A critical analysis of the Nollywood film Osuofia in London

This article analyzes Nigeria’s Nollywood film Osuofia in London [Ogoro, K. (Producer & Director). (2003/2004). Kingsley Ogoro Productions] to understand how the film synthesizes African and Western cultural identities via the prisms of hybridity and postcolonial theory. The paper uses a critical approach within the contexts of three tenets (African, Western, and hybrid) to read the film. The analysis resulted in five themes: African/folk belief systems and Christianity; traditional Igbo attire and English garb; African/folk music and Western music; African and Western food and drinks; and African/traditional medicine and modern medicine. The analysis indicates that unequal power relations and the forces of globalization are inescapable. Even though the protagonist, Osuofia, challenges the Western ideology, he reproduces it as well.     

Consolidating materials for the volcanic tuff in western Mexico

The diversity of volcanic tuff buildings standing in Western Mexico is large, therefore, it was considered relevant to evaluate and synthetize different stone consolidants that could be applied in the regional weather conditions and renew the stability of those buildings; since the commercial products are developed and tested in foreign countries, and in some cases, when applied under the weather conditions of Mexico, the results differ from those reported. For the altered tuffs from Santa Mónica's Church in Guadalajara, Mexico, the deterioration mechanism of the local tuff was determined, thus a silicate and aluminosilicate consolidants were synthesized by the sol-gel method and applied to altered tuffs in order to evaluate their performance from structural to macroscopic level.     

巩固村民自治制度建设农村政治文明的战略地位及途径论纲——以西部民族地区农村为例

西部民族地区农村巩固村民自治制度建设社会主义政治文明具有重要的战略地位。针对目前村民自治制度在西部民族地区农村的推行过程中其在社会经济、基层组织、民主程序、历史传统等方面存在困境,我们必须积极探索新形势下的新途径、新方法,加大对西部民族地区农村建设的投资,促进农村经济社会的发展,加强和改善党对基层工作领导,加强村民自治组织建设,建立健全各项配套制度,保障村民自治工作在党的领导下实现法制化,从而真正落实人民当家作主,真正让其沿着民主与法制的轨道健康发展。     

老外兄弟高唱“我的中国心”

我有蓝色的眼睛/我早已看过《西游记》和《道德经》……我有个中国灵魂／我上辈子一定是中国人／你们叫我老外／我却叫你们同胞们……     

Dreamings beyond ‘opportunity’: the collaborative economics of an aboriginal heritage trail

This article presents the Lurujarri Heritage Trail, an Indigenous tourism experience in Northwest Australia as exemplary for a world different from the teleological-minded futurism of neoliberal market economics. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork undertaken between 2011 and 2015, it first outlines how in 1987 the Trail was established at the very margins of the Australian economy. Through its emphasis on the here and now that is grounded in a collaboration of people and land and acknowledges diverse worldviews and ontological differences, the Trail today offers its participants a means to experience Indigenous culture as different from Western politics and development policies. As a result, its allegedly marginal Dreaming (Bugarrigarra) leads beyond the pursuit of economic opportunity and in doing so enabled the defeat of large-scale industrialisation in the region.     

Knowledge for the West,Production for the Rest?

This article develops the argument that a ‘knowledge economy,’ despite its cheerful optimism, is also an elegant incarnation of the demise of Western economies. An analysis of policy documents, research statements, and national accounts reveals this paradoxical coexistence of anxiety and progress in the discourse on knowledge economies. While the concept is often hailed as a temporal concept (superseding other forms of economic production), this article argues that a knowledge economy is best understood as a spatial concept – it is a way of contending with global reorganizations of production. This spatial approach is elaborated to tackle three paradoxes. (1) A knowledge economy enfolds defeat with progress. (2) A knowledge economy downplays the importance of industrial labor and simultaneously depends on it to materialize its ideas. (3) While seemingly intangible and ephemeral, a knowledge economy is fixed in place in national economies through government and corporate policy (including through the emergent phenomenon of ‘knowledge-adjusted gross domestic products’). A spatial approach provides a view of the tenuous global interconnections and specific conditions that prop up a knowledge economy, and shows how the concept is mobilized to redraw the map so that endangered economies can regain their challenged sense of centrality in a world economy.     

Spectacles in hybrid Japan: Deconstruction,semiotic excess,and obtuse meanings in Lost in Translation

This essay’s purpose is to recover Fiskean deconstructive criticism as a means of examining the complexities of texts. Specifically, we argue that Lost in Translation’s moments of spectacle reveal that even in a text that reinforces White Orientalist views of Japan, the text’s obtuse meanings subvert, though not upturn, this dominant narrative. The film’s text reifies heteronormative masculinity and femininity with the blending of the pre- and postmodern Japan, yet obtuse meanings subvert the Western gaze and present hybrid queer spaces that complicate Western neocolonial domination. Subversion cannot completely overturn those meanings, but guerrilla opportunities allow for tactical resistance.     

国家制度改革下的我国城市规划适应逻辑与路径

制度改革反映了公共部门与私人部门在城市建设事务中的角色与作用,继而影响城市规划技术与政策的制定。基于对国家制度改革进程的特征研究,分析了我国制度改革下的城市规划适应逻辑,认为国家制度差异下的中西方城市规划之间存在较大差异性。为适应"十九大"后新构建的国土空间规划体系,我国城市规划只有具备发展观、合作观与制度观,才能扮演好城乡建设中的公共服务与公共政策职能,高效推进城乡一体化统筹。     

The Grudging Modernizer: A Trip to the Middle East and Cold War Social Science

Minerva - The postwar era is generally recognized as a unique moment of impetuous growth of the social sciences, due to the interest of Western internationalist elites in the development of a set...     

《墙盘》铭文补释--兼论周代彝铭的文王武王形象

《史墙盘》是迄今所见述西周诸王最为系统的彝器铭文,它代表了周王朝的正统理念,铭文造句谨严,用辞考究。铭文用大段文字叙述周文王、武王的功勋业迹,是为迄今发现的彝铭所仅见者。结合其它资料,可以看出彝铭中的文王形象主题是膺受天命和最为显赫周人先祖,武王形象的主题则是威武刚强。这些对于研究周代史学与文学皆有重要价值。     

‘We Have to Go Where the Money Is’—Dilemmas in the Role of Nutrition Scientists: An Interview Study

In Western societies scientists are increasingly expected to seek media exposure and cooperate with industry. Little attention has been given to the way such expectations affect the role of scientific experts in society. To investigate scientists’ own perspectives on these issues eight exploratory, in-depth interviews were conducted in Denmark with reputable nutrition scientists. Additionally, eight interviews were held with ‘key informants’ from the field of nutrition policy. It was found that nutrition scientists experience two dilemmas: first, between their aspiration to make a collective impact on public health and the powerful incentives of each to appear frequently in the media with new messages; second, between their need to cooperate with the food industry for financial reasons and their fear that this may compromise their independence and scientific integrity. It is argued that the dilemmas identified in this study should be dealt with openly by the relevant groups of scientists.     

The Simon Mann Trial,the Demise of the “Dogs of War,” and the Discursive Legitimation of “Humanitarian” Private Security Companies in Africa

The essay provides a critical intercultural analysis of the 2008 trial of the “mercenary” Simon Mann, accused of instigating an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. The author argues that Equatorial Guinean President, Teodoro Obiang, tried to turn this trial into a tactical, neocolonial critique of mercenary activities that were allegedly supported by the United Kingdom, Spain, and other Western powers. Unfortunately, he was only partially successful. The growing influence of private security corporations and the suasory power of new military “rescue” tales meant that there were no shortage of defenders of these types of coups. This study demonstrates how certain actions can, at times, be simultaneously characterized as dominant strategies and subaltern tactics.     

The effect of young children on their parents’ anime-viewing habits: evidence from Japanese microdata

Anime is now considered an accepted form of animation and is considered to represent Japanese contemporary culture worldwide. There are many fans of anime and manga, creating a community known as otaku world. However, Japanese anime and manga have gained popularity in Western countries as well as in Japan. This paper attempts to ascertain the determinants of watching anime in Japan based on individual-level data from Japan. Despite the growth in the number of adult anime fans, children are still more likely to watch anime than adults are. Hence, this study investigates how adults are influenced by the presence of their children. After controlling for individual characteristics, it was found that people are more likely to watch anime when they have children aged less than 12 years who have not yet entered junior high school. Such an effect is larger for parents who belong to an older generation where people are less likely to prefer anime. This implies that the externality coming from children results in parents watching anime. The findings of this study show that externalities from surrounding people play a critical role in enlarging the market of modern cultural goods representing “Cool Japan.”     

From shanzhai chic to Gangnam style: seven practices of cultural-economic mediation in China and Korea

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the social construction of ‘fashionability’ – namely, what is ‘desirable’ and ‘fashionable’ – with reference to the concept ‘cultural mediators’ that foregrounds agency, negotiation and the contested practices of market actors in cultural production. It zeroes in on the cultural mediators’ attitudes and positions in the two markets by drawing on 25 in-depth interviews with industry veterans. It shows that the mediators in South Korea and China increasingly occupy hybrid occupational roles and social positions across industries and sectors yet achieve limited success in countering the status quo of Western fashion through mediation. The analysis contributes to the literature with a categorisation of seven mediation practices that shape the valuation of fashion products (i.e. ‘fashionability’) in two ways. Empirically, this categorisation illuminates how cultural mediators make reference habitually to the broader social and cultural contexts to co-construct cultural-aesthetic objects. Theoretically, it advances a cultural-economic approach to the understanding of cultural mediation and challenges the reductionist viewpoint of actor–network theory through the notion of a matrix of cultural-economic agency.     

Between business and morality: cultural politics in independent bookshops in China

ABSTRACT

This article investigates how cultural businesses may facilitate contentious political activity in authoritarian contexts. Existing research in Western liberal democracies has shown the widespread political activism of actors in the cultural and creative industries. Whether such activism exists in authoritarian society, how it may differ in character and form, and what implications this will have for our understanding of relations between business, politics, and culture in authoritarian countries remain to be addressed. Drawing on data collected from 55 ‘independent bookshops’ in China, I illustrate how these organisations perform ‘cultural politics,’ a type of political participation in which actors employ mainly symbolic means to express social and political concerns. The organisations’ economic relations and conditions facilitate their efforts to create spaces in which contentious questions can be raised, sensitive topics explored, and alternative ideas expressed, despite the Chinese state’s political regulation of the cultural sphere. The finding of the economic embeddedness of cultural politics sheds new light on our understanding of the political economy of cultural businesses in contemporary China.     

Beginning Science Policy Research in Europe: The Studiengruppe für Systemforschung, 1957–1973

Translator’s note*: I am pleased to offer this translation of a lecture by Helmut Krauch, both because he is an old friend, whom I have known for more than forty years, and because it fills a gap in the history of science policy research. As this lecture makes clear, the Studiengruppe, led by Krauch, was the first in Europe to measure the share of nuclear and military research in total R&D expenditure and to make systematic technology assessments to guide government policy. Moreover, its Project ORAKEL opened the way to wider public debate on major policy issues in science and technology. Krauch’s book on Computer Democracy remains an outstanding contribution to the reform of Western democracy. I commend this essay warmly to all concerned with the history of science and technology policy. This is an edited translation of a lecture delivered at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis at the Research Centre for Technical Change and the Environment in Karlsruhe, 10 April 2000. We are grateful to the Institute for permission to publish the essay, to Professor Christopher Freeman, for generously preparing a translation, and to Dr. Reinhard Coenen for helping to prepare the final version.     

University and Business Relations: Connecting the Knowledge Economy

It is commonplace to say that the modern economy is knowledge based but a moment’s reflection points to the vacuity of this notion. For all economies are knowledge based and could not be otherwise. The question is rather how is one kind of knowledge based economy to be distinguished from another? This essay proposes that the answer may lie in three directions: (1) in terms of the variety of knowledge that is engaged; (2) in terms of the processes by which the production of knowledge is organised, and its corollary the resources devoted to knowledge production and dissemination; and, (3) in terms of the purposes to which knowledge is put. In respect of each of these dimensions, the rise of the modern university as a custodian of knowledge in Western economy and society has been of central importance; but universities are not alone in this role, a wide range of other agencies, private firms, public research laboratories for instance play an important role in defining a knowledge economy and have done so increasingly since the turn of the nineteenth century—a first indication of the systemic dimensions of a modern knowledge economy.     

Chemical analyses of ancient glass findings excavated in the Venetian lagoon

Although Venice is regarded as being one of the most important centres of glass manufacture and trade in Western Europe, little is known about the origins of the Venetian glassmaking. Some archaeologists suggest there is a continuity in the history of glass making, in its transplantation from the Roman centres of the mainland (Altino and Aquileia), first to some islands of the lagoon, and later to the town. Some others, instead, think that there was no continuity at all and that the art of glassmaking was imported in Venice from the Islamic glass factories of the Middle East. Of great help in answering this and other technological questions is the information about the composition of ancient glass from well-dated excavations that allows to conclude on the early technology, sources of raw materials and long-distance trade. Some significant glass findings, including fragments of pots used for glass melting, were found on the island of Torcello and, more recently, in two emergency excavations in the historic centre of Venice. In this paper, the chemical composition of a large set of glass findings (and related materials) from the Venetian lagoon dating from the 7th to the 13th centuries is determined by X-ray microanalysis in order to throw new light on the glassmaking technology in the early centuries of the Venetian tradition. The results show that in this period there occurred a gradual transition from the Roman technique (a two-ingredient formulation with silica-lime sand and natron as a fluxer), towards the use of silica sand and soda plant ash. There is evidence, therefore, for a production continuity with the Roman period (melting pots and glass scraps with a natron-based composition), yet restricted to transparent blown items. No evidence was found for a local production of glass tesserae for the mosaics of the church of St. Maria Assunta in Torcello.     

Effects of temperature and humidity excursions and wind exposure on the arch of Augustus in Aosta

This study presents the results of the microclimate monitoring of the Arch of Augustus. This is a monument from the Roman era, situated in an urban area in the Western Alpine region of Aosta Valley, Italy. Measurements were carried out on different monument positions, corresponding to the four faces and below the vault. The measurements refer to air and surface temperature, air relative humidity, wind speed and direction. The environmental conditions are described in order to underline the differences among the four faces of the monument and to explain the nature of the decay observed on the monument. The damage risk, caused by the occurrence of phenomena like freezing-thawing cycles, thermal stress and water condensation, is estimated by relating microclimatic conditions to the stone damage processes. The results are compared to the decay map and the correlation between damage and microclimate are finally discussed.     

“公园城市”理念考源

2018年2月,习近平在视察成都天府新区时提及公园城市理念,进而成为学界、业界讨论的热点。实际上这一提法在10余年前就已出现,相关思想的形成与融汇则可追溯本土古代传统、近代西方理念影响,以及建国后不同历史时期的各种理念与实践。试图从本源和源流的视角探讨公园城市理念,包括:古代"自然山水园中城,人工山水城中园"的发展;近代西方田园城市理论影响下"城市农村化,农村城市化"的倡导;大地园林化运动中"把城市建设成一个美丽的大花园"的愿景;城市大园林建设下"园在城中,城在园中"的构想;山水城市探索中人离开自然又要返回自然的思想;公园城市理念发展中"文化中孕育着自然,自然中蕴含着文化"的内涵,从而在公园即城市,城市即公园的当前认知中更完整地理解公园城市理念,并以期有助于当下建设实践的引导。