Search

Visa policies and pathways are increasingly driving international migration to Australia’s regional and rural centres. Often embedded within a multicultural imaginary, notions of friendliness and neighbourliness are instilled in the ‘small town’ narratives of these regional cities. However, little is known about whether this friendliness translates to the formation of deeper, meaningful connections that create the conditions for a sense of belonging to emerge. Drawing on empirical data from two regional cities across Queensland, this research investigates the challenges and barriers to forming friendships between migrant communities and ‘local’ Australian residents. We explore how co-ethnic relationships, while significant, do not always benefit and bolster migrants’ sense of belonging in the regions. Instead, we argue that inter-ethnic friendships with other migrant communities offer pathways to belonging in regional contexts. In doing so, we challenge prevalent assumptions regarding the inherent value of co-ethnic ties and the tensions so often raised within inter-ethnic relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an Ideal Specialization Model to help explain the diversity of population growth trajectories exhibited across archaeological regions over thousands of years. The model provides a general set of expectations useful for guiding empirical research, and we provide a concrete example by conducting a preliminary evaluation of three expectations in Central West Argentina. We use kernel density estimates of archaeological radiocarbon, estimates of paleoclimate, and human bone stable isotopes from archaeological remains to evaluate three expectations drawn from the model's dynamics. Based on our results, we suggest that innovations in the production of food and social organization drove demographic transitions and population expansion in the region. The consistency of population expansion in the region positively associates with changes in diet and, potentially, innovations in settlement and social integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the potential threat to the power grid industry posed by quantum computers and ensure the security of bidirectional communication in smart grids, it is imperative to develop quantum-safe authentication protocols. This paper proposes a semi-quantum bidirectional authentication protocol between a control center (CC) and a neighboring gateway (NG). This method uses single photons to facilitate communication between the CC and the NG. Security analysis demonstrates that the protocol can effectively resist common attack methods, including double CNOT attacks, impersonation attacks, interception-measurement-retransmission attacks, and entanglement-measurement attacks. Comparisons with other protocols reveal that this protocol has significant advantages, making it more appealing and practical for real-world applications. Finally, by simulating the protocol on the IBM quantum simulator, this protocol not only validates the theoretical framework but also confirms the practical feasibility of the protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates a syntactical study and comparative analysis of the statistical and spatial characteristics of traditional houses in an urban kampung settlement, focusing on a selected case study built by a participatory Arabic community in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. This research aims to determine a formal rule basis for spatial configurations to reveal identical sociospatial structures based on syntactical analysis. This experiment measures spatial layout variation through space syntax analysis to provide a better understand of how the correlation between spatial configuration and sociospatial structures in traditional houses can be deconstructed. This syntactical analysis applies four distinctive procedures: a selected case study, data collection, statistical and graphical analysis, and graph analysis. The results indicate that the spatiality of all traditional houses in this kampung settlement highlights the spatial hierarchy order as a formal rule-based system, and approximately an average of 10% of this community is concerned with designing intelligible layouts. Rumah Batu and other dwellings have a similarity and closeness. The main dwelling's function involves more steps to separate public and private functional rooms, but a functional transformation from a dwelling into a public facility creates a short distance for easy access by users. Additionally, this separation affects occupants, especially in terms of spatial distribution activities, movement flows, and other social phenomena. This approach provides practical and tangible benefits for preservation values related to buildings; this strategy may also change how buildings are perceived in other built environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theoretical literature on the meaning of qualification standards depicts a variety of definitions. Some definitions describe properties of examinees, whilst others rely on cohort-level or system-level characteristics. Different definitions can be compatible or contradictory. In this study, stakeholders’ views of the meaning of qualification standards in Scotland were collected, using focus groups (82 participants) and a questionnaire (918 participants). Almost 60% of questionnaire participants responded that standards tell us about performances on the assessment (criterion-referencing) and approximately 40% responded that they tell you about an underlying ability (construct-referencing). Few participants considered that maintaining statistical grade distributions every year were important. Discrepancies in views raise questions regarding how an examination board manages the political and technical process of maintaining public confidence in standards. Based upon this Scottish case, the authors argue that social settlements regarding qualification standards are a social contract, and a solely technocratic view of standards is conceptually inadequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expanding refugee influxes have involved a rising number of European countries in recent years. In this context, our study investigates attitudes of international protection seekers regarding their prospects of staying permanently in a transit country such as Greece. This research was based on primary statistical data collected through the dissemination of structured questionnaires from a sample of refugees from the Closed Controlled Facility of Samos island, Eastern Greece, one of the most attended gates allowing access to Europe from Turkey and the Middle East. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics and results from a logistic regression contributed to the examination of factors that simultaneously determine the will of the refugees to stay in Greece instead of moving to another country. The main reasons they want to stay in Greece are primarily for employment opportunities and a better quality of life. They aspire to learn Greek to integrate better into the local society, actively seeking this skill from their initial arrival. However, their social integration into the local host community cannot be achieved effectively at the current time due to the absence of appropriate strategies at the local/regional levels. The need for employment (expressed by attempts to find work), the quality of life (access to public and private services), the country of origin, marital status and, finally, the sense of safety based on the existence (or, conversely, lack) of xenophobic and racist incidents are the main reasons that simultaneously determine their decision to stay permanently in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pacific Islands, many relatively remote and small, have been occupied by people for more than 3000 years during which time they experienced climate‐driven environmental changes (both slow and rapid onset) that challenged human survival and led to the evolution of place‐based coping strategies expressed through traditional knowledge (TK). In today's globalized Pacific Islands region, into which western worldviews and global adaptation strategies have made significant inroads, most plans for coping with climate‐changed futures are founded in science‐based understandings of the world that undervalue and sideline TK. Many such plans have proved difficult to implement as a consequence. This paper reviews the nature of extant Pacific TK for coping with climate change, something that includes TK for anticipating climate change (including climate variability and climate extremes) as well as ancillary TK associated with food and water security, traditional ecological knowledge, environmental conservation, and settlement and house construction that represent coping strategies. Much of this TK can be demonstrated as being effective with precedents in other (traditional) contexts and a compelling plausible scientific basis. This study demonstrates that Pacific Islands TK for coping with climate change has value and, especially because of its place‐based nature, should be central to future climate‐change adaptation strategies to enhance their uptake, effectiveness and sustainability. To this end, this paper proposes specific ways forward to optimize the utility of TK and ensure it has a realistic role in sustaining Pacific Island communities into the future. This article is categorized under:Climate, History, Society, Culture > Ideas and KnowledgePaleoclimates and Current Trends > Modern Climate ChangeAssessing Impacts of Climate Change > Observed Impacts of Climate Change [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Online Journal of Art & Design is the property of Online Journal of Art & Design and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The essay "Hallstatt Period Rectangular Farmsteads in the Old Bavarian Loess Landscape: The Hascherkeller Site Revisited" deals with the rectangular farmsteads of the Hallstatt period in the old Bavarian loess landscape. Such a farmstead was discovered at the Hascherkeller site on the northern outskirts of Landshut. The excavations were carried out between 1978 and 1981 and led by Peter S. Wells. After four decades, the excavations were resumed and completed. The most important result of the fieldwork is the stratigraphic disentanglement of the numerous ditches. A similar double structure was also discovered about 200 m further southwest. The study focuses on the latest excavation results and the role of the manor house settlement type in the settlement system of the early Iron Age settlement. [Extracted from the article]

This paper presents a collaboration between Anetha Perry, who conducted dissertation research in Camden, NJ, and Stephen Danley, her faculty advisor, who is also deeply engaged in that city, which has suffered from severe disinvestment. Perry’s contribution is drawn from her year-long eff ort to return to her childhood home, Perry House, which had served as a Black settlement house during her parents’ lifetimes. Danley adds perspectives as a community-engaged scholar, overseeing and supporting this home-going eff ort. Their observations underscore the obstacles that confront those trying to invest in a deeply disinvested neighbourhood. They also point out the benefits of settlement houses, like the Perry House, which have a true ‘insider’s view’ of the struggles to achieve rootedness in the face of many displacing processes. They underscore the potential of such eff orts to aid in the creation of policies that stop disinvestment and pivot towards urban restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Derecho de la Seguridad Social, Laborum is the property of Ediciones Laborum S.L. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In recent years, semantic segmentation on 3D point cloud data has attracted much attention. Unlike 2D images where pixels distribute regularly in the image domain, 3D point clouds in non-Euclidean space are irregular and inherently sparse. Therefore, it is very difficult to extract long-range contexts and effectively aggregate local features for semantic segmentation in 3D point cloud space. Most current methods either focus on local feature aggregation or long-range context dependency, but fail to directly establish a global-local feature extractor to complete the point cloud semantic segmentation tasks. In this paper, we propose a Transformer-based stratified graph convolutional network (SGT-Net), which enlarges the effective receptive field and builds direct long-range dependency. Specifically, we first propose a novel dense-sparse sampling strategy that provides dense local vertices and sparse long-distance vertices for subsequent graph convolutional network (GCN). Secondly, we propose a multi-key self-attention mechanism based on the Transformer to further weight augmentation for crucial neighboring relationships and enlarge the effective receptive field. In addition, to further improve the efficiency of the network, we propose a similarity measurement module to determine whether the neighborhood near the center point is effective. We demonstrate the validity and superiority of our method on the S3DIS and ShapeNet datasets. Through ablation experiments and segmentation visualization, we verify that the SGT model can improve the performance of the point cloud semantic segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to analyze the different manifestations of the studentification process and its relationship with the community dimension in the René Schneider neighborhood of Talca, capital of the Maule Region (Chile), between the years 2007 and 2019. For this, conventional and participatory research techniques were applied that included observation, mapping, conducting commented tours and individual and group indepth interviews. The findings show that, as a result of certain morphological and spatial conditions of the neighborhood and the role of community networks, the physical, economic, social and cultural changes that the settlement of university students has produced in the Rene Schneider population have been reduced in their negative aspects. The community-based management of the studentization process, which translates into a process governed by the community of traditional inhabitants, constitutes a novelty in comparison to other Chilean and international case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, fire-related deaths are common, particularly within dense informal housing settlements. Published data on deaths from fire incidents in Cape Town is sparse. Additionally, little emphasis has been placed on the role of toxicological investigations in these deaths, despite the known risk of alcohol and drug impairment to burn injury. A retrospective, descriptive analysis of post-mortem case reports from Salt River Mortuary was conducted to investigate all deaths in which fires were involved in the west metropole of Cape Town, between 2006 to 2018. Demographic, circumstantial, and toxicological data were analyzed using R software. In total 1370 fire deaths occurred over 13 years, with a mean of 106 (SD ± 18) cases per annum (≈3% of the annual caseload and a mortality rate of 5.5 per 100,000). Males (70.4%), adults (mean=30.7 years), and toddlers (1–4 years old) were notably at risk. Deaths typically occurred in the early morning (00h00 – 06h00) (45.7%), during winter (32.1%), and in lower socioeconomic areas with highly dense informal settlements (65.6%), with 29% of deaths occurring in multi-fatality incidents. Ethanol was detected (≥0.01 g/100 mL) in 55.1% of cases submitted for analysis (71.5%), with a mean of 0.18 g/100 mL, and with 93.8% of positive cases > 0.05 g/100 mL. Carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) analysis was requested in 76.4% of cases, with 57% of cases having a %COHb of ≥ 20%. Toxicology results (for drugs other than ethanol) from the national laboratory were outstanding in 34.4% of the cases at the conclusion of the study. BAC and %COHb were significantly higher in deaths from burns and smoke inhalation (usually accidents) than deaths from combined trauma and burns (typically homicides). Fire deaths with high COHb levels were more likely to display cherry-red discoloration (OR=3.1) and soot in the airways (OR=2.7) at autopsy. This article provides an updated description of fire deaths in the west metropole of Cape Town. The importance of BAC and COHb testing in these cases was noted, and the authors call for an investigation of the role of drug impairment (specifically frequently misused drugs methamphetamine and methaqualone) as a risk factor in these deaths. Areas of high-density informal settlements, where open flames are used to heat, light, and cook, were noted as high risk. • On average, just over 100 fire deaths occur in the west metropole of Cape Town, annually. • Males, toddlers, and younger adults living in dense informal settlements were at risk. • Ethanol (alcohol) was present in over half of the investigated fatalities. • Accidental residential deaths and homicidal burnings related to community assault remain concerning. • High %COHb deaths were more likely to display cherry-red discoloration and soot in the airways at autopsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological shells have a great potential for reconstructing past environments and human–environment interactions. The Inqitat plateau (Khor Rori Archaeological Park, Oman) shows rich mollusc assemblages, present in the HAS1 settlement and in a shell midden nearby (Iron Age). By analysing the environmental requirements of the species identified in the assemblages, we reconstruct the past coastal environment and investigate its exploitation by the local population and human activities during the settlement occupation. This is the first multidisciplinary investigation of Iron Age molluscs from Dhofar. Our results indicate that the environment surrounding the site was characterised by rocky shores and shallow‐water sandy to sandy‐muddy substrates, where locals collected shells. Mangrove species were recovered in few numbers, indicating that this environment was restricted or not exploited. Furthermore, a different use of shells between circular houses within the settlement and the midden was observed; in the former, species used as ornaments are more abundant, whereas, in the latter, species used for food purposes are found, confirming the primary use of the midden as a dump. The presence of easily accessible settings for mollusc collection in the site's vicinity and the richness in food resources due to a coastal upwelling makes this region very attractive for human populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semi-subterranean house occupation in the southern Columbia Plateau of Western North America was episodic over the latter half of the Holocene. Several analyses of radiocarbon chronologies for house features have emphasized environmental change as a primary catalyst of shifts in subsistence strategies and house settlement. Our analysis incorporates summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates for house occupations, climatic conditions, and evidence of conflict to assess the relationship among the three variables. Climate change is outlined using previously published proxy data. Results of our analysis indicate that climate had a strong influence on the settlement systems of the southern Columbia Plateau. Along with the direct influence of climate on resource availability, conflict became more frequent when house communities became larger. Developing a greater understanding of the cause and effect, and timing of environmental and social changes will ultimately require more robust datasets for house occupations, simulations of demographic trajectories, and higher resolution temporal and spatial models of climate change on the Columbia Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on a twenty-year relationship of short-term interventions with Dalit communities living in informal settlements, sub-cities and urban villages in Mumbai, that have sought to create public theatre events based on research by and with communities that celebrate, problematise and interrogate sustainable urban living. In looking back over the developments and changes to our working methods in Mumbai, I explore how the projects priorities the roles of the community as both researchers and artists. I consider where a specific applied theatre project, which focuses on site specific storytelling with Dalit communities in Worli Koliwada and Dharavi, functions on a continuum of interactive, participatory, and emancipatory practice, research and performance. Applied Theatre practices should not and cannot remain static, they need to be constantly reformed and as practitioners and researchers we need to constantly re-examine the ways in which we work. This chapter poses two central questions: firstly, can this long-term partnership between practitioners, researchers and artists from the UK and India working with community members genuinely be a space for co-creating knowledge and theatre? And secondly, if so, is this Theatre-based Research or Research Based Theatre? I interrogate Applied Theatre's potential to create a space of cognitive justice, which must be the next step for applied theatre, along-side its more widely accepted aims of searching for social and spatial justice and which places the community as both artists and researchers. The Dalit social reality is one of oppression, based on three axes: social, economic and gender. The chapter explores how working as co-researchers and the public performance of their stories has been a form of 'active citizenship' for these participants and is a key part of their strategy in their demand for policy changes. In looking forward I ask how working in international partnerships with community members can promote cognitive justice and go beyond a merely participatory practice. I consider why it is vital for the field that applied theatre practice includes partners from both the global south and north working together to co-create knowledge, new methods of practice to ensure an applied theatre knowledge democracy. In doing so I will discuss if and how this work might be considered to be Theatre-based Research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research presented contributes to the literature on migrant settlement and social capital and to the growing body of literature on Goan migration. Previous studies on outflows from Goa bring out the distinctiveness of the migratory movement toward Portugal, East Africa, and the Gulf, but do not engage with settlement in France. Through an ethnographic study, we seek to understand how Goans have leveraged the social networks they connected with in Paris and Goa to their advantage in migration and settlement. Despite overwhelming evidence pointing to co-ethnic networks at play in job assistance and adaptation to host society requirements, the findings subtly underline the increasing relevance of diverse social networks in the Goa-Paris migration story. The French connections are nuanced via references to network subsets stemming from colonial legacy or bridging initiatives in Paris. Goan networks, even when robust, announce faint signs of erosion due to internal frictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We introduce a new approach for optimal portfolio choice under model ambiguity by incorporating predictable forward preferences in the framework of Angoshtari et al. [2]. The investor reassesses and revises the model ambiguity set incrementally in time while, also, updating his risk preferences forward in time. This dynamic alignment of preferences and ambiguity updating results in time-consistent policies and provides a richer, more accurate learning setting. For each investment period, the investor solves a worst-case portfolio optimization over possible market models, which are represented via a Wasserstein neighborhood centered at a binomial distribution. Duality methods from Gao and Kleywegt [10]; Blanchet and Murthy [8] are used to solve the optimization problem over a suitable set of measures, yielding an explicit optimal portfolio in the linear case. We analyze the case of linear and quadratic utilities, and provide numerical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the impact of progressivism on contemporary U.S. foreign policy. American progressivism, which is said to have its roots in the British settlement house movement and the Fabian Society in Britain in the late 19th century, was a political philosophy and reform movement that developed against the consequences of modernism such as business corruption, environmental pollution, and the growth of capital at the expense of society's interest. Strongly affiliated with expansionism and interventionism, it was also influential in foreign policy during the period between 1890 and 1910. Theodore Roosevelt's Big Stick Diplomacy, William Taft's Dollar Diplomacy, and Woodrow Wilson's Moral Diplomacy prominently reflected this liberal internationalist trend. In this study, we investigate the foreign policy understanding of today's progressives, analyzing the bills, resolutions, and joint/concurrent resolutions sponsored by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren who represent the progressive wing in the Democratic Party. We argue that modern progressivism differs from its origins in that it prioritizes international cooperation, the non-intervention principle, and refraining from the use of force. Among the article's important findings are that progressives do not seek hegemonic supremacy, that they advocate a normative understanding of foreign policy that prioritizes values over interests, and that they distance themselves from a pro-interventionist political philosophy. On the other hand, they do not strongly question American leadership at the dawn of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the persistence of informal settlements in the city of Santiago, Chile, between 1990 and 2018, a period of democratic governments characterised by falling poverty rates and – paradoxically – state efforts to reduce informality by increasing the provision of housing for low-income groups. Based on a qualitative study that includes document analysis and interviews with poor urban residents and governmental actors, I describe one mechanism of informal housing reproduction: the cyclical repopulation of informal urbanisations, that is, the intertwined processes of relocation of informal residents and the reoccupation of settlement sites by new families. In contrast to dichotomous understandings of informality that explain informal housing as produced by residents' poverty, the article shows that repopulation cycles respond to a regime of government structured around what I call a 'politics of poverty', a framework that labels informal settlements as 'spatial concentrations of poverty', therefore creating spatial zones of intervention. While this helps the state to target informal settlements as subjects of poverty policies, residents mobilise the policy's categories to legitimate informal practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Settlements represent one of the most dangerous causes of degradation of the stability and preservation of buildings. This work presents a Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey aiming to investigate settlement problems that compromise the structural integrity of an Indiana-style house built in 1933–36 (Cabanas, northwest of Spain). From a simple visual inspection, it was possible to observe external damage like cracking, subsidence and bulging in the building façades, retaining walls and pavements. The GPR survey was conducted using a ProEx system with a 500 MHz antenna, which allowed for the production of an overall image of the subsoil until a depth of 3–4 m. The GPR data allowed for the detection of subsidence, voids and poor soil compaction, which made easier the identification of building settlements. The GPR interpretation was then validated with geotechnical prospection (sampling and dynamic probing superheavy (DPSH) tests), which showed good agreement between techniques. The better knowledge of this settlement phenomena was promising for the engineers and architects engaged in the design of conservation activities for such a singular architectural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the role of evangelical churches in the settlement and integration of migrants in Brazil and the United States. In the Brazilian context, Haitian and Nigerian evangelical churches will be specifically analyzed, exploring the influence of Pentecostal adherence in the construction of the migrant identity of these communities. Furthermore, the reactions of Brazilians to the religious choices of these migrants and their implications for social interactions of Otherness will be examined. At the same time, in the context of the United States, the importance of evangelical churches formed by Brazilians for Brazilians in the immigration process of this group is investigated, reflecting on their reception experiences and the role of these churches in local integration. By identifying similarities and differences in the processes of religious identification and social interaction in both countries, this article seeks to broaden our understanding of the role of evangelical churches in contemporary migration dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve housing and settlement facilities in East Java Province, the government collaborates with service providers, including supervisory consultants. This research aims to enhance project management performance and customer satisfaction in the PRKP sector. The study's objectives include identifying key variables in project management performance, measuring customer satisfaction levels, and proposing improvements to boost satisfaction. The research process consists of several stages, such as background analysis, problem and objective formulation, literature review, preliminary survey, data collection, data testing, and data analysis. The analysis methods involve the customer satisfaction index and importance-performance analysis. The results show a high customer satisfaction index (CSI) value of 93.55%, indicating satisfaction. The importance-performance analysis (IPA) reveals an overall gap score of -13 and an overall conformity percentage of 94.61%, suggesting dissatisfaction with the project management performance of the supervisory consultant. The IPA identifies crucial variables to maintain, such as Integration Management, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Resource Management, Communication Management, and Procurement Management, while Cost Management, Quality Management, Risk Management, and Stakeholder Management need improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Entramado is the property of Universidad Libre Seccional Cali and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study uses the conditional logit model to explore the impact of anti-corruption publicity on the probability of choosing a specific city among internal migrants in China. By leveraging China's Corruption Investigations Dataset and China Migrants Dynamic Survey, we find that anti-corruption publicity significantly decreases the probability of migrants choosing the city. The effects are driven by the mechanism whereby anti-corruption publicity increases the individuals' perceptions of corruption and reduces their trust in local government officials. The negative effects remain after the migrants move to the city. Exposure to anti-corruption publicity is associated with decreased settlement intention and social health insurance participation. Our findings strongly indicate the necessity for the government to reconsider its communication strategies concerning anti-corruption efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to describe the characteristics of the Bajo tribe's habitation in Lagasa village, which is a fishing community located in the suburbs of the capital of Muna County. The settlement has received the assistance of the local government through a reclamation policy intervention. It also gives an overview of the policy's impact on the local community's social condition and settlement. Inductive data analysis techniques are used with descriptive qualitative approaches, such as naturalistic and phenomenological methods, to make sense of things that happen in the field through interviews, questionnaires, and observations. According to the results, houses are categorized into three categories based on their location: (1) houses on land; (2) houses on water; and (3) houses situated partially on land and partially in water. The dominant settlement pattern is the grid pattern, next to the cluster pattern and the linear pattern. In general, the spatial configuration, roofing shape, construction system, and material composition of the dwelling have all contributed to its physical condition. Internal factors, such as the level of education and economic capacity of households, influence the characteristics of settlements, while external factors are the policies of the local government. Policy intervention has led to changes in most of the physical conditions of the settlement environment and has caused the majority of the Bajo tribes in Lagasa Village to adapt to land dwellings. The proximity of the settlements to the downtown has also influenced the Bajo tribe's perception of houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the factors that may facilitate or hinder the development of migrant social capital in a settlement country. We build on Robert Putnam's dyad of bonding and bridging social capital, which are here combined into a single categorical dependent variable. As earlier research shows that higher educated migrants tend to form more extensive social relationships, we explore whether they draw from different background factors to build social capital than those with less education. Separate multinomial regression analyses are conducted for the two education groups using data from the Survey on Well-Being among Foreign Born Population in Finland (n: 5,247). The study finds important differences but also similarities between the education groups. The higher educated group most commonly possesses abundant social capital (i.e. extensive bonding and bridging relationships), while in the lower education group, the proportion of people with scarce social capital (limited bonding and bridging relationships) outnumbers those with abundant capital by over twofold. A satisfactory level of income emerges as the single most important underlying factor that both education groups draw from to build abundant social capital, but it is a far more common characteristic in the higher education group. Yet, income is not enough to explain the disparity between the education groups. Furthermore, the migration-related characteristics shield the higher education group from scarce or one-sided social capital. The lower educated group derive benefits from education obtained in the new home country. Individual characteristics outweigh the importance of context-related factors for social capital development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, International Political Economy (IPE) scholars have increasingly turned their attention to cities. However, their primary focus has been on the role of a select few global 'cities' that regulate global flows of capital, goods, and services. Nonetheless, a significant gap in the IPE literature pertains to the limited exploration of how processes of neoliberal globalization are impacting and regulating the low-income 'informal' housing sector in cities located in the global South. To address this gap in the existing IPE literature, this paper critically analyzes the processes of formation and demolition of informal housing settlements against the backdrop of the neoliberal regime of accumulation. Informal housing settlements have been extensively examined by critical geographers and scholars in the field of urban studies. What distinguishes this paper is its unique contribution to the literature on IPE, that is, it utilizes the political economy of informal housing settlements as an entry point to critically analyze social ontology and the inherent contradictions of the postcolonial state. The paper argues that the relationship between informal housing settlements and the postcolonial state can be better understood through the lens of the 'institutional hybridity.' This concept refers to the fusion of contradictory socio-economic and institutional impulses within the postcolonial state, which aims to manage social reproduction and capitalist accumulation simultaneously. The inherent tension between social reproduction and accumulation manifests in the informal housing settlements in the form of a dialectic of 'benevolence-violence.' On one hand, the postcolonial state attempts to appear 'benevolent' towards marginalized groups by 'allowing' them to establish informal housing settlements through a multi-layered network of clientelism. On the other hand, the postcolonial state resorts to violent displacement of marginalized groups as soon as they pose obstacles to real estate-led capitalist accumulation. Thus, the paper contends that IPE scholars should carefully consider the political economy of informal housing settlements, as it provides captivating insights into the mechanisms through which the postcolonial state becomes subject to regulation and is pulled in different directions by the socio-economic forces of neoliberal globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of informal settlements in human development remains contested in urban studies literature. For instance, some existing studies view urban informal settlements as hotspots of social unrest, squalor and precarious residential environments (poverty traps); while others perceive them as places where the poor become resourceful, ingenious, and develop necessary skills to navigate urban life (pathways out of poverty). The absence of systematic evidence on the nexus between informal settlements and human progress hinder sound urban policy practices. This paper examines the role of informal settlements in human development focusing on Hopley, Hatcliffe Extension and Epworth Ward 7– Harare’s three largest informal settlements. The study combines surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions with selected residents from the three neighborhoods. The study reveals that despite feeling ‘trapped’ in conditions of precarious, overcrowded, and insecure housing, coupled with discursive territorial stigmatization, some informal settlement residents are hopeful that their settlements will eventually improve. The ambivalence of Harare’s urban policy toward informal settlements must be replaced by a more positive approach to improve the livelihoods of people living in these neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The addition of new modern layers to the historic urban settings is a significant issue in conserving the historic area's characteristics. Thus, a method of evaluation for modern buildings built in historical areas is being developed. The objective includes assessing the maintenance of the historic area's qualities and designing qualified modern buildings. These two issues were evaluated by assessing the example of İstanbul Drapers and Yard Goods Bazaar, İMÇ blocks. First, historical house settlements in the construction area of İMÇ (1933) and then characteristics of İMÇ blocks (1967) were analyzed. In terms of mass proportions, the position of courtyards, circulation areas, street and square relations, and vistas, site plan organizations from 1933 and 1967 were compared, while the proportions and architectural details of the façades were compared. The assessment criteria for the evaluation of modern buildings and their impact on historical areas were determined based on international preservation standards and charters. The conservation criteria include respecting the qualities, vistas, and landmarks of existing historic structures, being recognizable and reversible, responding to the demands of the area, and providing new views, juxtapositions, and textures. Modern heritage criteria include technical, land use, aesthetic, historical, socioeconomic, intangible, canonical, and reference qualities. As a result, it is seen that the İMÇ blocks were designed in harmony with the environment and increased the spatial quality of the area. Even though the İMÇ blocks are large-scale due to architectural constraints, the orientation of the blocks, the placement of courtyards leading to the Süleymaniye Mosque, and the transverse and longitudinal continuous circulation between the blocks respected historical texture. Despite the size of the masses, their heights and architectural elements are consistent with the traditional house layout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how the spatial configuration changes as a form of residential adaptation in the urban settlements of Yogyakarta City Center because of the dynamics of social, economic, and policy changes, through a case study of Kelurahan Sosromenduran, Yogyakarta from 1980 to 2020. This study departs from the existing dynamics of social, economic, and policy changes in line with the development of people's lives, especially in urban settlements. The research objectives are to examine changes in the typology of spatial configuration as a form of housing adaptation in the urban settlements of Yogyakarta City Center. The findings of this study are expected to enrich concepts/theories related to housing adaptation in urban center settlements, which can be a reference in developing urban settlements. This research used a qualitative approach based on a single case-embedded case study in a single location. This study concludes that there are two typologies of the configuration of residential space from 1980 to 2000, and it turned into six typologies of residential spatial configurations from 2000 to 2020. Functional value is implemented in the typology changes of spatial configuration as a form of residential adaptation from 1980-2000 to 2000-2020. This study highlights that the adaptation of housing in the central settlement of Yogyakarta City demonstrates changes of residential spatial configuration with the concept of spatial consolidation, including the concept of expansiveness and versatility of residential space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighbourhood Houses in Australia are community place-based organisations that provide education, support services, and develop responses to local issues with local communities. The practices within Neighbourhood Houses are informed by community development. Yet knowledge, understanding and practices of community development vary across the workforce. In 2019, Neighbourhood Houses Victoria commenced a programme of professional learning for the workforce. This paper draws on data from an impact evaluation and examines the benefits and barriers to embedding a professional learning programme in community development within its workforce. Using practice theory to examine the tensions and contradictions inherent in delivering professional learning in neoliberal times of managerialism and accountability in not-for-profit organisations. The contradictions of practice will resonate with organisations seeking to implement a professional learning across a broad range of human service organisations such as settlement houses, human services and community education settings. We claim most not-for-profit workforces are impacted by the discursive practices of neoliberalism such as contractual arrangements and the adoption of business practices to comply with funding requirements. These compliance requirements contrast with the philosophy and practices of community development and have the potential to impact on professional learning and the practices within these workplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of culturally respectful and competent practice is important for human services, particularly in Australia, which is characterised by a highly culturally diverse population as a result of migration. On arrival in Australia, migrants start using local services which they anticipate to be appropriate to their culture, situations and aspirations. This study explored what culturally respectful and competent practice looks like for organisations working with migrant youth in the Illawarra region of the state of New South Wales using in-depth interviews and focus groups. Although our focus was youth, responses were more broad to reflect the day-to-day roles of participants. From the responses, themes that came out included awareness of own culture as a practitioner and understanding the cultures of service users; paying attention to service user views of the dominant culture; employing staff from refugee and migrant communities; interpreter services; supporting practitioners in addressing agency limitations; and use of a strengths-based approach. What is central to these themes is capacitating human resources with cultural knowledge and a tendency towards prioritising service users' interpretation of their culture and addressing the disadvantage and injustice that arise from cultural differences. For the organisations, a key barrier to achieving this is inadequate financial resources. In view of these findings, we conclude that, in relation to the topic and organisations we investigated, culturally respectful and competent practice means embedding service user cultural interpretations and priorities in organisational employment practices, staff skilling and service delivery in order to achieve the best and sustainable cultural, social and economic settlement outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To create a well-designed city, all the components of the city should be brought together properly and each of them should have the means and facilities to meet all the needs of the citizens. In order to achieve this, it is essential to thoroughly examine, adopt, and adapt existing design criteria from various locations around the world for each aspect of the urban landscape. Additionally, introducing new site-specific criteria when necessary and striving to incorporate them into urban planning are crucial steps in this process. In accordance with this approach, the study is centered around the neighborhood scale which is the smallest unit of a settlement. All the components that should be present in a neighborhood were determined and a literature review was conducted regarding the design criteria of each. It was aimed to test the extent to which these criteria are complied with in a sample settlement. Yenimahalle Neighborhood, located in the Safranbolu district of Turkiye's Karabuk province, was chosen as an example. After conducting a thorough analysis of land uses, a comparison has been drawn between the development plan and the present situation. Based on the design criteria, this assessment has identified areas of both adequacy and inadequacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient Chinese civilization was deeply rooted in a profound understanding of the environment. This understanding formed the primitive worship and unique culture of mountains and rivers, which found expression in both official and folk contexts. This essay delves into the significant influence of mountains and rivers on the site selection, positioning, and composition of ancient Chinese settlements. Through an in-depth analysis of cases, this study demonstrates that iconic mountain and river elements served as the foundation for determining the spatial locations of ancient Chinese settlements and the core references for designed landscapes. The settlement and surrounding mountains and rivers form a well-conceived integrated spatial composition, which threads the whole planning and construction process. As the determining factors for the spatial axes and forms of settlements, mountains and rivers also became the central objects of the feng shui theory. Therefore, the human geography of ancient China is not only a reflection of functions but also the result of the builders' diligent pursuit of spatial and cultural layouts. The study of the cultural genes allows for a deeper understanding of the cultural landscape of ancient China, leading to a commitment to protecting traditional settlements and their intact environmental systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural settlements are developing in the direction of functional diversification, driven by rapid urbanization, but also leading to a decline in their vitality as a result of the rapid concentration of rural population in cities. Therefore, this study proposed a theoretical framework to refine the optimization approach for rural settlements from the perspective of "production–living–ecological" functions (PLEF) and vitality. Taking a town in the farming–pastoral ecotone in northern China as a case, we evaluated the level of the PLEF of rural settlements. After exploring the functional requirements of villagers, we revealed the vitality of rural settlements based on social network analysis. The Tapio decoupling model was used to identify the optimization type of rural settlements considering the PLEF and vitality. The results showed that the PLEF of rural settlements was higher in areas with flat terrain, convenient transportation, and rich economies. Rural settlements closer to the central town were stronger in vitality. The PLEF of rural settlements was generally correlated with vitality, which means that rural settlements with a higher level of PLEF also had a stronger vitality. Rural settlements were classified into five types: suburban integration, characteristics protection, agglomeration and upgrading, general survival, relocation, and merger, according to the characteristics of a combination of PLEF and vitality. This study contributes to a deeper comprehension of the functional and structural characteristics of rural settlements and will be beneficial in guiding rural spatial reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to analyze the implementation of the Berbara policy in the Central Mamuju Regency through a collaborative management approach. A qualitative approach was used to comprehensively explain this phenomenon. Data collection methods included observations, in-depth interviews, and documentation studies. The data sources consist of two primary data points from observation and indepth interview results and secondary data from supporting documents obtained from research results. The data analysis used interactive analyses that are related to each other. The results of the study show that in collaboration management, management objectives include level, origin, originality, relevance, content, and openness. The level of collaboration in the Berbara program is at the optimal level of collaboration. Stakeholders have the same perception and goal, which is to assist the community in providing decent housing for people from a low-income background. The origin of the objectives of the Membara program was the initiation of the Public Housing and Settlement Area office, and its original aims were authentic. The relevance of the Bakara program was achieved through collaboration with various other stakeholders, including non-governmental and community groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use restrictions can curtail housing supply and lead to increased costs of accommodation, which can have adverse effects on livelihood among low‐income groups and thereby compromise sustainable development. However, limited studies have investigated housing supply restrictions in informal housing markets. To address this knowledge‐gap, this article analyzes a range of indicators of livelihood among residents of informal settlements and informal housing supply restrictions in Maputo, Mozambique and Nairobi, Kenya. The findings underscore that informal urban development is restricted to a far higher extent and livelihood in informal settlements is considerably more compromised in Nairobi compared to Maputo, despite that wages are higher in Nairobi and geographic factors likely curtail urban development to a higher extent in Maputo. The empirical evidence and economic theory reviewed in this article consistently indicate that antagonistic approaches to informal urban development in cities with large segments of the population financially excluded from the formal housing markets have comparable consequences to land use restrictions guiding formal urban development. Namely, that informal land users pay a price premium for basic shelter in such contexts due to the increased pressure on the housing markets and risk of loss of investments through forced evictions. On this basis, the article argues that unless viable legal housing alternatives are available, repressive approaches to informal urban development should be abolished while less restrictive standards for building and planning regulation should be adopted to expand provision of affordable legal accommodation and thereby enhance sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious organisations are significant producers of knowledge and in recent years, knowledge management (KM) has become a crucial necessity for organisations to achieve success and effectiveness. Pentecostal churches are frequently established, particularly in densely populated informal settlements in many parts of Africa. This study aimed to assess KM practices at a Pentecostal church in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa, using the knowledge conversion model. The study objectives were to examine the level of awareness and uptake of KM practices, determine the level of openness to knowledge sharing and conversion among church leaders and members, and evaluate how knowledge conversion and management practices contribute to achieving the church's goals of spreading the gospel and enhancing community services. The study population consisted of the church leadership and adult members. The results revealed that the level of awareness and uptake of KM practices was very low, with no documented training or responsible individuals identified for managing knowledge. Tacit knowledge was being shared informally through dialogue and religious meetings but was not formally extracted, documented, or converted into explicit knowledge for organisational productivity, sharing, and reuse. Some leaders were not keen on explicitly managing and sharing knowledge, a number of members thought it is very important for knowledge to be documented and shared. The study developed a conceptual model for implementing KM in Pentecostal religious organisations. The model provides a practical framework for improving knowledge sharing and enhancing organisational productivity, which can lead to more effective gospel dissemination and community service. This study highlights the importance of effective KM in religious organisations and provides valuable insights for leaders seeking to leverage knowledge to achieve their goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of 20 calibrated accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) ages reveals a chronology for the habitation of a unique peripheral settlement at Zahrat adh-Dhra' 1 (ZAD 1), Jordan during the Middle Bronze Age of the Southern Levant. Bayesian modeling distinguishes three phases of occupation between the first settlement at ZAD 1, perhaps as early as about 2050 cal BCE, and its abandonment by 1700 cal BCE. ZAD 1 represents a marginal community, both environmentally and culturally, on the hyperarid Dead Sea Plain, and exemplifies the peripheral settlements that are envisioned as important elements of Bronze Age Levantine society. Most importantly for this study, it is the only peripheral site in the Southern Levant that provides a Bayesian model for its habitation during the growth of Middle Bronze Age urbanized society. The timing of ZAD 1's constituent phases, early in Middle Bronze I, across the Middle Bronze I/II transition and in Middle Bronze II, correspond well with emerging chronologies for the Middle Bronze Age, thereby contributing to an ongoing reassessment of regional social and settlement dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the social lives of gaming stones, a significant number of which have been found at the Late Bronze Age farming settlement of Aredhiou Vouppes , Cyprus. The number of gaming stones found at the site is unprecedented within a Late Cypriot context. Comparatively few are found in the contemporary urban centers, and in general they appear to be more typical of the Middle Cypriot social world. The purpose of this article is to investigate the agency of these gaming stones, and to consider them as social mediators within the community of Aredhiou. It explores the social and cognitive lives of these objects, examining how they might be transformed and reimagined as they moved through myriad states of existence throughout their object-life, and thus the various ways in which they were entangled in the social life of the settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Cultural Studies / Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Journal of Cultural Studies / Kultur Arastirmalari Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of disaster adaptive housing upgrading in informal settlements from social vulnerability perspective. It examines the mode and extent of disaster adaptive upgrading in two South Asian cities—Khulna, Bangladesh and Kathmandu, Nepal. With an exploratory qualitative research approach, it focuses on built-environmental adaptation at household and community levels. Empirical findings reveal that, the apparently vulnerable communities have intrinsic adaptive capacities of upgrading their housing conditions with minimal cost and maximum efficiency. These capacities are shaped by the community's collectivism and mutual help that enable them to survive despite the lack of development induced climatic and non-climatic urban problems. In the process of self-help upgrading, the status of tenure security and scope of alternative livelihood and finance are found to be the most crucial factors shaping the households' perception of vulnerability and the extent of their involvement in adaptation practices. The research outcomes shed light on the issues surrounding vulnerability and adaptive capacity of the informal settlements and recommend policy implications towards strengthening community-led upgrading in an informed manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which aims to fight corruption of foreign officials, applies under some circumstances to foreign firms located outside the United States. Empirical evidence shows that when the Department of Justice or the Securities and Exchange Commission opens a case for an alleged violation of the FCPA against a foreign firm, the latter systematically accepts to settle. We argue that the structure of the pretrial phase led by the prosecutor results in a settlement even when a trial would have led to a more favorable outcome for the defendant. We use a Contest Success Function á la Tullock that we modify to capture the specificities of the procedure under the FCPA. First, we consider the parties' expenditures during the 'bargaining process (as opposed to the actual litigation costs) determine the outcome of the trial. Second, we assume that the effect of the prosecuting authority's expenditures on the probability of winning in case of trial is stronger than that of the defendant's. We show that in this framework, the case is always settled out of court. Systematic settlement entails a social cost which consists in the total absence of case law regarding the extraterritorial effect of the FCPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of utopia has long been associated with the search for better urban and social life, and in architecture, it serves as a mediator for designing the ideal space and life. Claude-Nicolas Ledoux and Le Corbusier, one of whom lived in the 18th century and the other in the 20th century, developed various ideas in their search for an ideal society and city, applied these to their architectural designs. Ledoux's Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans (Royal Saltworks) and Le Corbusier's Cité Frugés de Pessac (Fruges Town) are worker settlements designed under the influence of changing living conditions and perspectives, in two different centuries when industry and technology were at different stages. By examining and comparing these two projects, it is possible to discuss the impact of dominant social, technological, and economic conditions on workers' settlement designs in different centuries. In this context, the aim of the study is to observe the evolution of the ideal city and society concept in architecture by observing the transformation in workers' settlements designed two centuries apart. The results of the study highlight a historical continuity in the architectural thoughts and practice of the two architects. Nevertheless, the differences in plan schemes, construction techniques, common and private space designs, and social opportunities of these workers' settlements reflect the social, economic, and technological characteristics of the period in which they were created. As such, the distinct technologies, production, and consumption systems between the two centuries reveal the reflection of different political and social structures on architectural thought and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]