Concepts of the Global South

Where and what is the Global South? If you ask people on the street, many would probably not have the faintest idea. In everyday parlance and mass media, Global South has hardly become a household term. In academic and (global) policy circles, though, the term is used with much more gusto. Politicians refer to it. The United Nations organize their statistical data in accordance with the term. Academics write books about it - or, as in our case, explicitly include the term in the name of a research center: Global South Studies Center (GSSC). But what does the term entail? Who uses it and why? And what are the implications of marking distinctions between the Global South and the Global North? We thought it relevant to address these questions in more detail – after all, we work for a recently established research institute featuring the term in its name. Accordingly, we asked a number of academics, journals and academic institutions to reflect on the term. In this online issue, we share their various perspectives and critical reflections on the notion of the Global South – see also a short discussion on a number of YouTube videos we have included.

Teaching down or learning up

Résumé : L'élément important que cette thèse sous-tend est que l'enseignement efficace n'est pas seulement constitué de techniques et de méthodologie, mais plutôt d'attitude et d'approche envers l'enseignement. Ceci ne veut pas nécessairement dire que plusieurs méthodes d'enseignement reçues dans un cours avec l'intention d'optimaliser les mécanismes de transmission et d'assimilation de la matière sont inappropriées. Cependant, l'absence de ce que nous pourrions définir comme un ton pédagogique est essentiel, c'est-à-dire, qu'une attitude positive à la productivité autant vis-à-vis de la matière à transmettre que vis-à-vis de l'individu impliqué dans "l'acte" de réception versus la découverte, aura davantage de succès. Toute autre méthode sera complètement inefficace, inaccessible, voire même inutile. D'emblée, dans l'hypothèse de départ, l'argument principal présente une attitude générale d'enseignement à divers échelons ; soit au niveau secondaire ou collégial qui est inappropriée, incomplète ou négative. En d'autres mots, cette approche thérapeutise l'éducation. Dans l'exercice de cette approche, l'enseignant ou l'enseignante adopte plutôt le rôle d'un thérapeute que celui d'un éducateur. De ce fait, le professeur en situation a une approche plutôt de thérapeute que celle de maître-précepteur et que la matière présentée est souvent diluée, et réduite à des niveaux d'apprentissage accompagnés de carences notoires et d'échecs académiques. Les attentes d'une performance dans le milieu académique sont souvent des plus modestes. Cette même tendance d'une éducation à la baisse est évidente aussi dans le processus d'évaluation. Il est certain que dans les disciplines non scientifiques, l'évaluation formative a grandement suivi l'évaluation normative conduisant le précepteur, tour à tour, dans une évaluation dormative dans laquelle l'effort et l'intention remplacent les aptitudes et les habilitées réelles. Si l'approche pédagogique est vraiment l'élément crucial de l'éducation, il Importe que l'approche générale influence le climat de l'éducation contemporaine, de fait, devienne un palliatif contre-productif souvent réhabilitant. De plus, cette pseudo-thérapie d'où d'écoule une attitude exigeante envers l'enseignant et l'apprenant dont le fondement est la reconnaissance des impératifs culturels qui en sont le reflet et le corps doit-être affirmé et transposé dans la réalité. Cette dernière comprend des attentes très poussées en ce qui concerne la performance en classe et aussi le respect de la matière qui contient la présentation routinière et fondamentale; renouveau intense du processus d'évaluation qui fournira des standards communs et des objectifs externes dans l'évaluation du travail de l'étudiant. Cette connaissance et domestication empirique que nous présente Vygotsky dans un climat contemporain qu'il a expliqué ces termes comme "des zones de développement proximales" basées sur la doctrine suivante que le bon apprentissage précède le développement et que conséquemment s'ensuit une pédagogie d'apprentissage plutôt qu'une pédagogie centrée sur l'apprenant. L'application significative de ces derniers principes ou de ces épistémologiques s'imbriquent dans une situation d'apprentissage ascentionnel dont la structure est détaillée et considérée par différentes perspectives de la recherche qui suit.||Abstract : The central tenet of this thesis is that effective teaching is not only and perhaps not primarily a matter of technique and methodology but of attitude and approach. This is not to say that diverse methods of classroom instruction intended to optimize the mechanics of transmission and the assimilation of data are inappropriate but that in the absence of what we might denominate as a certain pedagogical tone. that is, a productive attitude toward both the material to be conveyed and the individuel engaged in the 'act' of reception-and-discovery, even the most powerful methods will be differentially unavailing or, at best, inefficient. Given this initial assumption, the argument proceeds that the general attitude toward instruction currently in place at the secondary echelons, that is, on the high school and college levels, may be popularly represented as a 'teaching down' approach, in other words, as one which seeks to therapeuticize education. In practice this means that the teacher tends to manifest in situ more as a therapist than as a preceptor, that the material to be presented is frequently diluted or scaled down to perceived levels of cognitive (dis)ability (as is also the case with the rate of instruction), and that performance expectations in the current pedagogical milieu are commonly quite modest. The same downward trend is evident in assessment protocols as well. Certainly in the nonscientific disciplines, normative evaluation has been widely succeeded by formative evaluation, leading in turn to a peculiar kind of dormative evaluation in which intangibles such as effort and intention may deputize for realized ability. If pedagogical approach is indeed the crucial element in instruction, and if the general approach that pervades the contemporary climate of instruction is indeed counter-productively remedial or rehabilitory, that is, therapeutic, then it should follow that a more demanding attitude toward teaching and learning founded on the recognition of the culturel imperative which teaching both reflects and embodies needs to be re-affirmed and translated into practice. This latter would entail the maintenance of high expectations with regard to classroom performance, a respect for the material which precludes its routine mitigation or debasement, a renewed insistance on grading protocols that provide an external, 'objective' or communal standard against which the student's work can be measured, the empirical acknowledgment or domestication of what Vygotsky has termed "the zone of proximal development," based on the doctrine that good learning proceeds in advance of development, and conséquently, a learning-centered rather than learner-centered pedagogy. The meaningful application of this latter set of principles or epistemological gradients comprises the 'learning up' situation whose structure is excunined in some détail and considered from various perspectives in the ensuing.

Análisis situacional de la política pública departamental de juventud de Antioquia “PEDJ 2006-2015” en desarrollo de la “línea de acción 5 vinculación de los jóvenes al mundo laboral” en la ciudad de Medellín para el período 2006-2014

El presente trabajo representa un análisis situacional a la política pública departamental de juventud de Antioquia “PEDJ 2006-2015” en desarrollo de la “línea de acción 5. vinculación de los jóvenes al mundo laboral” en la ciudad de Medellín para el período 2006-2014. Como seguimiento a una estrategia que propicia una adecuada inserción de los jóvenes en el ámbito socioeconómico. Esta población presenta restricciones para completar un óptimo proceso de acumulación de capital humano y social que le permita insertarse en el mercado laboral en condiciones favorables. El objetivo principal consiste en analizar la inclusión de los Jóvenes al mundo laboral y otros actores sociales vinculados a la implementación y ejecución de la Política pública de juventud de Antioquia, como estrategia que garantice el tránsito de los jóvenes al mundo laboral y productivo en condiciones de calidad, estabilidad, y protección especial en los aspectos que se requieran. Las líneas de acción se enmarcan en las dimensiones de capital social, educación y mercado laboral e inserción productiva.

What Does Value Matter? The Interest-Relational Theory of the Semantics and Metaphysics of Value

Value and reasons for action are often cited by rationalists and moral realists as providing a desire-independent foundation for normativity. Those maintaining instead that normativity is dependent upon motivation often deny that anything called '"value" or "reasons" exists. According to the interest-relational theory, something has value relative to some perspective of desire just in case it satisfies those desires, and a consideration is a reason for some action just in case it indicates that something of value will be accomplished by that action. Value judgements therefore describe real properties of objects and actions, but have no normative significance independent of desires. It is argued that only the interest-relational theory can account for the practical significance of value and reasons for action. Against the Kantian hypothesis of prescriptive rational norms, I attack the alleged instrumental norm or hypothetical imperative, showing that the normative force for taking the means to our ends is explicable in terms of our desire for the end, and not as a command of reason. This analysis also provides a solution to the puzzle concerning the connection between value judgement and motivation. While it is possible to hold value judgements without motivation, the connection is more than accidental. This is because value judgements are usually but not always made from the perspective of desires that actually motivate the speaker. In the normal case judgement entails motivation. But often we conversationally borrow external perspectives of desire, and subsequent judgements do not entail motivation. This analysis drives a critique of a common practice as a misuse of normative language. The "absolutist" attempts to use and, as philosopher, analyze normative language in such a way as to justify the imposition of certain interests over others. But these uses and analyses are incoherent - in denying relativity to particular desires they conflict with the actual meaning of these utterances, which is always indexed to some particular set of desires.

Yrittäjän sosiaalisten verkostojen muodostuminen, niihin vaikuttavat tekijät, niiden rakenne ja merkitys yrittäjälle

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää kuinka yrittäjän verkostot muodostuvat ja minkälainen niiden rakenne on. Tavoitteena oli myös saada tietoa yrittäjän sosiaalisten verkostojen merkityksestä yrittäjälle. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin strukturoidulla haastattelulla ja tutkimusaineiston rinnalla käytettiin yrittäjien havainnollistamia piirroksia sekä tieteellisiä julkaisuja ja kirjallisuutta. Haastateltavina oli sekä nais- että miesyrittäjiä eri paikkakunnilta Etelä-Suomen alueelta. Tutkimustulosten mukaan yrittäjien verkostoissa voidaan havaita eri tasoja, jotka rakentuvat eri tavoilla ja ovat yrittäjälle merkitykseltään erilaisia. Verkoston eri tasoille sijoittuu yrittäjälle tärkeitä ihmisiä sen mukaan mitä hyötyä ja arvoa heillä yrittäjälle on. Tulokset osoittavat, että verkostojen rakentamiseen vaikuttavat sekä liiketoiminnan laatu, motiivit sekä yrittäjän persoona. Tulokset ovat linjassa tämän tutkimuksen perustana olevien teorioiden kanssa. Viitteitä löytyy myös siitä, että yrittäjän sukupuolella on myös merkitystä siihen, millaiseksi sosiaaliset verkostot rakentuvat sekä henkilökohtaisessa elämässä että liike-elämän puolella. Sosiaalisista verkostoista saatavat hyödyt ovat moninaisia. Lisätutkimuksia tulisi tehdä tehokkaiden työkalujen kehittämiseksi henkilöstön ja yrittäjän omien resurssien tunnistamiseksi. Tätä kautta myös yrittäjyyskasvatusta ja yrittäjäneuvontaa voitaisiin tehostaa.

A (More) Livable Community: Community, Cooperative Economics, and Resistance At A Student Housing Cooperative In College Park

Radical thinkers and activists have put forth “building community” as a political alternative, but what does “building community” actually entail? This thesis examines how a student cohousing group in College Park builds community in a rapidly changing college town. The group was founded to help house low-income tenants in the face of increasingly unaffordable housing. I ask how the group creates organizational structures and personal relationships that give rise to alternative housing opportunities. I examine how community shapes, and is shaped by, features of cohousing such as democratic decision-making and cooperative economics. I give particular attention to tensions that occur within the cooperative due to faults in democratic decision-making, the ability to perform cooperative duties, and the demographic makeup of the cooperative. Finally, I ask what transformative features, if any, the community possesses in the face of the city’s development.

Turystyka i rekreacja a jakość życia mieszkańców Leszna

The quality of life (QOL) is currently one of the main fields of study for researchers around the world. Its complex nature makes it a topic of interest for many different fields, such as philosophy, ethics, medicine, economics, sociology and physical culture sciences. Despite the differences in the way various researches define the QOL, the general agreement is that any measurement of QOL should encompass the following dimensions: objective QOL and subjective QOL (well-being). Particularly noteworthy, for any complex research is the mutual relationship between the QOL and tourism and recreation. The increase of tourism and recreation should entail a simultaneous development of local communities, as emphasized by Crouch and Ritchie this implies that the inhabitants of an area that serves a function of tourism and recreation should profit from the increased number of tourists. This benefits should be reflected in the objective QOL conditions and the subjective sense of satisfaction of the residents. The city of Leszno and it’s tourism and recreation-oriented development strategy were used to form a basis for theoretical study on QOL and to calculate the Tourism-Recreation QOL Index.

Transmission Easement and Adverse Possession of Transmission Easement in the Polish Law

The object of analysis in the text are the issues concerned with the transmission easement and the adverse possession thereof on the grounds of the Polish law. The text features: (1) a historical outline of the solutions concerned with easements in the Polish law following 1945, (2) the institution of transmission easement introduced in 2008 and the solutions concerned with the claims for the establishment thereof at court, (3) the institution of adverse possession of transmission easement pursuant to civil law regulations, judicature and the legal doctrine. On account of the need to elaborate the wide-ranging legal issues concerned with the transmission easement in this text, the analysis embraces two research questions giving rise to the following conclusions: (1) What function is performed by the institution of transmission easement in the system of civil-law relations in the Polish law? The legislator in the articles introducing a transmission easement ossified the solutions functioning in the judicature of the Polish courts before 2008. The legal interpretation took a turn for clarification, that is for the establishment of a norm in the situation where its comprehension was dubious. It is noteworthy that in the period prior to 2008, the law provided for easement appurtenant, and on account of the usual course of judicial decisions also for easement appurtenant with the content corresponding to transmission easement. In 2008 these two “legal existences” were supplemented with a transmission easement, which nevertheless failed to resolve all the legal problems; nay, this gave rise to even more problems, e.g. the one of non-establishment of interpolar norms which would address the issues arising in connection with the use of various easement institutions in legal transactions. While amending the civil law, the legislator aimed to bring order to legal transactions by streamlining the unregulated actual state of easement in relation to transmission infrastructure, but also in relation to the situations where an easement was yet to be established and a facility yet to be constructed. Thus, such action is intended to regulate the disorderly legislation in force as well as to safeguard investment processes. This is of particular significance, for example, for energy companies which are burdened with statutory public-law obligations as regards securing energy supplies and providing for the development of energy infrastructure. Hence, the de facto introduced civil-law solutions indirectly served to realise the principles of the doctrine of easement in the public interest. (2) What legal problems in the civil-law relations does the application of the institution of transmission easement by adverse possession entail? On account of the functioning of various institutions of easement, that is (1) an easement appurtenant, (2) an easement appurtenant with the content corresponding to a transmission easement, and as of 2008 (3) a transmission easement, a problem arose as to which of the given easements companies exercised in particular periods, all the more so because before 1989 the State Treasury owned them and many of the transmission facilities were put in place by virtue of administrative decisions. The commonly held belief is that in the period of “society-oriented economy” as well as up to 2008 infrastructure companies could exercise an easement appurtenant which corresponded to the content of a transmission easement. Therefore, in such a case the running of the prescriptive period should allow for the general rules laid down for an easement appurtenant. Apart from the problem of the relation of a capacity to exercise a right to property and the free development of civil-law relations before 1989, the recognition of the running of prescriptive periods – given the functioning of the three various easements as legal institutions – became a significant legal problem. By way of illustration, the recognition – against the period of exercising transmission easement – of the period required for the acquisition thereof by adverse possession, whereby before 3 August 2008 the real estate featured the legal state corresponding to the content of this right, is debatable. One cannot recognise that within that period a transmission easement was exercised, because such a right was not in existence as yet. Therefore, the institution that might be employed is the running of the period as regards the adverse possession in relation to an easement appurtenant with the content of a transmission easement. Still, the problem remains as to whether the period of the exercise of the easement appurtenant with the content corresponding to a transmission easement can be recognised against the period of possession required for the adverse possession of a transmission easement pursuant to the regulations introduced in 2008. One might incline to the position whereby in such a case it would be right to fully recognise – against the period of exercising a transmission easement – the period of exercising an easement appurtenant corresponding thereto in respect of its content. That being so, the adverse possession of a transmission easement might ensue in such a situation on 3 August 2008 at the earliest, that is the moment the regulations governing this right come into effect. Conversely, if the prescriptive period expires before that date, the entrepreneur would acquire an easement appurtenant with the content corresponding to the transmission easement. Such an interpretation is aligned with the purpose intended by the legislator, which is to bring order to the actual state of the broadest scope with the aid of a new legal instrument. The text, while analysing the issue of a transmission easement and an adverse possession thereof as a institution of the civil law, presents only some selected problems. Hence, the analysis does not include, for example, the issues concerned with claims for remuneration (for usufruct without contractual basis or usufruct fees), or claims for compensation (redress or amends). Furthermore, the text does not conduct a more profound analysis of the relation between the provisions regulating public-law relations (e.g. acts of law introducing the institution of dispossession) and the provisions regulating civil-law relations (the easements in question).

The European Parliament and the Future of Comitology after Lisbon: Lessons to be drawn from the Regulatory Procedure with Scrutiny for Delegated Acts

The history of comitology – the system of implementation committees that control the Commission in the execution of delegated powers – has been characterised by institutional tensions. The crux of these tensions has often been the role of the European Parliament and its quest to be granted powers equal to those of the Council. Over time this tension has been resolved through a series of inter-institutional agreements and Comitology Decisions, essentially giving the Parliament incremental increases in power. This process came to a head with the 2006 Comitology reform and the introduction of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny (RPS). After just over three years of experience with the RPS procedure, and having revised the entire acquis communautaire, the Treaty of Lisbon made has made it redundant through the creation of Delegated Acts (Article 290 TFEU), which gives the Parliament equal rights of oversight. This article aims to evaluate the practical implications that Delegated Acts will entail for the Parliament, principally by using the four years of experience with the RPS to better understand the challenges ahead. This analysis will be of interest to those following the study of comitology, formal and informal interinstitutional relations, and also to practitioners who will have to work with Delegated Acts in the future.

European Cosmopolitan Solidarity

The idea of a cosmopolitan Europe continues to be central to contemporary debates within post-national citizenship. However, much of the writing in this area remains disconnected from the need to reinvent European social democracy that questions the centrality of work and racist nationalism. This article argues that a revived European Left would need to move beyond specifically liberal concerns with procedure to articulate a view of European futures that both deconstructed neo-liberalism and embraced more convivial collective futures. This would entail the combination of a post-material politics that sought to critique the centrality of employment while granting citizens a basic income or forms of civic labour and a more concerted attempt to break with a racialized politics based upon the fear of the ‘Other’. In conclusion, it is argued that the urgent political task of the future is to reinvent a sense of Europeaness that has both a substantive content, but that does not become mobilized by an exclusive cultural politics.

Prosument Behaviour In Brand Creating

A brand remains a considerable source of the competitive advantage. One of the elements contributing to its power is image. The information revolution and globalization make it necessary to search for new means of differentiating brands. One of them is engaging consumers in the brand creation process. In light of the development of the Web 2.0, prosumers – active consumers functioning both as consumers and partly as producers – can have a meaningful influence on the image of brands. Their activities can entail both positive as well as negative effects.

A implantação de hidrelétricas na Amazônia brasileira, impactos socioambientais e à saúde com as transformações no território : o caso da UHE de Belo Monte

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Humanas, Departamento de Geografia, Pós-Graduação em Geografia, 2016.

Mechanical behaviour at high temperature of alkali-activated aluminosilicates (geopolymers)

This study was designed to determine the effect of temperature on the mechanical strength (in both in vivo and post-exposure trials) of two alkaline cements (without OPC): (a) 100% fly ash (FA) and (b) 85% FA + 15% bauxite, the activated alkaline solution used was 85% 10-M NaOH + 15% sodium silicate. A Type I 42.5 R Portland cement was used as a control. Two series of trials were conducted: (i) in vivo trials in which bending and compressive strength, fracture toughness and modulus of elasticity were determined at different temperatures; and (ii) post-firing trials, assessing residual bending and compres-sive strength after a 1-h exposure to high temperatures and subsequent cooling. The findings showed that from 25 to 600 C, irrespective of the type of test (in vivo or post-firing), compressive mechanical strength rose, with the specimens exhibiting elastic behaviour and consequently brittle failure. At tem-peratures of over 600 C, behaviour differed depending on the type of test: (i) in the in vivo trials the high temperature induced pseudo-plastic strain and a decline in mechanical strength that did not necessarily entail specimen failure; (ii) in the post-firing trials, compressive strength rose.

De patrones a parámetros : una evaluación de los patrones espaciales en los pabellones de la Serpentine Gallery (2000-2015)

La actual realidad socioeconómica, marcada por la (r)evolución tecnológica de los último años y la explosión demográfica y urbana, conlleva dos grandes problemas. Por un lado el cambio climático derivado de la sobreexplotación de los recursos y energías no-renovables, y por otro, la pérdida de las identidades y procesos culturales específicos provocada por la globalización. Ante ellos, diversos autores plantean sacar partido de las propias tecnologías y la nueva sociedad en red para dar una respuesta acorde al momento actual. Las herramientas computacionales permiten una mayor complejidad de los diseños alcanzando una optimización de recursos y procesos, minimizando su impacto ambiental. Frente a la producción en masa y la pérdida de identidad, el planteamiento informático de problemas globales permite pasar de la producción en masa del siglo pasado a la ‘customización’ en masa al dar respuestas específicas para cada contexto. Por otro lado es necesario que esos procesos computacionales conecten y hagan partícipes del diseño a los diferentes actores sociales implicados. Es por ello que esta investigación se basará en los patrones espaciales de Christopher Alexander y otros modelos algorítmicos de diseño por ordenador puesto que estos describen soluciones paramétricas a conflictos recurrentes de diseño de arquitectura. Su planteamiento permite que cada solución base genere respuestas específicas, a la vez que esta es corregida y optimizada por todos sus utilizadores al poder ser compartida digitalmente. Con ello se busca que el diseño de arquitectura responda a criterios objetivos basados en la experiencia y la crítica participativa y democrática basada en los patrones, de tal modo que los diseños no surjan de un planteamiento top-down impuesto y cerrado, sino que en ellos gane importancia la participación activa de los actores sociales implicados en la definición y uso de los mismos. Por último, esta investigación procura mostrar cómo los patrones pueden jugar un papel determinante en la conceptualización abstracta del diseño, mientras que otros métodos algorítmicos alcanzarán fases del proyecto más concretas. De este modo, los patrones digitales que se pretenden se centran en la customización del diseño, mientras que el uso que le dan otros autores persigue la optimización del mismo. Para ello la investigación recurrirá al análisis de los pabellones de verano de la Serpentine Gallery como casos de estudio en los que comprobar la repercusión de los patrones en el diseño de arquitectura actual y su posible adaptación al diseño paramétrico.

Intolerance of uncertainty predisposes to avoidance habit acquisition

Many mental disorders are characterised by the presence of compulsions and incontrollable habits. Most studies on habit learning, both in animals and in humans, are based on positive reinforcement paradigms. However, the compulsions and habits involved in some mental disorders may be better understood as avoidance behaviours, which involve some peculiarities, such as anxiety states, that have been shown to promote habitual responses. Consequently, we studied habit acquisition by using a free-operant discriminated avoidance procedure. Furthermore, we checked whether intolerance of uncertainty could predispose to avoidance habit acquisition. Participants learned to avoid an aversive noise presented either to the right or to the left ear by pressing two different keys. After a devaluation phase where the volume of the noise presented to one of the ears was reduced, participants went through a test phase identical to the avoidance learning phase except for the fact that the noise was never administered. Habit acquisition was inferred by comparing the rate of responses to the stimulus signalling the devalued reinforcer and to the stimulus signalling the non-devalued reinforcer. The results showed that intolerance of uncertainty was related to the absence of differences between the referred conditions, which entail avoidance habit acquisition.