation with foreigners.

The Smell of Factionalism: Left Opposition in the Vyatka Provincial Organization of the Bolshevik Party in 1923-1924

The activity of the Vyatka left opposition that arose during the internal party discussion in the fall of 1923 and the spring of 1924 is studied. The work is based on archival documents from the Central State Archive of Kirov Region, as well as on materials from the Vyatka Pravda party newspaper. The platform of the local opposition opposed the formation of factions but insisted on clarifying what factionalism is supposed to mean. The Left Opposition united the party community of the provincial city and adjacent working areas. Most party members initially expressed full confidence in the partys Central Committee. An analysis of archival material shows that the Vyatka opposition tried to establish a broad discussion of problems in internal party life. In the provincial center there was a party discussion club that organized heated discussions. The focus on clarifying the concepts of factions and groups reflected the desire of opposition supporters to avoid being accused of betraying the party and the cause of the revolution. Remarkably, until early January 1924 the left opposition had absolute support among party members in Vyatka. The article analyzes the Central Committees suppression of the local opposition in January - February 1924, and in particular the skillful techniques of Aron Solts and his supporters. At the final stage of the struggle, a group of conciliators arose among the members of the opposition, and contributed to the victory of the Central Committee line. The article clarifies reasons and circumstances of the defeat of the opposition, none of whose representatives openly stood in opposition to the majority of the Central Committee or called on ordinary members to protest. The authors demonstrate that the local left opposition was a situational unification of diverse forces, dissatisfied with the bureaucratization of the party, the growing dictatorship of the Central Committee, the newcomers, as well as the dominance of appointees from the Party and the Soviets. During the discussion in the organizations of the Party, the need for developing internal party democracy and a free discussion of the problems emerged, showing that there was a potential alternative to Stalinism. The main feature of the left opposition was that it formed and temporarily won the predominantly non-proletarian Vyatka, where before the 1917 revolution the zemstvo and city democratic self-government has gained roots; this is interpreted as a preservation of the demand for freedom and democracy in local society.

INTERPRETATION OF THE SIGNS IN THE TRADITION OF MA’BACA-BACA AMONG THE MUSLIM SOCIETY OF BUGIS BONE

This research aims to explain the signs contained in the tradition of ma'baca-baca among the Muslim society of Bugis Bone and the meaning of the signs. The research problems consist of: 1) What are the signs found in the tradition of ma'baca-baca among the Muslim society of Bugis Bone; 2) What is the meaning of the signs that exist in the tradition of ma'baca-baca among the Muslim society of Bugis Bone. To analyze these problems, the theory used is the semiotic theory of Charless Sanders Peirce, which proposes a triangle theory of meaning, linking three aspects which are the main elements, namely representamen (sign), object, and interpretant. And assisted by Bronislaw Malinowski's theory of cultural functionalism. While the research method used is a qualitative descriptive method, namely the techniques of observation, interviews, and documentation. This study resulted in the following conclusions; 1) There are 5 verbal signs and there are 18 nonverbal signs in the tradition of ma’baca-baca among Muslim society of Bugis Bone, 2) All signs contained in the tradition of ma'baca-baca have their own meanings that are interpreted and believed by the local society.

Making others (un)equal: The social ethics of Scandinavian enclaving in Maputo, Mozambique

This article explores practices and ideologies of equality as the central mechanisms through which cosmopolitan Scandinavians in the capital of Mozambique simultaneously build themselves as a community and sever relationships with locals, thereby constructing a socioeconomic, cultural and moral enclave within the city. Scandinavian sociality is predicated upon the absence of overt signs of social differentiation and these practices are reproduced in their interactions in Maputo. Egalitarian values, paradoxically, allow Scandinavians to mask the structures of inequality inherent to local society and engage in structurally unequal relations in which they act as if all interactions were between autonomous equals, possessed of equivalent social and economic capital. Specifically, the article explores the ways through which Scandinavian expatriates justify the use of domestic labour while refusing to recognise the implication of this structurally unequal employment in the local context. By insisting on equality and autonomy as the basis for social interactions, Scandinavians reject local forms of constructing relationships that are predicated upon the recognition of unequal positions and an obligation of responsibility towards dependents. They thereby refuse to engage with local expectations and understandings of labour relations and fail to recognise the implications of their position within the Mozambican social hierarchy.

Is Cycling an Attractive Transport Solution in a Mediterranean City?

By exploiting the opinion of the society in a Mediterranean city, this paper identifies the mechanisms behind utility cycling and determines the aspects of using the bike in cities for daily commuting. This study focused on the assessment of biking as an alternative mode of transport within a typical Mediterranean city in Crete. Limited road safety is the principal reason that hinders 60% of respondents from cycling, and 41% from riding more frequently. The survey results are congruent with this statement, provided a significant difference in the ratios of actual recreational cyclists (39%) and those who like to ride for entertainment, but they hesitate (71%). In order to quantify this, the attitude of the bikers was grouped in two fact factors influencing: the clothing and the technological one. Based on the opinion of the local society, high priority policies are recommended, such as proper infrastructure, sensitization campaigns, and education programs.