Search results for: ethnographic conflicts
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 863

Search results for: ethnographic conflicts

773 Understanding the Popularity of Historical Conservation in China: The Depoliticized Narratives as a Counter-Insurgency Strategy in Guangzhou

Authors: Luxi Chen

Abstract:

The land finance in China in recent years has propelled urban renewals in the name of historical conservation and led to massive gentrification and compulsory relocation. Such inequalities cause insurgence. Drawing on public planning information, ethnographic field notes, and online interview data about Guangzhou's Enninglu Area, this paper aims to present how such insurgence has been contained and put down gradually through depoliticization narratives represented by "improving living conditions," "conserving historical culture," and "public participation”. This paper's findings include that 1) Besides economic growth, maintaining social stability in alignment with the central government are equally important to local government, reveals the latter efforts to mediate the growth coalition, residents, media, and academics so as to reconstruct the interface between state and society; 2) To empower the insurgence, the media and academics use public interests for propaganda, that diverts attention away from its political dimension; 3) In response, the government introduces improved regulations and planning, turning social inequalities into technical inadequacy so as to become the defender of public interests, which justifies the incoming renewal and prevents public questioning. By comparing regime changes among governments, developers, residents, media, and academics caused by renewal policies, this paper presents the depoliticized narrative as a counter-insurgence strategy to contain social conflicts and to boost inner-city renewal.

Keywords: inner city renewal, depoliticization, historical conservation, public participation

Procedia PDF Downloads 199
772 Guarding the Fortress: Intellectual Property Rights and the European Union’s Cross-Border Jurisdiction

Authors: Sara Vora (Hoxha)

Abstract:

The present article delves into the intricate matters concerning Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and cross-border jurisdiction within the confines of the European Union (EU). The prevalence of cross-border intellectual property rights (IPR) disputes has increased in tandem with the globalization of commerce and the widespread adoption of technology. The European Union (EU) is not immune to this trend. The manuscript presents a comprehensive analysis of various forms of intellectual property rights (IPR), such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and the regulatory framework established by the European Union (EU) to oversee these rights. The present article examines the diverse approaches employed for ascertaining the appropriate jurisdiction within the European Union (EU), and their potential application in the sphere of cross-border intellectual property rights (IPR) conflicts. The article sheds light on jurisdictional issues and outcomes of significant cross-border intellectual property rights (IPR) disputes in the European Union (EU). Additionally, the document provides suggestions for effectively managing intellectual property rights conflicts across borders within the European Union, which encompasses the utilization of alternative methods for resolving disputes. The article highlights the significance of comprehending the relevant jurisdiction in the European Union for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). It also offers optimal approaches for enterprises and individuals who aim to safeguard their intellectual property beyond national boundaries. The primary objective of this article is to furnish a thorough comprehension of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and the relevant jurisdiction in the European Union (EU). Additionally, it endeavors to provide pragmatic recommendations for managing cross-border IPR conflicts in this intricate and ever-changing legal milieu.

Keywords: intellectual property rights (IPR), cross-border jurisdiction, applicable laws and regulations, dispute resolution, best practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 52
771 Ethical 'Spaces': A Critical Analysis of the Medical, Ethical and Legal Complexities in the Treatment and Care of Unidentified and Critically Incapacitated Victims Following a Disaster

Authors: D. Osborn, L. Easthope

Abstract:

The increasing threat of ‘marauding terror,' utilising improvised explosive devices and firearms, has focused the attention of policy makers and emergency responders once again on the treatment of the critically injured patient in a highly volatile scenario. Whilst there have been significant improvements made in the response and lessons learned from recent disasters in the international disaster community there still remain areas of uncertainty and a lack of clarity in the care of the critically injured. This innovative, longitudinal study has at its heart the aim of using ethnographic methods to ‘slow down’ the journey such patients will take and make visible the ethical complexities that 2017 technologies, expectations and over a decade of improved combat medicine techniques have brought. The primary researcher, previously employed in the hospital emergency management environment, has closely followed responders as they managed casualties with life-threatening injuries. Ethnographic observation of Exercise Unified Response in March 2016, exposed the ethical and legal 'vacuums' within a mass casualty and fatality setting, specifically the extrication, treatment and care of critically injured patients from crushed and overturned train carriages. This article highlights a gap in the debate, evaluation, planning and response to an incident of this nature specifically the incapacitated, unidentified patients and the ethics of submitting them to the invasive ‘Disaster Victim Identification’ process. Using a qualitative ethnographic analysis, triangulating observation, interviews and documentation, this analysis explores the gaps and highlights the next stages in the researcher’s pathway as she continues to explore with emergency practitioners some of this century’s most difficult questions in relation to the medico-legal and ethical challenges faced by emergency services in the wake of new and emerging threats and medical treatment expectations.

Keywords: ethics, disaster, Disaster Victim Identification (DVI), legality, unidentified

Procedia PDF Downloads 167
770 Negotiated Peace in Africa: A Case Study on the Pretoria Peace Deal between Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Tigray Peoples Liberation Front

Authors: Daniel Gidey, Kunwar Siddarth Dadhwal, Tagel Wondimu

Abstract:

There are numerous ways for ending conflict; hitherto, most conflicts are resolved either through negotiated or victor's peace, this article is about the former. Negotiations entail concessions, consensus-building, and mutual trust in order to transform a belligerent situation into a settlement. In such a context, regional and sub-regional organizations play a critical role in mediating conflicting parties so as to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts between and among conflicting parties. This article is about the AU-led negotiated peace deal on the bloody conflict between the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) by undertaking the Pretoria Peace Accord as a case study. In terms of research method, the article is based on a critical evaluation of the literature and content analysis on the very research topic. Findings of the study revealed that the AU, through Olusegun Obasanjo and other dignitaries, played a critical role in nurturing compromise and mutual trust between the TPLF and the Ethiopian federal government so as to take along the Pretoria peace deal. Through critical literature review and content analysis of the Peace deal, the article has concluded that negotiated peace is likely, at least, to achieve negative peace.

Keywords: regional organizations, peace promotion, African Union, negotiating conflicts, Northern Ethiopia, conflict resolution

Procedia PDF Downloads 39
769 Conflicts and Similarities among Energy Law, Environmental Law and Economic Aspects

Authors: Bahareh Arghand, Seyed Abbas Poorhashemi, Ramin Roshandel

Abstract:

Nowadays, Economic growth and the increasing use of fossil fuel have caused major damages to environment. Therefore, international law has tried to codify the rules and regulations and identify legal principles to decrease conflict of interests between energy law and environmental law. The open relationship between energy consumption and the law of nature has been ignored for years, because the focus of energy law has been on an affordable price of a reliable supply of energy; while the focus of environmental law was on protection of the nature. In fact, the legal and overall policies of energy are based on Sic Omnes and inter part for governments whereas environmental law is based on common interests and Erga Omnes. The relationship between energy law, environmental law and economic aspects is multilateral, complex and important. Moreover, they influence each other. There are similarities in the triangle of energy, environment and economic aspects and in some cases there are conflict of interest but their conflicts are in goals not in practice and their legal jurisdiction is in international law. The development of national and international rules and regulations relevant to energy-environment has been done by separate sectors, whereas sustainable development principle, especially in the economic sector, requires environmental considerations. It is an important turning point to integrate and decrease conflict of interest among energy law, environmental law and economic aspects. The present study examines existing legal principles on energy and the environment and identifies the similarities and conflicts based on the descriptive-analytic study. The purpose of investigating these legal principles is to integrate and decrease conflict of interest between energy law and environmental law.

Keywords: energy law, environmental law, erga omnes, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 356
768 Mass Media and Electoral Conflict Management in Kogi State, Nigeria

Authors: Okpanachi Linus Odiji, Chris Ogwu Attah

Abstract:

Election is no doubt widely assumed as one of the most suitable means of resolving political quagmires even though it has never been bereft of conflict which can manifest before, during, or after polls. What, however, advances democracy and promotes electoral integrity is the existence and effectiveness of institutional frameworks for electoral conflict management. Electoral conflicts are no doubt unique in the sense that they represent the struggles of people over the control of public resources. In most cases, the stakes involved are high and emotional that they do not only undermine inter-group relationship but also threaten national security. The need, therefore, for an effectively functional conflict management apparatus becomes imperative. While at the State level, there exist numerous governmental initiatives at various electoral stages aimed at managing conflicts, this paper examines the activities of the mass media, which is another prominent stakeholder in the electoral process. Even though media influence has increased tremendously in the last decade, researchers are yet to agree on its utility in the management of conflicts. Guided by the social responsibility theory of media reporting and drawing data from observed trends in Kogi state, the paper, which context analyses the 2019 gubernatorial election coverage in the state, observes both conflict escalation and de-escalation roles in the media. To mitigate conflict reporting misrepresentation, therefore, a common approach to conflict reporting should be designed and ordered by the National Broadcasting Commission as well as the Nigerian Press Council. This should be garnished with the training of journalists on conflict reporting and development of a standard conflict reporting procedure.

Keywords: conflict management, electoral conflict, mass media, media reporting

Procedia PDF Downloads 116
767 Study of a Complete Free Route Implementation in the European Airspace

Authors: Cesar A. Nava-Gaxiola, C. Barrado

Abstract:

Harmonized with SESAR (Single European Sky Research) initiatives, a new concept related with airspace structures have been introduced in Europe, the Free Route Airspace. The key of free route is based in an airspace where users may freely plan a route between a defined entry and exit waypoint, with the possibility of routing via intermediate points, the free route flights remain subject to air traffic control (ATC) for the established separations. Free route airspace does not present anymore fixed airways to airspace users, as a consequence it brings a new paradigm for managing safe separations of aircrafts inside these airspace blocks . Nowadays, several European nations have been introduced the concept, some of them in a complete or partial stage, but finally offering limited benefits to airspace users for this condition. This research evaluates the future scenario of free route implementation across Europe, considering a unique airspace block configuration with a complete upper airspace with free route. The paper is centered in investigating the benefits for airspace users, and the study of possible increments of Air Traffic Controllers task loads with a full application. In this research, fast time simulations are carrying out for discovering how much flight time and distance aircrafts can save with an overall free route establishment. In the other side, the paper explains the evolution of conflicts derivate from possible separation losses between aircrafts in this new environment. Free route conflicts can emerges in any points of the airspace, requiring a great effort for solving it, in comparison with fixed airways, where conflicts normally were found by controllers in known waypoints, and they solved using the fixed network as reference. The airspace configuration modelled in this study take into account the actual navigation waypoints structure, moving into a future scenario, where new ones waypoints are added and new traffic flow patterns appears. In this sense, this research explores the advantages and unknown difficulties that a large scale application of free route concept can carry out in the European airspace.

Keywords: ATC conflicts, efficiency, free route airspace, SESAR

Procedia PDF Downloads 162
766 The French Ekang Ethnographic Dictionary. The Quantum Approach

Authors: Henda Gnakate Biba, Ndassa Mouafon Issa

Abstract:

Dictionaries modeled on the Western model [tonic accent languages] are not suitable and do not account for tonal languages phonologically, which is why the [prosodic and phonological] ethnographic dictionary was designed. It is a glossary that expresses the tones and the rhythm of words. It recreates exactly the speaking or singing of a tonal language, and allows the non-speaker of this language to pronounce the words as if they were a native. It is a dictionary adapted to tonal languages. It was built from ethnomusicological theorems and phonological processes, according to Jean. J. Rousseau 1776 hypothesis /To say and to sing were once the same thing/. Each word in the French dictionary finds its corresponding language, ekaη. And each word ekaη is written on a musical staff. This ethnographic dictionary is also an inventive, original and innovative research thesis, but it is also an inventive, original and innovative research thesis. A contribution to the theoretical, musicological, ethno musicological and linguistic conceptualization of languages, giving rise to the practice of interlocution between the social and cognitive sciences, the activities of artistic creation and the question of modeling in the human sciences: mathematics, computer science, translation automation and artificial intelligence. When you apply this theory to any text of a folksong of a world-tone language, you do not only piece together the exact melody, rhythm, and harmonies of that song as if you knew it in advance but also the exact speaking of this language. The author believes that the issue of the disappearance of tonal languages and their preservation has been structurally resolved, as well as one of the greatest cultural equations related to the composition and creation of tonal, polytonal and random music. The experimentation confirming the theorization designed a semi-digital, semi-analog application which translates the tonal languages of Africa (about 2,100 languages) into blues, jazz, world music, polyphonic music, tonal and anatonal music and deterministic and random music). To test this application, I use a music reading and writing software that allows me to collect the data extracted from my mother tongue, which is already modeled in the musical staves saved in the ethnographic (semiotic) dictionary for automatic translation ( volume 2 of the book). Translation is done (from writing to writing, from writing to speech and from writing to music). Mode of operation: you type a text on your computer, a structured song (chorus-verse), and you command the machine a melody of blues, jazz and, world music or, variety etc. The software runs, giving you the option to choose harmonies, and then you select your melody.

Keywords: music, language, entenglement, science, research

Procedia PDF Downloads 36
765 Listening to the Voices of Syrian Refugee Women in Canada: An Ethnographic Insight into the Journey from Trauma to Adaptation

Authors: Areej Al-Hamad, Cheryl Forchuk, Abe Oudshoorn, Gerald Patrick Mckinley

Abstract:

Syrian refugee women face many obstacles when accessing health services in host countries that are influenced by various cultural, structural, and practical factors. This paper is based on critical ethnographic research undertaken in Canada to explore Syrian refugee women's migration experiences. Also, we aim to critically examine how the intersection of gender, trauma, violence and the political and economic conditions of Syrian refugee women shapes their everyday lives and health. The study also investigates the strategies and practices by which Syrian refugee women are currently addressing their healthcare needs and the models of care that are suggested for meeting their physical and mental health needs. Findings show that these women experienced constant worries, hardship, vulnerability, and intrusion of dignity. These experiences and challenges were aggravated by the structure of the Canadian social and health care system. This study offers a better understanding of the impact of migration and trauma on Syrian refugee women's roles, responsibilities, gender dynamics, and interaction with Ontario's healthcare system to improve interaction and outcomes. Health care models should address these challenges among Syrian refugee families in Canada.

Keywords: Syrian refugee women, intersectionality, critical ethnography, migration

Procedia PDF Downloads 62
764 Civilization and Violence: Islam, the West, and the Rest

Authors: Imbesat Daudi

Abstract:

One of the most discussed topics of the last century happens to be if Islamic civilization is violent. Many Western intellectuals have promoted the notion that Islamic civilization is violent. Citing 9/11, in which 3000 civilians were killed, they argue that Muslims are prone to violence because Islam promotes violence. However, Muslims reject this notion as nonsense. This topic has not been properly addressed. First, violence of civilizations cannot be proven by citing religious texts, which have been used in discussions over civilizational violence. Secondly, the question of whether Muslims are violent is inappropriate, as there is implicit bias suggesting that Islamic civilization is violent. A proper question should be which civilization is more violent. Third, whether Islamic civilization is indeed violent can only be established if more war-related casualties can be documented within the borders of Islamic civilization than that of their cohorts. This has never been done. Finally, the violent behavior of Muslim countries can be examined by comparing acts of violence committed by Muslim countries with acts of violence of groups of nations belonging to other civilizations by appropriate parameters of violence. Therefore, parameters reflecting group violence have been defined; violent conflicts of various civilizations of the last two centuries were documented, quantified by number of conflicts and number of victims, and compared with each other by following the established principles of statistics. The results show that whereas 80% of genocides and massacres were conducted by Western nations, less than 5% of acts of violence were committed by Muslim countries. Furthermore, the West has the highest incidence (new) and prevalence (new and old) of violent conflicts among all groups of nations. The result is unambiguous and statistically significant. Becoming informed can only be done by a methodical collection of relevant data, objective analysis of data, and unbiased information, a process which this paper follows.

Keywords: Islam and violence, demonization of Muslims, violence and the West, comparison of civilizational violence

Procedia PDF Downloads 28
763 An Intergenerational Study of Iranian Migrant Families in Australia: Exploring Language, Identity, and Acculturation

Authors: Alireza Fard Kashani

Abstract:

This study reports on the experiences and attitudes of six Iranian migrant families, from two groups of asylum seekers and skilled workers, with regard to their language, identity, and acculturation in Australia. The participants included first generation parents and 1.5-generation adolescents, who had lived in Australia for a minimum of three years. For this investigation, Mendoza’s (1984, 2016) acculturation model, as well as poststructuralist views of identity, were employed. The semi-structured interview results have highlighted that Iranian parents and adolescents face low degrees of intergenerational conflicts in most domains of their acculturation. However, the structural and lawful patterns in Australia have caused some internal conflicts for the parents, especially fathers (e.g., their power status within the family or their children’s freedom). Furthermore, while most participants reported ‘cultural eclecticism’ as their preferred acculturation orientation, female participants seemed to be more eclectic than their male counterparts who showed inclination towards keeping more aspects of their home culture. This finding, however, highlights a meaningful effort on the part of husbands that in order to make their married lives continue well in Australia they need to re-consider the traditional male-dominated customs they used to have in Iran. As for identity, not only the parents but also the adolescents proudly identified themselves as Persians. In addition, with respect to linguistic behaviour, almost all adolescents showed enthusiasm to retain the Persian language at home to be able to maintain contacts with their relatives and friends in Iran and to enjoy many other benefits the language may offer them in the future.

Keywords: acculturation, asylum seekers, identity, intergenerational conflicts, language, skilled workers, 1.5 generation

Procedia PDF Downloads 205
762 An Ethnographic Study on Peer Support Work-Ers in a Peer Driven Non Governmental Organization: The Colorado Mental Wellness Network

Authors: Shawna M. Margesson

Abstract:

This research study seeks to explore the lived experience of peer support workers (PSWs) in a peer-led non-governmental organization in Denver, Colorado, USA. The Colorado Mental Wellness Network offers supportive wellness recovery services such as wellness recovery action plans (WRAP), advocacy trainings for anti-stigma campaigns, and PSWs to work with and for consumers in the community. This study suggests that a peer-run environment is a unique community setting for PSWs to work given all employees are living in mental wellness recovery. Little has been documented about PSWs' personal accounts of working within a recovery-oriented organization and their first-person accounts to working with consumers. The importance of this study is to provide an ethnographic account of both subjects; the lived experiences of PSWs of both organizational and consumer-driven recovery. This study seeks to add to the literature and the social work profession the personal accounts of PSWs as they provide services to others like themselves. It also will provide an additional lens to view the peer-driven movement in mental health and wellness recovery.

Keywords: peer to peer movement, mental health, ethnography, peer support workers

Procedia PDF Downloads 134
761 Familiarity with Intercultural Conflicts and Global Work Performance: Testing a Theory of Recognition Primed Decision-Making

Authors: Thomas Rockstuhl, Kok Yee Ng, Guido Gianasso, Soon Ang

Abstract:

Two meta-analyses show that intercultural experience is not related to intercultural adaptation or performance in international assignments. These findings have prompted calls for a deeper grounding of research on international experience in the phenomenon of global work. Two issues, in particular, may limit current understanding of the relationship between international experience and global work performance. First, intercultural experience is too broad a construct that may not sufficiently capture the essence of global work, which to a large part involves sensemaking and managing intercultural conflicts. Second, the psychological mechanisms through which intercultural experience affects performance remains under-explored, resulting in a poor understanding of how experience is translated into learning and performance outcomes. Drawing on recognition primed decision-making (RPD) research, the current study advances a cognitive processing model to highlight the importance of intercultural conflict familiarity. Compared to intercultural experience, intercultural conflict familiarity is a more targeted construct that captures individuals’ previous exposure to dealing with intercultural conflicts. Drawing on RPD theory, we argue that individuals’ intercultural conflict familiarity enhances their ability to make accurate judgments and generate effective responses when intercultural conflicts arise. In turn, the ability to make accurate situation judgements and effective situation responses is an important predictor of global work performance. A relocation program within a multinational enterprise provided the context to test these hypotheses using a time-lagged, multi-source field study. Participants were 165 employees (46% female; with an average of 5 years of global work experience) from 42 countries who relocated from country to regional offices as part a global restructuring program. Within the first two weeks of transfer to the regional office, employees completed measures of their familiarity with intercultural conflicts, cultural intelligence, cognitive ability, and demographic information. They also completed an intercultural situational judgment test (iSJT) to assess their situation judgment and situation response. The iSJT comprised four validated multimedia vignettes of challenging intercultural work conflicts and prompted employees to provide protocols of their situation judgment and situation response. Two research assistants, trained in intercultural management but blind to the study hypotheses, coded the quality of employee’s situation judgment and situation response. Three months later, supervisors rated employees’ global work performance. Results using multilevel modeling (vignettes nested within employees) support the hypotheses that greater familiarity with intercultural conflicts is positively associated with better situation judgment, and that situation judgment mediates the effect of intercultural familiarity on situation response quality. Also, aggregated situation judgment and situation response quality both predicted supervisor-rated global work performance. Theoretically, our findings highlight the important but under-explored role of familiarity with intercultural conflicts; a shift in attention from the general nature of international experience assessed in terms of number and length of overseas assignments. Also, our cognitive approach premised on RPD theory offers a new theoretical lens to understand the psychological mechanisms through which intercultural conflict familiarity affects global work performance. Third, and importantly, our study contributes to the global talent identification literature by demonstrating that the cognitive processes engaged in resolving intercultural conflicts predict actual performance in the global workplace.

Keywords: intercultural conflict familiarity, job performance, judgment and decision making, situational judgment test

Procedia PDF Downloads 147
760 A Study on Bicycle Riding Behavior on Bike-Only Road

Authors: Hyeon Jong Yoo, Jae Hwan Yang, Dong Kyu Kim

Abstract:

Recently, riding a bicycle is recommended as an eco-friendly means of transportation. In Seoul, the mayor has secured budget for extending bicycle infrastructure. As bicycle rental centers are adopted in places, more citizens are using bike rental service on bike-only roads for leisure. However, most of the citizens are not experienced in riding bicycles. They usually do not wear helmets, keep the balance of bicycle riding, and pay attention to nearby occasions. Therefore, in this study, bicycles on Han-river bike-only road were tracked, and their behaviors were analyzed in order to show how dangerously beginner riders are riding. The number of conflicts is calculated to evaluate riding safety on the most crowded bike-only road. As a result, conflicts between beginner riders and fast-driving skilled drivers are frequently observed especially at night, and on weekends. In conclusion, it is suggested that the government should acknowledge citizens the fact that bikes are vehicles and adopt a test for bike driving.

Keywords: bicycles, safety, bike-only road, policy proposal

Procedia PDF Downloads 328
759 'Innovations among People' in Selected Social Economy Enterprises in Poland

Authors: Hanna Kroczak

Abstract:

In Poland, the system of social and professional reintegration of people at risk of social exclusion is, in fact, based on the activity of social economy enterprises. Playing this significant role these entities have to cope with various problems, related to the necessity of being successful on the open market, location on the peripheral (especially rural) areas or the “socialist heritage” in social and economic relations, which is certainly not favorable for implementing the idea of activation policy. One of the main objectives of the project entitled “Innovation among people. The analysis of the innovations creation and implementation in companies and social economy enterprises operating in Poland”, was to investigate the innovativeness of Polish social economy entities as a possible way for them to be prosperous (the project was funded by the Polish National Science Centre grant on the decision DEC-2013/11/B/HS4/00691). The ethnographic research in this matter was conducted in 2015 in two parts: six three-day studies using participant observation and individual in-depth interview (IDI) techniques (in three social cooperatives and three social integration centres) and two one-month shadowings (in one social cooperative and one social integration centre). Enterprises were selected from various provinces in Poland on the basis of data from previous computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) research, where they declared that innovation management is a central element of their strategy. The ethnographic study revealed that they, indeed, create innovations and the main types of them are social and organisational innovations – but not always and not all the employees are aware of that. Moreover, it turned out that wherever the research was conducted, researchers found some similar opportunities of innovations creating process, like a “charismatic leader”, true passion and commitment not depended on the earned money or building local institutional networks, and similar threats, e.g. under-staffed offices or the great bureaucracy of some institutions. The primary conclusion for the studied entities is that being innovative is not only their challenge and opportunity for well-being at the same time, but even a necessity, something deeply rooted in their specific organisational structures. Explanations and illustrations for the statements above will be presented in the proposed paper.

Keywords: ethnographic research, innovation, Polish social economy, professional reintegration, social economy enterprises, social reintegration

Procedia PDF Downloads 182
758 Women in Violent Conflicts and the Challenges of Food Security in Northeast Nigeria: The Case of Boko Haram Insurgency

Authors: Grace Modupe Adebo, Ayodeji Oluwamuyiwa Adedapo

Abstract:

Women are key actors in ensuring food security in terms of food availability, food access, and food utilization in the developing economy, however, they suffer mostly during violent conflicts due to their feminist nature of rearing and caring for their children and relatives. The study was embarked upon to access the effects of violent conflicts posed by Boko Haram insurgency on women and food security in the Northeast of Nigeria. The study made use of secondary data. A time series data collected over a 22 years period were used. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics and t-test analysis. The findings of the study established a significant difference in food production (availability) before and after the Boko Haram insurgency at the 1% level of significance. The high level of Internally Displaced Person (IDP) with a high proportion of women depicts a very low level of food accessibility as the men and women has fled and uninhabited their place of abode for over a period of four to five years, thus diminishing their economic power, and the means of acquiring food which invariably endanger food stability and utilization. The study confirmed the abduction and changing roles of women as cooks, porters, spies, partners, and sex slaves to Boko Haram troop members, thus affecting their livelihoods and food security. The study recommends hands-on interventions by the governmental, non-governmental and international agencies to terminate the activities of Boko Haram in the area and restore the food production for enhanced food security.

Keywords: Boko Haram insurgency, food accessibility, food production, food utilization, women’s livelihoods

Procedia PDF Downloads 116
757 Contributions of Search and Rescue to the World Peace

Authors: Dursun Kalebaşi

Abstract:

When we examine the history of mankind (from the past up to the present), we see that millions of people died because of the wars. Especially, since the beginning of 19th century, the increase of the human death rate is caused mostly by the regional conflicts and natural disasters rather than the wars. From that point of view, the biggest threat humanity face today is temperature increase and climate change that started to emerge in recent years. When we take into account the natural disasters on one hand and refuges that flee from regional conflicts on the other, it stands out as a dramatic situation because of the huge human losses. In this context, most of the countries started to give more importance to Search and Rescue (SAR) operations to stop the loss of lives or decrease the death rate. This article will tell about the SAR activities in Turkey since 2000 and discuss the Turkey’s contributions to Rescue Missions after the natural disasters in different parts of the world. Moreover, there will be some new highlights to a more habitable and more peaceful world through the SAR missions.

Keywords: search and rescue, natural disasters, migration and world peace, Turkish army forces

Procedia PDF Downloads 348
756 Ending Communal Conflicts in Africa: The Relevance of Traditional Approaches to Conflict Resolution

Authors: Kindeye Fenta Mekonnen, Alagaw Ababu Kifle

Abstract:

The failure of international responses to armed conflict to address local preconditions for national stability has recently attracted what has been called the ‘local turn’ in peace building. This ‘local turn’ in peace building amplified a renewed interest in traditional/indigenous methods of conflict resolution, a field that has been hitherto dominated by anthropologists with their focus on the procedures and rituals of such approaches. This notwithstanding, there is still limited empirical work on the relevance of traditional methods of conflict resolution to end localized conflicts vis-à-vis hybrid and modern approaches. The few exceptions to this generally draw their conclusion from very few (almost all successful) cases that make it difficult to judge the validity and cross-case application of their results. This paper seeks to fill these gaps by undertaking a quantitative analysis of the trend and applications of different communal conflict resolution initiatives, their potential to usher in long-term peace, and the extent to which their outcomes are influenced by the intensity and scope of a conflict. The paper makes the following three tentative conclusions. First, traditional mechanisms and traditional actors still dominate the communal conflict resolution landscape, either individually or in combination with other methods. Second, traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution tend to be more successful in ending a conflict and preventing its re-occurrence compared to hybrid and modern arrangements. This notwithstanding and probably due to the scholarly call for local turn in peace building, contemporary communal conflict resolution approaches are becoming less and less reliant on traditional mechanisms alone and (therefore) less effective. Third, there is yet inconclusive evidence on whether hybridization is an asset or a liability in the resolution of communal conflicts and the extent to which this might be mediated by the intensity of a conflict.

Keywords: traditional conflict resolution, hybrid conflict resolution, communal conflict, relevance, conflict intensity

Procedia PDF Downloads 48
755 I Look Powerful So You Will Yield to Me: The Effects of Embodied Power and the Perception of Power on Conflict Management

Authors: Fai-Ho E. Choi, Wing-Tung Au

Abstract:

This study investigated the effects of embodiment on conflict management. As shown in the research literature, the physiological (i.e. bodily postures) can affect the emotional and cognitive proceedings of human beings, but little has been shown on whether such effects would have ramifications in decision-making related to other individuals. In this study, conflict is defined as when two parties have seemingly incompatible goals, and the two have to deal with each other in order to maximize one’s own gain. In a matched-gender experiment, university undergraduate students were randomly assigned to either the high power condition or the low power condition, with participants in each condition instructed to perform a fix set of bodily postures that would either embody them with a high sense of power or a low sense of power. One high-power participant would pair up with a low-power participant to engage in an integrative bargaining task and a dictator game. Participants also filled out a pre-trial questionnaire and a post-trial questionnaire measuring general sense of power, self-esteem and self-efficacy. Personality was controlled for. Results are expected to support our hypotheses that people who are embodied with power will be more unyielding in a conflict management situation, and that people who are dealing with another person embodied with power will be more yielding in a conflict management situation. As conflicts arise frequently both within and between organizations, a better understanding of how human beings function in conflicts is important. This study should provide evidence that bodily postures can influence the perceived sense of power of the parties involved and hence influence the conflict outcomes. Future research needs to be conducted to investigate further how people perceive themselves and how they perceive their opponents in conflicts, such that we can come up with a behavioral theory of conflict management.

Keywords: conflict management, embodiment, negotiation, perception

Procedia PDF Downloads 417
754 The Social Area Disclosure to Reduce Conflicts between Community and the State: A Case of Mahakan Fortress, Bangkok

Authors: Saowapa Phaithayawat

Abstract:

The purposes of this study are 1) to study the over 20-year attempt of Mahakan fort community to negotiate with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to remain in their residential area belonging to the state, and 2) to apply the new social and cultural dimension between the state and the community as an alternative for local participation in keeping their residential area. This is a qualitative research, and the findings reveal that the community claimed their ancestors’ right as owners of this piece of land for over 200 years. The community, therefore, requested to take part in the preservation of land, culture and local intellect and the area management in terms of being a learning resource on the cultural road in Rattanakosin Island. However, BMA imposed the law concerning the community area relocation in Rattanakosin Island. The result of law enforcement led to the failure of the area relocation, and the hard hit on physical structure of the area including the overall deterioration of the cultural road renovated in the year 1982, the 200 years’ celebration of Bangkok. The enforcement of law by the state required the move of the community, and the landscape improvement based on the capital city plan. However, this enforcement resulted in the unending conflicts between the community and the state, and the solution of this problem was unclear. At the same time the community has spent a long time opposing the state’s action, and preparing themselves by administrating the community behind Mahakan fortress with community administrative committee under the suggestion of external organization by registering all community members, providing funds for community administration. At the meantime the state lacked the continuation of the enforcement due to political problem and BMA’s administration problem. It is, therefore, suggested that an alternative solution to this problem lie at the negotiation between the state and the community with the purpose of the collaboration between the two to develop the area under the protective law of each side.

Keywords: Pom-Mahakan community, reduction of conflicts, social area disclosure, residential area

Procedia PDF Downloads 288
753 Destined Failure of Interactions between Israeli-Arabs and Jews - An Analysis of Creative Works’ Presentation of Issues from the Israeli Side

Authors: Tianqi Yin

Abstract:

Following the establishment of the state of Israel, how to harmonize the relationship between Palestinians and Jews in Israel has always been an intractable problem. As the number of Palestinian Arabs in Israel has increased to over two million, the issue has become more severe. Due to a variety of factors, Israeli Palestinians and Israeli Jews often find it hard to interact with each other, let alone form a relationship. Multiple authors and directors have produced cultural works to touch on the issue, exposing the reasons for the irreconcilable relation between the two ethnic groups. This paper analyzes the representation scenes of the Palestinian-Jewish relationship in three prominent cultural works, each from a distinct perspective, to examine the intrinsic challenges from the Israeli side that curb the two ethnicities from interacting successfully. The first scene is from the Jewish perspective in Amos Oz’s memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness, in which young Oz, a Jewish boy, attempts to interact with Aisha, a young Israeli-Arab girl, but eventually failed because of an accident. The second scene is from a short Israeli film Bus Station which, from an outsider perspective, depicted a brief encounter between an Arab woman and a Jewish woman in Jerusalem. The third scene is the initially successful yet eventually failed relationship between Eyad, a Palestinian boy, and Naomi, a Jewish girl, in an elite Israeli high school from the 2014 film A Borrowed Identity, which is depicted through Eyad’s Arab perspective. Through the analysis of these three narratives, this paper argues that the burden of national responsibility, family influences, and Israeli government’s discriminatory policies are the three main factors on the Jewish side, in ascender order of importance, that make Arab-Jewish interaction hard in Israel.

Keywords: arab-Jewish interaction, ethnographic conflicts, israel, Jewish narrative, narrative styles

Procedia PDF Downloads 70
752 Spirits and Social Agency: A Critical Review of Studies from Africa

Authors: Sanaa Riaz

Abstract:

Spirits occupy a world that simultaneously dwells between the divine and the earthly binary while speaking to all forces of nature, marginality, and extremity in between. This paper examines the conceptualizations, interactions with, and experience of spiritual beings in relation to the concept of self and social agency, defined as a continuum of cooperation leaving those involved with an enhanced or diminished perception of self-agency. To do justice to the diverse mythological and popular interpretations of spirit entities, ethnographic examples from Africa, in particular, will be used. An examination of the nature and role of spirits in Africa allows one to understand the ways in which colonial influences brought by Catholicism and Islam added to the pre-colonial repertoire and syncretic imaginations of spirits. A comprehensive framework to analyze spirits requires situating them as a cognitive configuration of humans to communicate with other humans and forces of nature to receive knowledge about the normative in social roles, conduct, and action. Understanding spirits also requires a rethinking of the concept of self as not one encapsulated in the individual but one representing positionalities in collective negotiations, adversity, and alliances. To use the postmodern understanding of identity as a far from a coherent collection of selves fluidly moving between and dialoguing with gravitational and contradictory social forces, benevolent and maleficent spirit forces represent how people make sense of their origin, physiological and ecological changes, subsistence, and political environment and social relations. A discussion on spirits requires examining the rituals and mediational forces and their performance that allow participants to tackle adversity, voicelessness and continue to work safely and morally for the collective good. Moreover, it is important to see the conceptualization of spirits in unison with sorcery and spirit possession, central to voodoo practices, also because they speak volumes about the experiences of slavery and marginalization. This paper has two motives: It presents a critical literature review of ethnographic accounts of spirit entities in African spiritual experiences to examine the ways in which spirits become mediums through which the self is conceptualized and asserted. Second, the paper highlights the ways in which spirits become a medium to represent political and sociocultural ambiguities and desires along a spectrum of social agencies, including joint agency, vicarious agency, and interfered agency.

Keywords: spirits, social agency, self, ethnographic case studies

Procedia PDF Downloads 36
751 Relationships between the Components of Love by Stenberg and Personality Disorder Traits

Authors: Barbara Gawda

Abstract:

The study attempts to show the relationship between the structure of love by Sternberg and personality disorder traits. People with personality disorders experience dysfunctional emotionality. They manifest difficulties in experiencing love and closeness. Their relationships are marked by ambivalence and conflicts, e.g., as in borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. Considering love as a crucial human feeling, the study was planned to describe the associations between intimacy, passion, commitment, and personality disorder traits in a community sample. A sample of 194 participants was investigated (men and women in similar age and education levels). The following techniques were used: the SCID-II to assess personality disorders’ traits and the Triangular Love Scale by Sternberg to assess the components of love. Results show there are significant negative correlations between intimacy, commitment and personality disorders traits. Many personality disorders are associated with decreasing of intimacy and commitment, whereas passion was not associated with personality disorders’ traits. Results confirm that emotional impairments in personality disorders elicit conflicts and problems in relationships based on love and closeness.

Keywords: intimacy, commitment, love, passion, personality disorders

Procedia PDF Downloads 247
750 Data Privacy: Stakeholders’ Conflicts in Medical Internet of Things

Authors: Benny Sand, Yotam Lurie, Shlomo Mark

Abstract:

Medical Internet of Things (MIoT), AI, and data privacy are linked forever in a gordian knot. This paper explores the conflicts of interests between the stakeholders regarding data privacy in the MIoT arena. While patients are at home during healthcare hospitalization, MIoT can play a significant role in improving the health of large parts of the population by providing medical teams with tools for collecting data, monitoring patients’ health parameters, and even enabling remote treatment. While the amount of data handled by MIoT devices grows exponentially, different stakeholders have conflicting understandings and concerns regarding this data. The findings of the research indicate that medical teams are not concerned by the violation of data privacy rights of the patients' in-home healthcare, while patients are more troubled and, in many cases, are unaware that their data is being used without their consent. MIoT technology is in its early phases, and hence a mixed qualitative and quantitative research approach will be used, which will include case studies and questionnaires in order to explore this issue and provide alternative solutions.

Keywords: MIoT, data privacy, stakeholders, home healthcare, information privacy, AI

Procedia PDF Downloads 76
749 Planning Method Study on the Ecological Restrained Construction Area from the Perspective of Governance: A Case from Yangzijin, Yangzhou, China

Authors: Rushi Tan, Yilun Xu, Xiaohui Wang

Abstract:

The restrained construction zoning, an important part in the urban master plan, is a necessary planning tool to control the city sprawl, to guarantee the reservation implementation of the various types of protective elements, and to realize the storage of the essential urban spatial resources. Simultaneously, owing to the diverse constitutes of restrained construction area and the various stakeholders involved in, its planning requires an overall consideration of all elements from the perspective of coordination, balance and practicability to deal with the problems and conflicts in this process. Taking Yangzijin Ecological Restrained Construction Area in Yangzhou as an example, this study analyzes all the potential actors, agencies and stakeholders in this restrained construction area, as well as the relevant conflicts between each other. Besides, this study tries to build up a planning procedure based on the framework of governance theory, and proposes a possible planning method that combines "rigidity" and "flexibility" to protect the ecological limitation boundary, to take every interest into account, and to promote economic development in a harmonious society.

Keywords: restrained construction area, governance, stakeholder, flexible stratagem, China

Procedia PDF Downloads 384
748 The Role of Businesses in Peacebuilding in Nigeria: A Stakeholder Approach

Authors: Jamila Mohammed Makarfi, Yontem Sonmez

Abstract:

Developing countries like Nigeria have recently been affected by conflicts characterized by violence, high levels of risk and insecurity, resulting in loss of lives, livelihoods, displacement of communities, degradation of health, educational and social infrastructure as well as economic underdevelopment. The Nigerian government’s response to most of these conflicts has mainly been reactionary in the form of military deployments, as against precautionary to prevent or address the root causes of the conflicts. Several studies have shown that at various points of a conflict, conflict regions can benefit from the resources and expertise available outside the government, mainly from the private sector through mechanisms such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) by businesses. The main aim of this study is to examine the role of businesses in peacebuilding in Northern Nigeria through CSR in the last decade. The expected contributions from this will answer research questions, such as the key business motivations to engage in peacebuilding, as well as the degree of influence exerted from various stakeholder groups on the business decision to engage. The methodology of the study adopts a multiple case study of over 120 businesses of various sizes, ranging from small, medium and large-scale. A mixed method enabled the collection of quantitative and qualitative primary data to augment the secondary data. The results indicated that the most important business motivations to engage in peacebuilding were the negative effects of the conflict on economic stability, as well as stakeholder-driven motives. On the other hand, out of the 12 identified stakeholders, micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) considered the chief executive officer’s interest to be the most important factor, while large companies rated the government and community pressure as the highest. Overall, the foreign stakeholders scored low on the influence chart for all business types.

Keywords: conflict, corporate social responsibility, peacebuilding, stakeholder

Procedia PDF Downloads 187
747 Demand of Media and Information for the Public Relation Media for Local Learning Resource Salaya, Nakhon Pathom

Authors: Patsara Sirikamonsin, Sathapath Kilaso

Abstract:

This research aims to study the media and information demand for public relations in Salaya, Nakhonpathom. The research objectives are: 1. to research on conflicts of communication and seeking solutions and improvements of media information in Salaya, Nakhonpathom; 2. to study about opinions and demand for media information to reach out the improvements of people communications among Salaya, Nakhonpathom; 3. to explore the factors related to relationship and behaviors on obtaining media information for public relations among Salaya, Nakhonpathom. The research is conducted by questionnaire which is interpreted by statistical analysis concluding with analysis, frequency, percentage, average and standard deviations. The research results demonstrate: 1. The conflicts of communications among Salaya, Nakhonpathom are lacking equipment and technological knowledge and public relations. 2. Most people have demand on media improvements for vastly broadcasting public relations in order to nourish the social values. This research intentionally is to create the infographic media which are easily accessible, uncomplicated and popular, in the present.

Keywords: media and information, the public relation printed media, local learning resource

Procedia PDF Downloads 129
746 An Ethnographic Study of Workforce Integration of Health Care Workers with Refugee Backgrounds in Ageing Citizens in Germany

Authors: A. Ham, A. Kuckert-Wostheinrich

Abstract:

Demographic changes, like the ageing population in European countries and shortage of nursing staff, the increasing number of people with severe cognitive impairment, and elderly socially isolated people raise important questions about who will provide long-term care for ageing citizens. Due to the so-called refugee crisis in 2015, some health care institutions for ageing citizens in Europe invited first generation immigrants to start a nursing career and providing them language skills, nursing training, and internships. The aim of this ethnographic research was to explore the social processes affecting workforce integration and how newcomers enact good care in ageing citizens in a German nursing home. By ethnographic fieldwork, 200 hours of participant observations, 25 in-depth interviews with immigrants and established staff, 2 focus groups with 6 immigrants, and 6 established staff members, data were analysed. The health care institution provided the newcomers a nursing program on psychogeriatric theory and nursing skills in the psychogeriatric field and professional oriented language skills. Courses of health prevention and theater plays accompanied the training. The knowledge learned in education could be applied in internships on the wards. Additionally, diversity and inclusivity courses were given to established personal for cultural awareness and sensitivity. They learned to develop a collegial attitude of respect and appreciation, regardless of gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion or belief, age sexual orientation, or disability and identity. The qualitative data has shown that social processes affected workforce integration, like organizational constraints, staff shortages, and a demanding workload. However, zooming in on the interactions between newcomers and residents, we noticed how they tinkered to enact good care by embodied caring, playing games, singing and dancing. By situational acting and practical wisdom in nursing care, the newcomers could meet the needs of ageing residents. Thus, when health care institutions open up nursing programs for newcomers with refugees’ backgrounds and focus on talent instead of shortcomings, we might as well stimulate the unknown competencies, attitudes, skills, and expertise of newcomers and create excellent nurses for excellent care.

Keywords: established staff, Germany, nursing, refugees

Procedia PDF Downloads 74
745 De-Securitizing Identity: Narrative (In)Consistency in Periods of Transition

Authors: Katerina Antoniou

Abstract:

When examining conflicts around the world, it is evident that the majority of intractable conflicts are steeped in identity. Identity seems to be not only a causal variable for conflict, but also a catalytic parameter for the process of reconciliation that follows ceasefire. This paper focuses on the process of identity securitization that occurs between rival groups of heterogeneous collective identities – ethnic, national or religious – as well as on the relationship between identity securitization and the ability of the groups involved to reconcile. Are securitized identities obstacles to the process of reconciliation, able to hinder any prospects of peace? If the level to which an identity is securitized is catalytic to a conflict’s discourse and settlement, then which factors act as indicators of identity de-securitization? The level of an in-group’s identity securitization can be estimated through a number of indicators, one of which is narrative. The stories, views and stances each in-group adopts in relation to its history of conflict and relation with their rival out-group can clarify whether that specific in-group feels victimized and threatened or safe and ready to reconcile. Accordingly, this study discusses identity securitization through narrative in relation to intractable conflicts. Are there conflicts around the world that, despite having been identified as intractable, stagnated or insoluble, show signs of identity de-securitization through narrative? This inquiry uses the case of the Cyprus conflict and its partitioned societies to present official narratives from the two communities and assess whether these narratives have transformed, indicating a less securitized in-group identity for the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Specifically, the study compares the official historical overviews presented by each community’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and discusses the extent to which the two official narratives present a securitized collective identity. In addition, the study will observe whether official stances by the two communities – as adopted by community leaders – have transformed to depict less securitization over time. Additionally, the leaders’ reflection of popular opinion is evaluated through recent opinion polls from each community. Cyprus is currently experiencing renewed optimism for reunification, with the leaders of its two communities engaging in rigorous negotiations, and with rumors calling for a potential referendum for reunification to be taking place even as early as within 2016. Although leaders’ have shown a shift in their rhetoric and have moved away from narratives of victimization, this is not the case for the official narratives used by their respective ministries of foreign affairs. The study’s findings explore whether this narrative inconsistency proves that Cyprus is transitioning towards reunification, or whether the leaders are risking sending a securitized population to the polls to reject a potential reunification. More broadly, this study suggests that in the event that intractable conflicts might be moving towards viable peace, in-group narratives--official narratives in particular--can act as indicators of the extent to which rival entities have managed to reconcile.

Keywords: conflict, identity, narrative, reconciliation

Procedia PDF Downloads 296
744 Mapping the Sonic Spectrum of Traditional Music and Instruments Used in Malaysian Kavadi Rituals

Authors: Ainolnaim Azizol, Valerie Ross

Abstract:

Music is as old as mankind and rituals using music such as Kavadi have been associated with social, cultural, and spiritual practices in many traditional and modern societies. Recent literature has provided scientific evidence that music affects psychological and physical changes through stimulation of brainwave. Despite such advances, the scientific study of the sonic qualities peculiar to traditional instruments and how it impacts on ritualistic activities is still lacking. This study addresses one such phenomenon. Devotees in Kavadi rituals are known to be in a state of trance state and do not experience pain nor suffer injury despite the hundreds of needles pierced through their skins. Although scientists have sought to understand how this is possible, lesser is known about the music that is used to prepare devotees to enter into the trance state. This study fills this gap of knowledge by providing scientific evidence through the identification and mapping of the sonic spectrum or sound fingerprint of the instruments and the repertoire used in these ritualistic forms in their ethnographic environment and in audio-controlled situations. The objectives are to identify and categorize the different types of traditional music used in Kavadi rituals; to record, transcribe and digitally score the musical repertoire used in the oral tradition of Kavadi rituals; to map the sonic spectrum of ritual music using spectromography and advanced music analytical software a mixed methodology will be used. This comprises ethnographic field studies using interviews, participant observation, audio-video recordings and audio-methodology using spectromography and advanced audio-technology for sonic mapping and the transcription of audio recordings into digital scores.

Keywords: sonic, traditional, ritual, Kavadi, music

Procedia PDF Downloads 218