New mobilities for accessible cities: Toward scenarios for seamless journeys

While cities increasingly attest to plans to make their resources accessible for people with disabilities, the realities of achieving the travel considered integral to urban life continue to be frustrating and prohibitive for this group. Accessing the basic opportunities of contemporary urban life now presupposes the supports and resources afforded by new mobilities, combining virtual and actual travel and communication in negotiating our work, leisure, connections with families and culture. For the researchers applying the new mobilities paradigm, this requires a focus which is suited to capturing movement and its spatial and temporal coordinates and should also turn to illuminate the darker side of these relationships: coerced immobility experienced by people with disabilities. This chapter discusses an approach to research and the development of design scenarios – concepts emerging from research that may inform design - that take seriously the role of movement, time and space in the achievement of valued connections by individuals with disabilities with particular reference to the journey to work. In particular we apply, in a case study, concepts of time and space that are relevant to the in situ experience of getting to work; raising questions regarding the way getting ready and travelling are experienced in the context of risk and contingency and the actual and potential role of the technical, material and social environment. We then respond to the analysis of this case with a discussion about the way emergent scenarios can imagine “possible or preferable futures” for the mobile citizenship of people with disabilities.

Copyright protections and disability rights : turning the page to a new international paradigm

This paper argues that governments around the world need to take immediate coordinated action to reverse the 'book famine.' There are over 129 million book titles in the world, but persons with print disabilities can obtain less than 7% of these titles in formats that they can read. The situation is most acute in developing countries, where less than 1% of books are accessible. Two recent international developments – the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘CRPD’) and the new Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled (somewhat ironically nicknamed the ‘VIP Treaty’) – suggest that nation states are increasingly willing to take action to reverse the book famine. The Marrakesh Treaty promises to level out some of the disparity of access between people in developed and developing nations and remove the need for each jurisdiction to digitise a separate copy of each book. This is a remarkable advance, and suggests the beginnings of a possible paradigm shift in global copyright politicsmade all the more remarkable in the face of heated opposition by global copyright industry representatives. Now that the Marrakesh Treaty has been concluded, however, we argue that a substantial exercise of global political will is required to (a) invest the funds required to digitise existing books; and (b) avert any further harm by ensuring that books published in the future are made accessible upon their release.

A new parenthood paradigm for twenty-first century family law in England and Wales?

There are few other areas in family law where incongruence between the legal and social positions is as evident as that concerning parenthood. Recent cases involving lesbian couples and known sperm donors serve to highlight the increasing tension between the respective roles of biology, intention and functional parenting in the attribution of legal parental status. As both legislative and case-law developments have shown, intention is central in some circumstances, but not in others. The main claim of this paper is that this ad hoc approach leads to incoherent and unsatisfactory law: instead of striving to identify a status, what we are really looking to do is to identify the people who assume responsibility for a child. Drawing upon recent case-law, this paper explores how a conceptual reform of the law could result in a principled framework which would place formally recognised intention at the heart of parental status in order to reconnect legal duty with social reality for as many children and parents as possible. Moreover, it would ensure that parental status would not be dictated by the mode of conception of the child (natural or assisted). The analysis identifies the objectives of reform before proposing a new model which, while recognising the social importance of the biological parentage link, would reserve legal status for functional parenthood.

Past mobilities: archaeological approaches to movement and mobility

The new mobilities paradigm has yet to have the same impact on archaeology as it has in other disciplines in the social sciences – on geography, sociology and anthropology in particular – yet mobility is fundamental to archaeology: all people move. Moving away from archaeology’s traditional focus upon place or location, this volume treats mobility as a central theme in archaeology. The chapters are wide-ranging and methodological as well as theoretical, focusing on the flows of people, ideas, objects and information in the past; it also focuses on archaeology’s distinctiveness. Drawing on a wealth of archaeological evidence for movement, from paths, monuments, rock art and boats, to skeletal and DNA evidence, Past Mobilities presents research from a range of examples from around the world to explore the relationship between archaeology and movement, thus adding an archaeological voice to the broader mobilities discussion. As such, they will be of interest not only to archaeologists and historians, but also to sociologists, geographers and anthropologists.

Integration of the feminine into Latin American culture: in search of a new social paradigm

Includes bibliography

Foundations of a New Interaction Paradigm for Immersive 3D Multimedia

Immersion and interaction have been identified as key factors influencing the quality of experience in stereoscopic video systems. The work presented here aims to create a new paradigm for 3D Multimedia consumption exploiting these factors in order to increase user involvement. We use a 5-sided CAVETM environment to support 3D panoramic video reproduction, real-time insertion of synthetic objects into the three-dimensional scene and real-time user interaction with the inserted elements. In this paper we describe our system requirements, functionalities, conceptual design and preliminary implementation results emphasizing the most relevant challenges accomplished. The focus is on three main issues: the generation of stereoscopic video panoramas; the synchronous reproduction of immersive 3D video across multiple screens; and, the real-time insertion algorithm implemented for the integration of synthetic objects into the stereoscopic video. These results have been successfully integrated into the graphic engine managing the operation of the CAVETM infrastructure.

The EU and ASEAN – In Search of a New Regional Paradigm? EU Centre Singapore Working Paper No. 15, August 2013

The European Union (EU) has been hailed as the most successful model of regional integration thus far, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), despite its fair share of critics and doomsayers, has been seen as a relatively successful regional organisation in the developing world. However, both seemed to have arrived at a critical juncture in their respective regional projects. Challenged by recent events, internal and external, and faced with increasing uncertainties and complexities, the EU and ASEAN are forced to re-examine the journey they have taken so far and ponder the road ahead. This paper seeks first to provide an overview of the two parallel processes of regionalism in Europe and Southeast Asia by focusing on the developments of the EU and ASEAN, and dissecting both the external forces and internal dynamics that shape the respective regional processes. It then sketches out some of the global trends likely to impact regional developments in Europe and Asia, and questions if the EU and ASEAN would need a new regional approach or paradigm if they are to maintain their salience and relevance as regional actors.

Organizational ambidexterity as a new research paradigm in strategic management

Long-term survival and growth depends on the firm’s ability to exploit its current competencies while exploring fundamentally new ones. Finding the balance between exploration and exploitation is called ambidexterity in the literature. This paper is a comprehensive review of organizational ambidexterity theory. Creating and maintaining the capacity to simultaneously pursue these contradictory activities is an extremely difficult managerial challenge. Although, several aspects are well-researched, especially structural and leadership solutions in large, multinational enterprises, but little is known about: (1) how ambidexterity forms in earlier growth stages? (2) What are the key drivers and elements of organizational context that makes organizations able to become ambidextrous? (3) What is the role of different managerial levels in this formation process? Reviewing the literature, in this article the author would like to introduce the paradox of exploration and exploitation, the tensions and different aspects of ambidexterity, the fields current stage and some important research gaps.

Florida International University 3.0: A New Strategic Paradigm

Details objectives and plans for future development of Florida International University campuses, educational programs, and operations with an emphasis on focus, excellence, efficiency, and innovation.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV infection: a new prevention paradigm?

Pre-exposure prophylaxis" (PrEP) has been recently developed as a prevention strategy which involves the administration of drugs to non-infected individuals who present high exposure or susceptibility to HIV. Although this use is not approved in our country, several guidelines recommend PrEP as a prevention option in adult MSM, heterosexual men and women, and users of parenteral drugs at risk of acquiring the infection. This article presents the characteristics that an ideal agent to be used as PrEP should meet, recent efficacy published data and barriers for the implementation of this new strategy. On the other hand, the role of hospital pharmacists will be discussed.

MoBlogs, Sharing Situations, and Lived Life

This chapter considers shared encounters through blogging in the light of John Urry’s new mobilities paradigm. We review relevant literature on mobile blogging (moblogging) – blogging, pervasive image capture and sharing, moblogging and video blogging – and describe common issues with these digital content sharing practices. We then document some features of how technology affords “reflexive encounters” through the description of a blogging study involving smokers trying to quit, describing important connections between mobilities – physical, object, and communicative mobility. Finally, we present some challenges for new blogging technologies, their relevance to social encounters, and possible future directions through considering the mobile self; the new digital life document; and digital content sharing practices.

Virtual (dis) connectivities : mobile intimacy and presence for women in long distance relationships

Nous vivons dans une époque où la mobilité internationale est une pratique très courante; ainsi, de plus en plus de partenaires doivent maintenir leurs relations à distance. Le phénomène va de pair avec le développement des nouvelles technologies, qui introduisent de nouvelles formes et de pratiques pour maintenir l’intimité. Cela soulève des questions sur les pratiques de connexion (ou déconnexion) lorsque les couples sont séparés par la distance et le temps. Ce mémoire propose d’explorer comment les femmes dans des relations amoureuses à distance utilisent divers modes d’expression (visuels, textuels, oraux et tactiles) ainsi que plusieurs sens à travers de multiples technologies mobiles, qui lui permettent de reconstruire la présence et l’intimité avec l’autre. Inspiré par le new mobilities paradigm (Sheller & Urry, 2006), ainsi que les concepts de mobile intimacy (Hjorth & Lim, 2012; Elliott & Urry, 2010) et la présence imaginée (Chayko, 2002; Elliott & Urry, 2010), je propose les notions de (dé) connectivité virtuelle, le lieu virtuel, ainsi que la présence/absence technologique. Utilisant une approche méthodologique mixte, venant des données d’entrevues semi-dirigées, de l’autoethnographie, de la recherche création et de journaux de bord multimédias, certaines pratiques de contrôle et de surveillance, des formes émergentes de travail, l’immédiateté et la réciprocité émergent dans une époque d’interconnectivité.

Mobilidade em potência e discurso publicitário na sociedade contemporânea globalizada: Brasil, 1982-2014

No mundo, hoje, tudo está em movimento. Pessoas, objetos, valores, informação e imagens circulam cada dia mais intensa e extensamente em um ambiente social fluido, em rede e de riscos. Quando a mobilidade torna-se parte importante da experiência cotidiana e os deslocamentos físicos, geográficos, virtuais ou imaginativos tomam a frente nas relações e alteram radicalmente os modos de vida em todas as esferas - social, cultural, política e econômica -, nesse momento uma cultura da mobilidade se impõe e envolve a todos em novas possibilidades e experiências, assim como, em novos constrangimentos, riscos e discursos que devem ser estudados. O cada dia mais intenso imbricamento entre a cultura da mobilidade e o discurso publicitário constitui a base que sustenta a tese e que delineia as duas premissas fundamentais do estudo: a primeira, de que as coisas do mundo chegam até o sujeito apesar de sua imobilidade, por meio dos objetos, das informações e das imagens que circulam globalmente; e, a segunda premissa, de que a despeito de seu caráter comercial, persuasivo e de vendas, a publicidade também pode ser encarada como um bem cultural que expressa a cultura da qual faz parte. É na articulação destas duas premissas que reside o interesse primordial e o objeto de estudo da pesquisa: ao considerar o fazer publicitário como representação da sociedade, investigar, a partir da perspectiva do Paradigma das Novas Mobilidades, como o movimento é expresso discursivamente na publicidade das marcas globais. A interpretação do discurso publicitário global teve como objetivo validar a hipótese de que há um consumo de (i)mobilidade sendo feito quando o indivíduo sai em busca de objetos que, a partir de sua disponibilidade (ready-to-handness) e potencial de uso em relação ao ambiente (affordance), suportem sua (i)mobilidade cotidiana com certa estabilidade e menor risco. O locus da investigação é o Brasil e o estudo focou sua análise nos 32 anos relativos ao período de 1982 a 2014. Foram selecionados anúncios de marcas veiculados na revista Veja durante o período de três Copas do Mundo FIFA: de 1982, na Espanha; de 1998, na França; e de 2014, no Brasil, que cobrem o período proposto pela pesquisa.