Karachi is considered the economic hub of Pakistan, but it lacks a systematized public transport service. Although the demand-supply gap in the transport sector and the poor quality of this deregulated service affects everyone, it wreaks havoc for women, manifesting in the form of social exclusion. Men can benefit from alternative, private modes of transport such as motorbikes, which are socially discouraged for women, making them dependent on their male counterparts. Despite the seriousness of this issue, there is little literature (...) showing how women are differentially deprived of their agency due to gender disparity in society. To better understand this issue, the aim of this paper is to study the cultural foundations of transport poverty to assess their impact on women’s life opportunities. For this purpose, the experiences of women while using public transport have been analysed. The study has identified a variety of reasons why women curtail their mobility. It concludes that the social exclusion of women motivates a greater concern for their freedom of movement and that their needs be adequately reflected in transportation policies. (shrink)

This book reflects upon the political philosophy of Muhammad Iqbal, a towering intellectual figure in South Asian history, revered by many for his poetry and his thought. He lived in India in the twilight years of the British Empire and, apart from a short but significant period studying in the West, he remained in Punjab until his death in 1938. The book studies Iqbal's critique of nationalist ideology and his attempts to chart a path for the development of (...) the 'nation' by liberating it from the centralizing and homogenizing tendencies of the modern state structure. Iqbal frequently clashed with his contemporaries over his view of nationalism as 'the greatest enemy of Islam'. He constructed his own particular interpretation of Islam - forged through an interaction with Muslim thinkers and Western intellectual traditions - that was ahead of its time, and since his death both modernists and Islamists have continued to champion his legacy. (shrink)

_The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam_ is Muhammad Iqbal's major philosophic work: a series of profound reflections on the perennial conflict among science, religion, and philosophy, culminating in new visions of the unity of human knowledge, of the human spirit, and of God. Iqbal's thought contributed significantly to the establishment of Pakistan, to the religious and political ideals of the Iranian Revolution, and to the survival of Muslim identity in parts of the former USSR. It now serves (...) as new bridge between East and West and between Islam and the other Religions of the Book. With a new Introduction by Javed Majeed, this edition of _The Reconstruction_ opens the teachings of Iqbal to the modern, Western reader. It will be essential reading for all those interested in Islamic intellectual history, the renewal of Islam in the modern world, and political theory of Islam's relationship to the West. (shrink)

This paper is a study of the intersection between aviation and diplomacy in the semi-autonomous Indian state of Jodhpur in the final decades of British colonial rule in India. Jodhpur's Maharaja Umaid Singh established a major international aerodrome, patronized one of India's first flying clubs and collaborated with British authorities to make aviation laws for the Indian states. He would also serve in the Royal Air Force during the war and placed Jodhpur state's aviation resources at the disposal of the (...) king-emperor. This paper argues that Jodhpur was able to leverage its aviation resources to wield substantial influence both within and beyond the British Empire through both war and peace. An analysis of Jodhpur's engagement with aviation diplomacy is also revealing of some of the limitations as well as possibilities for the deployment of science diplomacy frameworks, especially in non-Western contexts. (shrink)

Includes an introd. of 49 p. by S. G. Abbas.

This article in its essence aims to challenge and unfold, each at a time, two different fields of methodology – cybernetics and phenomenology – that have direct effects on the product of being and the process of becoming in architectural discourse. Furthermore, this article suggests a third way philosophy for architecture that relates notions of post-phenomenology and technoscience, and considers both to be equally vital to development and speculation within current architectural discourse. First, the history of each of the two (...) fields – cybernetics and phenomenology – will be unveiled with a focus on exploring their impact upon architecture in particular and diverse fields such as other art disciplines, computer science and psychology. Second, a critique of the historic rivalry between pioneers in each of the two fields will be unpacked through their errors and limits. Third, the article will discuss attempts at converging the two fields in order to address the relationship of notions of humanism, machinism and technology. Finally, a declaration of the characteristics of such a convergence that will lead to a third way philosophy for architectural discourse will be asserted. (shrink)

In lattice theory the two well known equational class of lattices are the distributive lattices and the modular lattices. All distributive lattices are modular however a modular lattice in general is not distributive. In this book, new classes of lattices called supermodular lattices and semi-supermodular lattices are introduced and characterized.

In July 1997, the voting representatives at the National Consensus Conference on Bioethics in Health Research voted unanimously to adopt the proposed Guidelines for the Conduct of Health Research Involving Human Subjects in Uganda. This vote represented the culmination of a three-year journey towards the development of a coherent and cohesive framework for the ethical review of health research involving human subjects in Uganda.Attendees at the NCC included both voting representatives and non-voting participants. Voting representatives had been designated by the (...) institutional entity with which they were affiliated to represent that entity at the NCC and to voice the concerns and opinions of the entity and its constituents. (shrink)

Researchers, scientists, and physicians in Uganda have become increasingly aware of the need to develop a systematic approach to reviewing bio-medical research conducted in their country. Much of this awareness and their concern stems from Uganda's high seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus and the consequent large influx of research monies and HIV researchers from developed countries, including the United States and Great Britain.We report on the proceedings of a five-day symposium on bioethical principles governing clinical trials, which convened in Jinja, (...) Uganda in September 1994. The thirteen male and female workshop participants included representatives from the Uganda Ministry of Health, Makerere University, the Uganda AIDS Commission, Uganda's National Council of Science and Technology, and the National Chemotherapeutic Laboratory. These representatives included ethicists, physicians, researchers, and pharmacists, all of whom have conducted research themselves. Initial workshop sessions focused on the history of human experimentation and the development of protections for human participants in medical research, both in the United States and internationally. (shrink)

La raíz y causa principal de la historia de la humanidad tanto en sus aspectos positivos como negativos es el carácter dual y antitético que caracteriza sin excepción al hombre, esto es, su inclinación tanto al bien como al mal. Este dualismo individual es asimismo la clave para explicar y comprender el dualismo colectivo que ha existido siempre y las luchas que han surgido una y otra vez entre las diversas clases y estratos sociales. Partiendo de esta tesis, Heleno Saña (...) reconstruye en su nuevo libro los conflictos de la más diversa especie que se han dado en todos los ciclos históricos, tipos de sociedad y civilizaciones desde los tiempos más remotos a hoy. Consecuente con su concepción dualista del hombre y de la historia, el autor rechaza como dogmáticas y unilaterales las visiones edificantes de la historia, a la vez que rechaza las concepciones pesimistas que niegan al hombre la capacidad de aprender de sus errores y buscar modos de vida y una tabla de valores capaces de poner en pie un modelo de sociedad lo más humano y justo posible. El camino a seguir para alcanzar esta meta es el de combatir, a través de la reflexión y el examen de conciencia, sus inclinaciones egoístas y potenciar lo que en él anida de noble y altruísta. (shrink)

In early modern Europe, blue textile dye was principally obtained from two dye plants, woad and indigo. Of these two dye sources, woad was native in the temperate climes of Europe, while tropical indigo became widely available only after Europe established commercial oceanic trade routes with India and the Americas. Indigo soon became a highly valued import, undermining woad production by unsettling traditional patterns of wealth circulation. Well-established woad producers took powerful steps to protect their industry, but in spite of (...) their efforts, it ultimately succumbed in the face of indigo imports. In this paper, I examine the ways in which the long lasting conflict between the dyestuffs woad and indigo in early modern Europe evokes the tensions between imported and home-grown commodities. (shrink)

Technological advancement and a new understanding of complex life processes have contributed to the development of radical decentralized thinking in architecture. Architecture is no longer regarded as a straightforward matter of design, construction and use; instead it is now seen as an inter-disciplinary field which provokes issues of life, survival and complexity. This article questions the behaviour of architectural forms. It proposes the creation of an active model of the fusion of biologically inspired systems and dynamic perception, which allows this (...) behaviour to be generated and analyzed. It then evolves this notion, considering multi-layers of complexity derived from natural phenomena and observation. The narrative of this work is derived from the notion of conceptualizing architectural form based on a cybernetic model, arguing that architecture needs to consider a collective dynamic space in between, the form, its environment, the user, the observer and the theorist. It approaches issues of living processes, survival and emergence, and conveys the concept of behavioural architectural form through a pre-programmed model that encapsulates the ideas of complex systems and perception. (shrink)

It was not long ago when technological emergence fundamentally changed the landscape of global businesses. Following that, business operations started shifting away from traditional to advance digitalized processes. These digitalized processes gave a further boost to the e-commerce industry, making the online environment more competitive. Despite the growing trend, there has always been a consumer market that is not involved in online shopping, and this gap is huge when it comes to consumers from developing countries, specifically Pakistan. On contrary, the (...) recent COVID-19 pandemic has brought drastic changes to the way consumers used to form their intention and behave toward digitalized solutions in pre COVID-19 times. Evidence shows that the global e-commerce industry has touched phenomenal growth during COVID-19, whereas Pakistan's e-commerce industry still holds a huge potential and has not fully boomed yet. These facts pave new avenues for marketers to cater to this consumer market for long-term growth. Hence, the study provides insights into how consumers' online buying behavior has transformed during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of Pakistan. The study presents a framework based on the Technology Acceptance Model and Theory of Planned Behavior. Furthermore, the moderating role of gender and payment mode has also been examined. For the analysis of variables, the partial least squares method was used to conduct structural equation modeling by collecting data from 266 respondents. The results show a significant and positive impact of perceived benefits, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and social influence on consumers' intention, but they also show an insignificant impact of gender and payment mode as a moderating variable on PEOU-BI and BI-AB, respectively. The results are of utmost significance for Pakistani businesses, marketers, and e-traders to streamline their business practices accordingly. Lastly, the proposed framework demonstrates new directions for future research to work upon. (shrink)

The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (1930) is Muhammad Iqbal's major philosophic work: a series of profound reflections on the perennial conflict among science, religion, and philosophy, culminating in new visions of the unity of human knowledge, of the human spirit, and of God. Iqbal's thought contributed significantly to the establishment of Pakistan, to the religious and political ideals of the Iranian Revolution, and to the survival of Muslim identity in parts of the former USSR. It now (...) serves as new bridge between East and West and between Islam and the other Religions of the Book. With a new Introduction by Javed Majeed, this edition of The Reconstruction opens the teachings of Iqbal to the modern, Western reader. It will be essential reading for all those interested in Islamic intellectual history, the renewal of Islam in the modern world, and political theory of Islam's relationship to the West. (shrink)

United States public health experts have long expressed concern about the prevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus among injection drug users. The United States has the largest reported IDU population in the world: 1.1 to 1.5 million. Recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that 50 percent of incident HIV infections occur among IDUs, with additional infections occurring among their sex partners and offspring. More than 33 percent of new AIDS cases occur in IDUs, their sexual (...) partners, and their children. Almost one half of all women diagnosed with AIDS in the United States are IDUS. Many of the remaining infected women were infected as a result of sex with a male IDU.While public health agencies, legislators, community leaders, and religious groups have engaged in vigorous debate over the merits of needle exchange programs as an intervention to reduce HIV transmission, the programs, some legal and some illegal, have been implemented in fifty-five cities across the country. (shrink)

Transhumanism is a sociopolitical and intellectual movement focused on the use of technology to transform humans and the human experience. Transhumanism promises that, through the use of physical and cognitive enhancements, humans will be able to achieve the “good life.” However, understandings of “enhancement” and “the good life” vary across time, place, and culture. Additionally, the biological modification/elimination of a specific characteristic may lead to not only loss the loss of that feature, but of a specific personal identity as well. (...) The potential consequences of transhumanist enhancement suggest both that they may constitute a newer form of eugenics and that they may lead to the production of new societal inequalities. (shrink)

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act in 1986 was intended to bring an end to incidents of “patient dumping.” However, due to the conflation of various federal legislative provisions, hospitals faced with the prospect of long‐term unreimbursed care of an immigrant patient, whether legally present in the United States or not, are in some cases having such patients transported to another country. These transfers are often being effectuated without patient consent. After an overview of the flaws in the (...) legal system that have effectively encouraged such patient transfers, this essay uses a clinical case to demonstrate how physicians can collaborate with an interdisciplinary team and with family members to ensure that the best interests of immigrant patients are met. Finally, the essay calls on physicians to advocate for the development of hospital policies and practices that will protect patients from international patient dumping. (shrink)

Corporate Social Responsibility and environmental sustainability have become urgent concerns for contemporary businesses. This study focuses on the interplay between corporate social responsibility perceptions and pro-environmental behaviour in response to experts’ call for research on the micro-foundations of corporate social responsibility. In addition, it reveals the mechanism underpinning how perceived CSR shapes pro-environmental behaviour in an understudied developing context. Empirically, a qualitative multiple-case research design is utilised by selecting three business schools from Peshawar, Pakistan. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with (...) senior management and faculty to collect data. Besides primary data, a qualitative documentary review is used to enhance the research. Data analysis is done through the thematic network technique. Plantation, cleanliness, waste reduction, and energy conservation are the environmental aspects of CSR as regarded by employees. In addition, perceived CSR shapes pro-environmental behaviour via environmental knowledge and awareness, eco-civic sense, environmental values, personality traits, religious perspective, and perceived organisational support for the environment. This study provides original additions to the CSR literature by suggesting eco-civic sensibility and religious perspective as new CSR drivers for pro-environmental conduct. Incorporating stakeholder salience into the context of the present study also advances CSR research. The findings are also valuable for management to make the CSR agenda of business schools more strategic, comprehensive, and centred on the priorities of salient stakeholders. (shrink)

Corporate social responsibility has become a very common buzz word in the field of marketing since many years. This empirical paper assesses the attitude of devout and nondevout customers towards CSR in the context of a religious society. As making clear distinction between devout and nondevout customers may have associated measurement problems in a single-religion-dominated country, this paper initiates the discussion of peculiarity between two important religiosity measures, that is, observation based and solicited. A hypothetical story board with embedded CSR (...) information in a scenario supporting a religious cause is presented to the highly and less religious subjects in text written form. The scenario is followed by questions pertaining to their religious behaviors and attitude towards the company in question. The results illustrate that highly religious customers show slightly greater preference towards CSR as compared to less religious customers and the observation-based religiosity measure has a tendency of more reliability if the researchers have deep cultural and religious know-how about a specific society. Results of this study might help international marketers about choosing a particular cause under its umbrella CSR activities particularly when entering in a highly religious society dominated by a single religion. (shrink)

INTRODUCTION The most remarkable feature of the character of the Persian people is their love of Metaphysical speculation. Yet the inquirer who approaches the extant literature of Persia expecting to find any comprehensive systems of thought, like those of Kapila or Kant, will have to turn back disappointed, though deeply impressed by the wonderful intellectual subtlety displayed therein. It seems to me that the Persian mind is rather impatient of detail, and consequently destitute of that organising faculty which gradually works (...) out a system of ideas, by interpreting the fundamental principles with reference to the ordinary facts of observation. The subtle Brahman sees the inner unity of things; so does the Persian. But while the former endeavours to discover it in all the aspects of human experience, and illustrates its hidden presence in the concrete in various ways, the latter appears to be satisfied with a bare universality, and does not attempt to verify the richness of its inner content. The butterfly imagination of the Persian, flies half-inebriated as it were, from flower to flower, and seems to be incapable of reviewing the garden as a whole. For this reason, his deepest thoughts and emotions find expression mostly in disconnected verses (Ghazal), which reveal all the subtlety of his artistic soul. The Hindu, while admitting, like the Persian, the necessity of a higher source of knowledge, yet calmly moves from experience to experience, mercilessly dissecting them, and forcing them to yield their underlying universality. In fact the Persian is only half-conscious of Metaphysics as a system of thought; his Brahman brother, on the other hand, is fully alive to the need of presenting his theory in the form of a thoroughly reasoned out system. And the result of this mental difference between the two nations is clear. In the one case we have only partially worked out systems of thought; in the other case, the awful sublimity of the searching Vedanta ... (shrink)

My interest in undertaking the study of images of Arab women in Western visual ethnography and art emerged from my own life experience. My identity as an Arab feminist having lived in different Eastern and Western communities has shaped my understanding and affected my observation in this research. As an Arab woman being observed in the first place, I am taking the role of the "outside"/inside' observer in this study. I am observing the observers and the observed, and both become (...) the observed in my chosen study. I observe visual images of Arab women under the gaze of Western observers. Ethnographers, photographers, and artists become the observed under my investigation. Here again, visual images of Arab women are observed—in fact they only have been observed as objects, a result of their display as visual images by Western observers. Contemporary North African women, Assia Djebar, Houria Niati, and Leila Sebbar are observers who examine visual images of North African women that were painted by Western artists. In examining their works here, they in turn become the observed. Also I observe Elizabeth Fernea's visual ethnographic work on North African women. Fernea and her project become the observed in my research. Finally, I undertook the role of the observer in this study mainly in order to understand myself and identify my place in the society of other women and men. I introduce a cross‐cultural dialogue that will question the bipolar cultural boundaries in feminist and historiographic scholarship. (shrink)

Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) are currently the subject of much debate both in terms of their technological frontiers as well as their ethical, legal and societal implications (ELSI). Regulation of such technologies as medical devices currently lacks behind their level of adoption. Digital Twins are the next evolution step of such DHTs and provide an opportunity to anticipate and act on ELSI before adoption again leaps before the necessary review. This paper introduces the concept and use cases of digital twins (...) in medicine, then frames the debate through the lens of related technologies, machine learning and personalized medicine, and maps ethical challenges stemming from those. Finally, we lay out how digital twins may change and challenge the future practice of medicine. (shrink)

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation is a major challenge, raising several social and psychological concerns. This article highlights the prevailing misinformation as an outbreak containing hoaxes, myths, and rumours. In comparison to traditional media, online media platforms facilitate misinformation even more widely. To further affirm this ethical concern, the researchers cite relevant studies demonstrating the role of new media in misinformation and its potential consequences. Besides other significant psychosocial impacts, such as xenophobia, psychological distress, LGBT rights violation, gender-based violence, (...) misinformation is undermining healthcare workers’ psychological health and their efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. In view of the adverse consequences of misinformation, this article addresses it as a massive ethical challenge during the current outbreak. Thus, the researchers make relevant suggestions to evaluate misinformation sources and mitigate the psychosocial impacts attributed to misinformation during crises. They include forming mental health teams comprising of psychologists, psychiatrists, and trained paramedical staff; rapid dissemination of authentic and updated COVID-19 situation reports regularly; establishing helpline services; and recognizing a broader range of personal needs. All health authorities should make clear that they are listening and responding to public concerns. Much effort is needed to counteract COVID-19 misinformation. (shrink)

This essay analyzes a silent short film portraying an urban canoeist. The film suggests that it is possible to make conscious choices about one’s means of conveyance through the city. Using a critical theoretical framework to unpack the implications of the film, this paper argues for the need to imagine unconventional modes of transportation and examine the power structures of automotive hegemony.

In the contemporary postmodern era, the boundaries that once rigidly separated well-established genres have become more fluid, resulting in what scholars Raffaella Baccolini and Tom Moylan call ‘genre-blurring’. This phenomenon of incorporating elements from diverse genres represents a challenge to dominant ideologies and expands the possibilities within fictional texts. The dystopian fiction written by feminist writers towards the end of the twentieth century and beyond significantly exemplifies this form of hybrid textuality. In doing so, these writers seek to renovate the (...) dystopian genre by making it both formally and politically oppositional. This article aims to explore Midnight Robber (2000), a feminist dystopian novel by Nalo Hopkinson, a Jamaican–Canadian writer, to illustrate how the author manipulates the generic boundaries of science fiction, fantasy and mythology. By amalgamating Afro-Caribbean religious and cultural beliefs, mythical creatures and traditional knowledge systems with a technologically advanced future world, Hopkinson challenges the essentially White, Eurocentric model of dystopian fiction. The article will also examine how, as an Afrofuturist writer, Hopkinson attempts to challenge and subvert the patriarchal discourse of dystopian fiction, traditionally dominated by White male writers, through a strong Black female character, Tan-Tan, who seeks to resist the patriarchal structures governing her, and finally succeeds in emerging as a female leader figure. For this purpose, Barbara Creed’s insights into the monstrous-feminine are explored, introducing novelty into the discourse of feminist dystopia. (shrink)

The article focused on the study of religious moderation based on values of moderation in three Islamic boarding schools (Pesantren) in Southeast Sulawesi, namely Pesantren al-Muhajirin Darussalam Konawe, Pesantren Ummu Sabri Kendari, and Pesantren Darul Mukhlisin Kendari. Therefore, a qualitative approach was used with a case study design -the techniques of collecting data used in interviews, participatory observations, field notes, and documentation. Data analysis in this article was done using interactive data analysis by Miles, Huberman, and Saldana. This study found (...) that the construction of religious moderation in the pesantren emerged from the basis of religious textual-scriptural combined with the performance of rationality (reason). This combination emerges to a dialogical pattern of harmony between the text and the context to color the behavior and social actions of the community. Precisely this attitude of religious moderation can prevent residents of Islamic boarding schools from behaving radically both in attitude and thought, so the outputs of pesantren can accept all forms of differences in religion and respect the beliefs believed by others in the community. This attitude of religious moderation in the pesantren also emerges in religious behavior that is tolerant and respectful of differences in society. (shrink)

This is an era of globalization, and to maximize the competitive advantage, the banking industry is acknowledging and recognizing Human Resource practices and contributing their best to employ the organizational resources in best productive manner so that they can excel and enjoy competitive edge. Number of factors are affecting on performance of the employee. This research paper is mainly intended to explore the influence of employee diversity on the performance of employee in Private Banking business of Pakistan. Specifically in this (...) paper, the performance of the employee in a banking sector has been predicted by the influence of employee diversity with respect to their education, age, gender, and ethnicity. The data was collected from 203 private banking representatives by a convenience sampling method. In order to identify the relationship, the data has been tested by SPSS Regression and correlation analysis methods. Research findings suggested that the organizations with specific reference to banking sector should plan, design and execute the policies,, practices and strategies that have a wide range canvas inclusive every individual employee and workforce diversities. (shrink)

This book deals with two important branches of mathematics, namely, logic and set theory. Logic and set theory are closely related and play very crucial roles in the foundation of mathematics, and together produce several results in all of mathematics. The topics of logic and set theory are required in many areas of physical sciences, engineering, and technology. The book offers solved examples and exercises, and provides reasonable details to each topic discussed, for easy understanding. The book is designed for (...) readers from various disciplines where mathematical logic and set theory play a crucial role. The book will be of interested to students and instructors in engineering, mathematics, computer science, and technology. (shrink)

This article analyzes the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling and financial market outcomes. CSR decoupling refers to the gap between CSR disclosure and CSR performance. More specifically, we analyze the effect of CSR decoupling on analysts’ forecast errors, cost of capital, and access to finance. We also examine the moderating effect of forecast errors on relationships between CSR decoupling and cost of capital and access to finance. For a sample of U.S. firms consisting of 7,681 firm-year observations for (...) the period 2006–2015, our empirical evidence supports the idea that a wider gap results in higher analysts’ forecast errors, a greater cost of capital, and reduced access to finance. In addition, our results show that forecast errors enhance the effect of the CSR decoupling on cost of capital and access to financial resources. We also note that external monitoring, in the form of greater analysts’ coverage, reduces CSR decoupling. (shrink)

A personalized recommender system is broadly accepted as a helpful tool to handle the information overload issue while recommending a related piece of information. This work proposes a hybrid personalized recommender system based on affinity propagation, namely, APHPRS. Affinity propagation is a semisupervised machine learning algorithm used to cluster items based on similarities among them. In our approach, we first calculate the cluster quality and density and then combine their outputs to generate a new ranking score among clusters for the (...) personalized recommendation. In the first phase, user preferences are collected and normalized as items rating matrix. This generated matrix is then clustered offline using affinity propagation and kept in a database for future recommendations. In the second phase, online recommendations are generated by applying the offline model. Negative Euclidian similarity and the quality of clusters are used together to select the best clusters for recommendations. The proposed APHPRS system alleviates problems such as sparsity and cold-start problems. The use of affinity propagation and the hybrid recommendation technique used in the proposed approach helps in improving results against sparsity. Experiments reveal that the proposed APHPRS performs better than most of the existing recommender systems. (shrink)

Contemporary critics have opined that the vision of dystopian texts has come true about the present situation rather than about the future. In today’s technologically driven world, where the gulf between speculative fiction and political reality seems to have narrowed, feminist dystopian fiction has gained immense popularity. These texts address gender ideologies and issues and often use current social conditions to demonstrate the sexism inherent in patriarchal societies. This article aims to analyse the novel Vox (2018) by American writer Christina (...) Dalcher within the framework of feminist dystopia to highlight the unbridled nature of violence used against women and the eventual emergence of the female body as the locus of self-articulation and resistance against the dystopian authority. It also demonstrates how the novel creates a narrative space within which the feminine body is transformed from a static object of representation to a potent subject of the text. (shrink)

The Glyde mural in the University of Alberta’s Rutherford Library is a testament to the history of Alberta as it was understood by white society in the 1950s. A contemporary viewer described the painting as depicting “the civilizing influences in the early life of the Province.” The prominent historical heroes in the mural represent the main institutions that were involved in this process of ‘civilizing the savages'. An artefact of modern colonial racism, it has overshadowed the threshold of the library’s (...) South reading room since 1951. This article brings the ideas of several historical theorists to bear on the impact and implications of the historical memory invoked by the mural. (shrink)

Research studies have identified various different mechanisms in the effects of nature engagement on well-being and mental health. However, rarely are multiple pathways examined in the same study and little use has been made of first-hand, experiential accounts through interviews. Therefore, a semi-structured interview was conducted with seven female students who identified the role of nature engagement in their well-being and mental health. After applying thematic analysis, 11 themes were extracted from the data set, which were: “enjoying the different sensory (...) input,” “calm nature facilitates a calm mood,” “enhancing decision making and forming action plans,” “enhancing efficiency and productivity,” “alleviating pressure from society's expectations regarding education,” “formation of community relations,” “nature puts things into perspective,” “liking the contrast from the urban environment,” “feel freedom,” “coping mechanism,” and “anxious if prevented or restricted.” The results indicate complementary mechanisms for how nature-related activities benefit mental health and well-being that may occupy different levels of experience within a hierarchical framework informed by perceptual control theory. (shrink)

This essay analyzes a silent short film portraying an urban canoeist. The film suggests that it is possible to make conscious choices about one’s means of conveyance through the city. Using a critical theoretical framework to unpack the implications of the film, this paper argues for the need to imagine unconventional modes of transportation and examine the power structures of automotive hegemony.