Notes on Slovak Skateboard Photography

This article is a comparison of two remarkably different takes on a single subject, namely the shifting meaning of the word ‘publishing’ brought about by the changes in literacy habits related to Web 2.0. One the one hand, we have Andrew Keen’s much lambasted 2007 book The Cult of the Amateur, which is essentially an attempt to defend traditional gatekeeper models of cultural production by denigrating online, user-generated content. The second is Spin journalist Andy Greenwald’s Nothing Feels Good, focusing on the Emo subculture of the early 2000s and its reliance on Web 2.0 as an integral medium for communication and the accumulation of subcultural capital. What I want to suggest in this article is that these two books, with their contrasting readings of Web 2.0, both tell us something specific about what the word “publishing” means and how it is currently undergoing a significant change brought about by a radical adaptation of literacy practices. What I think both books also do is give us an insight into how those changes are being interpreted, to be rejected on the one hand and applauded on the other. Both books have their faults. Keen’s work can fairly easily be passed off as a sort of cantankerous reminiscence for the legitimacy of an earlier era of publishing, and Greenwald’s Emos have, like all teen subcultures, changed somewhat. Yet what both books portray is an attempt to digest how Web 2.0 has altered perceptions of what constitutes legitimate speaking positions and how that is reflected in the literacy practices that shape the relationships among authors, readers, and the channels through which they interact. Their primary difference is a disparity in the value they place on Web 2.0’s amplification of the Internet’s use as a social and communicative medium. Greenwald embraces it as the facilitator of an open-access dialogue, whereas Keen sees it as a direct threat to other, more traditional, gatekeeper genres. Accordingly, Keen begins his book with a lament that Web 2.0’s “democratization” of media is “undermining truth, souring civic discourse and belittling expertise, experience, and talent … it is threatening the very future of our cultural institutions” (15). He continues, Today’s editors, technicians, and cultural gatekeepers—the experts across an array of fields—are necessary to help us to sift through what’s important and what’s not, what is credible from what is unreliable, what is worth spending our time on as opposed to the white noise that can be safely ignored. (45) As examples of the “white noise,” he lists some of the core features of Web 2.0—blogs, MySpace, YouTube and Facebook. The notable similarity between all of these is that their content is user generated and, accordingly, comes from the position of the personal, rather than from a gatekeeper. In terms of their readership, this presents a fundamental shift in an understanding of authenticated speaking positions, one which Keen suggests underwrites reliability by removing the presence of certifiable expertise. He looks at Web 2.0 and sees a mass of low grade, personal content overwhelming traditional benchmarks of quality and accountability. His definition of “publishing” is essentially one in which a few, carefully groomed producers express work seen as relevant to the wider community. The relationship between reader and writer is primarily one sided, mediated by a gatekeeper and rests on the assumption by all involved that the producer has the legitimacy to speak to a large, and largely silent, readership. Greenwald, by contrast, looks at the same genres and comes to a remarkably different and far more positive conclusion. He focuses heavily on the lively message boards of the social networking site Makeoutclub, the shift to a long tail marketing style by key Emo record labels such as Vagrant and Drive-Thru Records and, in particular, the widespread use of LiveJournal (www.livejournal.com) by suburban, Emo fixated teenagers. Of this he writes: The language is inflated, coded as ‘adult’ and ‘poetic’, which often translates into affected, stilted and forced. But if one can accept that, there’s a sweet vulnerability to it. The world of LiveJournal is an enclosed circuit where everyone has agreed to check their cynicism at the sign on screen; it’s a pulsing, swoony realm of inflated emotions, expectations and dialogue. (287) He specifically notes that one cannot read mediums like LiveJournal in the same style as their more traditional counterparts. There is a necessity to adopt a reading style conducive to a dialogue devoid of conventional quality controls. It is also, he notes, a heavily interconnected, inherently social medium: LiveJournals represent the truest and easiest realization of the essential teenage (and artistic) tenet of the importance of a ‘room of one’s own’, and yet the framework of the website is enough to make each individual room interconnected into a mosaic of richly felt lives. (288) Where Keen sees Web 2.0 as a shift way from established cultural forums, Greenwald sees it as an interconnected conversation. His definition of publishing is more fluid, founded on a belief not in the authenticity of a single, validated voice but on the legitimacy of interaction and communication entirely devoid of any gatekeepers. Central to understanding the difference between Greenwald and Keen is the issue or whether or not we accept the legitimacy of personal voices and how we evaluate the kind of reading practices involved in interpreting them. In this respect, Greenwald’s reference to “a room of one’s own” is telling. When Virginia Woolf wrote A Room of One’s Own in 1929, Web 2.0 wasn’t even a consideration, but her work dealt with a similar subject matter, detailing the key role the novel genre played in legitimising women’s voices precisely because it was “young enough to be soft in [their] hands” (74). What would eventually emerge from Woolf’s work was the field of feminist literary criticism, which hit its stride in the mid-eighties. In terms of its understanding of the power relations inherent to cultural production, particularly as they relate to gatekeeping, it’s a rich academic tradition notably lacking in the writing on Web 2.0. For example, Celia Lury’s essay “Reading the Self,” written more than ten years before the popularisation of the internet, looks specifically at the way in which authoritative speaking positions gain their legitimacy not just through the words on the page but through the entire relationships among author, genre, channels of distribution, and readership. She argues that, “to write is to enter into a relationship with a community of readers, and various forms of writing are seen to involve and imply, at any particular time, various forms of relationship” (102). She continues, so far as text is clearly written/read within a particular genre, it can be seen to rest upon a more or less specific set of social relations. It also means that ‘textual relations’—that is, formal techniques, reading strategies and so on—are not held separate from ‘non-textual relations’—such as methods of cultural production and modes of distribution—and that the latter can be seen to help construct ‘literary value.’ (102) The implication is that an appropriation of legitimised speaking positions isn’t done purely by overthrowing or contesting an established system of ‘quality’ but by developing a unique relationship between author, genre, and readership. Textual and non-textual practices blur together to create literary environments and cultural space. The term “publishing” is at the heart of these relationships, describing the literacies required to interpret particular voices and forms of communication. Yet, as Lury writes, literacy habits can vary. Participation in dialogue-driven, user-generated mediums is utterly different from conventional, gatekeeper-driven ones, yet the two can easily co-exist. For instance, reading last year’s Man Booker prize-winner doesn’t stop one from reading, or even writing, blogs. One can enact numerous literacy practices, move between discourses and inhabit varied relationships between genre, reader, and writer. However, with the rise of Web 2.0 a whole range of literacies that used to be defined as “private sphere” or “everyday literacies,” everything from personal conversations and correspondence to book clubs and fanzines, have become far, far more public. In the past these dialogue-based channels of communication have never been in a position where they could be defined as “publishing.” Web 2.0 changes that, moving previously private sphere communication into online public space in a very obvious way. Keen dismisses this shift as a wall of white noise, but Greenwald does something equally interesting. To a large extent, his positive treatment of Web 2.0’s “affected, stilted and forced” user-generated content is validated by his focus on a “Youth” subculture, namely Emo. Indeed, he heavily links the impact of youthful subcultural practices with the internet, writing that Teenage life has always been about self-creation, and its inflated emotions and high stakes have always existed in a grossly accelerated bubble of hypertime. The internet is the most teenage of media because it too exists in this hypertime of limitless limited moments and constant reinvention. If emo is the soundtrack to hypertime, then the web is its greatest vehicle, the secret tunnel out of the locked bedroom and dead-eyed judgmental scenes of youth. (277) In this light, we accept the voices of his Emo subjects because, underneath their low-quality writing, they produce a “sweet vulnerability” and a “dialogue,” which provides them with a “secret tunnel” out of the loneliness of their bedrooms or unsupportive geographical communities. It’s a theme that hints at the degree to which discussions of Web 2.0 are often heavily connected to arguments about generationalism, framed by the fie

Endangered forest–grassland mosaics interspersed with expanding agriculture and silviculture occur across many parts of the world, including the southern Brazilian highlands. This natural mosaic ecosystem is thought to reflect alternative stable states driven by threshold responses of recruitment to fire and moisture regimes. The role of adaptive human behavior in such systems remains understudied, despite its pervasiveness and the fact that such ecosystems can exhibit complex dynamics. We develop a nonlinear mathematical model of coupled human–environment dynamics in mosaic systems and social processes regarding conservation and economic land valuation. Our objective is to better understand how the coupled dynamics respond to changes in ecological and social conditions. The model is parameterized with southern Brazilian data on mosaic ecology, land-use profits, and questionnaire results concerning landowner preferences and conservation values. We find that the mosaic presently resides at a crucial juncture where relatively small changes in social conditions can generate a wide variety of possible outcomes, including complete loss of mosaics; large-amplitude, long-term oscillations between land states that preclude ecosystem stability; and conservation of the mosaic even to the exclusion of agriculture/silviculture. In general, increasing the time horizon used for conservation decision making is more likely to maintain mosaic stability. In contrast, increasing the inherent conservation value of either forests or grasslands is more likely to induce large oscillations—especially for forests—due to feedback from rarity-based conservation decisions. Given the potential for complex dynamics, empirically grounded nonlinear dynamical models should play a larger role in policy formulation for human–environment mosaic ecosystems.

Disproportionate Use of Psychiatric Emergency Services by African Americans

The Documentary Photographer as Creator

Simple SummaryNon-invasive determination of cortisol metabolite concentrations in feces is widely used to evaluate the influence of housing and handling conditions on the stress physiology of wildlife in captivity. The present study aimed to assess the physiological response of a lion pride to a change in management and social conditions after the death of the dominant male of the pride. Before the dominant male died, weekly management routines between the indoor and outdoor enclosures were conducted to avoid cohabitation problems between the two males of the pride. After the death of the dominant male, these weekly management dynamics ceased, leading to a decrease in the daily management routine of the lion pride. An individualized sampling of the animals through the utilization of indigestive markers was conducted, and fecal samples were collected before and after the death of the dominant male. Significant lower cortisol metabolite concentrations in feces were detected after the death of the dominant male, suggesting a positive impact of a decrease in daily management routines, together with a more stable social environment. In addition, assessment of individualized hormone concentrations throughout the study revealed variable physiological responses among lions, providing evidence of the importance of monitoring hormonal profiles individually.Monitoring the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis through determination of fecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) levels is a non-invasive method useful for understanding how handling and social conditions may affect the physiological status of zoo animals. The present study used FCM analysis to evaluate whether the HPA axis activity of a lion pride was modified by a change in social and handling conditions after the death of the dominant male. Five African lions (Panthera leo bleyenberghi), two males and three females, were included in the study. Fecal samples were collected before and after the death of the dominant male. To avoid cohabitation conflicts between males before the dominant male died, subgroups were established and subjected to weekly changes between indoor and outdoor facilities. After the death of the dominant male, these management dynamics ceased, and the remaining four lions were kept together outdoors. Significant lower group FCM concentrations (p < 0.001) were detected after the decease of the dominant male, probably associated with a decrease in daily handling, together with a more stable social environment. Overall, the present study indicates the effect of different management scenarios on the HPA axis activity and differentiated physiological responses to the same situation between individuals.

O título geral que dei a este texto foi “O espaço do olhar” (fig. 1), que me servirá de pretexto para falar de arquitetura, do homem, da paisagem e da multiplicidade e complexidade de que se reveste o nosso exercício disciplinar. Selecionei alguns trabalhos que vos vou apresentar: Castelo Velho em Freixo de Numão, Santa Clara-a-Velha, em Coimbra, uma pequena Torre/Biblioteca no Campus de Azurém em Guimarães, Lavadouro Público e Museu na Afurada todos em coautoria com Sergio Fernandez.

Jacek Kuroń was a politician, who has found his permanent place in collective memory of polish nation. He cannot be forgotten in the reflection on the transformation that took place in Poland in XX and XXI century. He was an author of his own political program. Under the influence his own reflection and observations of the changing social and political conditions, his program was evaluating, but it remained coherent in the meaning of main values The main influence on Kuroń’s political program had the changing social conditions, but its base was Kuroń’s ideological beliefs. Kuroń – for all his life – considered himself as a man of the left. In the system of Kuroń’s ethical and humanistic values, the main was human being – living and functioning in the society. Kuroń as an author of political program considered his work not only in the categories of political visions, but he treated it as a realization of some kind of ethos. He used to treat the politic as a space of giving a testimony of values and political attitudes, connected to the term of the left, he believed in. For all his life Kuroń was looking for such concepts, that would let him to its full implication.

Urbanization has become a defining global trend since the 20th century, with significant population shifts from rural to urban areas. By 2050, approximately 68% of the world’s population is projected to reside in urban areas, driven primarily by rapid urbanization in Asia and Africa. This demographic transformation presents critical challenges, including urban decline, infrastructure obsolescence, and socio-economic disparities, which necessitate innovative urban renewal strategies. Urban renewal, encompassing the restoration and revitalization of urban spaces, aims to address these challenges while improving physical, social, and economic conditions. Sustainable development, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11, is essential to ensure these efforts contribute to long-term urban quality of life. This study examines the urban decay and renewal prospects in Diobu, a densely populated low-income neighbourhood in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. With over 80% of its housing stock dating back to the mid-20th century, Diobu faces challenges such as overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, poor waste management, and high crime rates. Through a cross-sectional survey design and mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 374 households across three sub-areas: Mile 1, Mile 2, and Mile 3. Findings reveal poor living conditions, characterised by inadequate facilities and environmental degradation. Despite these challenges, a notable proportion of residents expressed attachment to the area, citing social networks and affordability. The study proposes an urban renewal strategy incorporating a 25–30-year phased redevelopment plan. Central to this initiative is the establishment of the Diobu Urban Renewal Authority (DURA), tasked with managing redevelopment, compensation, and resettlement to minimize displacement and social disruption. The integration of sustainable practices, such as enhanced infrastructure, green spaces, and economic revitalization, is vital. By aligning urban renewal efforts with community needs, this framework aims to transform Diobu into a liveable, resilient, and inclusive urban environment.

The Tendency of ‘Aisyah R.A in the Istinbȃth of Ahkȃm Hadiths Aisyah binti Abu Bakar r.a., was not only known as the wife of the Prophet PBUH, but also recognized as an intelligent female companion who narrated many hadiths and issued legal fatwas. Her fatwas were not infrequently different from other companions of the Prophet. The focus of this research object was the hadiths of ahkâm contained in several fatwas of Aisyah r.a. The purpose of this research was to reveal the tendency of the istinbâth of Aisyah r.a in analyzing the ahkâm hadiths. This research was qualitative descriptive, using the analytical methods of istinbâth theory and fiqh al-hadis . The conclusion of this research extended to: first, that Aisyah not only witnessed many of the Prophet's traditions, but also tended to be critical and rational in understanding them. Second, between critical and rational attitudes could be seen in the use of semantic analysis of the meaning of a lafazh , historical and contextual, in the sense of social situations and conditions underlying the emergence of a hadith of the Prophet, or changes in social conditions that occurred at that time. Therefore, the tendency to the istinbâth of Aisyah was more likely to be bil al-ra'yi

Understanding patterns of non-random mating is central to predicting the consequences of sexual selection. Most studies quantifying assortative mating focus on testing for correlations among partners' phenotypes in mated pairs. Few studies have distinguished between assortative mating arising from preferences for similar partners (expressed by all or a subset of the population) vs. from phenotypic segregation in the environment. Also, few studies have assessed the robustness of assortative mating against temporal changes in social conditions. We tracked multiple matings by stream water striders (Aquarius remigis) across variable social conditions to investigate mating patterns by both body size and behavioural type (personality). We documented temporal changes in partner availability and used a mixed model approach to analyse individual behaviours and changes in mating status recorded on an hourly basis. We assessed whether all or only a subset of individuals in the population expressed a tendency to mate with similar phenotypes. Our analyses took into account variation in the level of competition and in the phenotypes of available partners. Males and females exhibited significant assortative mating by body size: the largest males and females, and the smallest males and females mated together more often than random. However, individuals of intermediate size were equally likely to mate with small, intermediate or large partners. Individuals also displayed two contrasting patterns of assortative mating by personality (activity level). Individuals generally mated preferentially with partners of similar activity level. However, beyond that general trend, individuals with more extreme personalities tended to exhibit disassortative mating: the most active males mated disproportionately with less active females and the least active males tended to mate with more active females. Our analyses thus revealed multiple, distinct patterns of nonrandom mating. These mating patterns did not arise from differences in partner availability among individuals and were robust to temporal changes in social conditions. Hence, mating patterns likely reflect mate preferences or arise from male-male competition coupled with sexual conflict. Our study also stresses the importance of accounting for variation in partner availability and demonstrates the influence of behavioural variation on mating patterns.

Objective The stress brought on by changes in social conditions due to COVID-19 is diverse. However, there have been no studies examining the relationship between the type of stress felt by an individual due to such changes in social conditions and the degree of change in HbA1c, prompting us to conduct this study. Methods We conducted a collaborative study at two diabetes clinics. A total of 1,000 subjects responded to the questionnaire. Data on HbA1c and body weight before and after the declaration of the state of emergency were collected. Results We conducted a questionnaire on some stressors, but when comparing the two groups with respect to whether or not they felt stress from each item, only “school closures for children,” seemed to be associated with a significant difference in the amount of change in HbA1c. In the stressed group, i.e. the group of parents who experienced stress due to their children's schools being closed, the HbA1c value changed from 7.30±0.78 to 7.30±1.13 (p=0.985). By contrast, in the unstressed group, the HbA1c value significantly decreased from 7.28±0.98 to 7.06±0.85 (p<0.001). In addition, as a result of comparing the amount of change between the 2 groups, a significant decrease was observed in the unstressed group compared with the stressed group (p=0.032). There was no significant difference in body weight change between the two groups. Conclusion Stress that cannot be avoided by one's own will, such as school closures for children, may affect glycemic control.

Urban regeneration represents the future of contemporary cities, seeking for better life conditions of populations and environment. As a strategy, process and political instrument, it is inserted in strategic guidelines of international communitarian development, implying, on one hand, a constant updating/revision of the legal diplomas of urban planning and management, and, on the other hand, new models of territorial development based on economic competitiveness, globalization, sustainability and social cohesion. The rapid European and Portuguese urban development focus urban regeneration as a priority. In the case of Lisbon, the expansion and the subsequent industrial dislocation shaped new and external urban centralities that are currently inserted in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, requiring specific technical-political organizations. Analysing the complex evolution of post-industrial areas, from expansion/progress until the decline and regeneration, the matter of heritage is one of the most challenging elements in the territory. Since in port and post-industrial areas it is hence notorious, the presence of History, preservation, conservation and/or demolition are present and future challenges to Architects. We highlight the case of the Eastern waterfront area of Lisbon due to its historic and urban evolution – marked by successive and complex urban and infrastructural transformations – and by its current situation of urban decline that introduces problems, challenges and opportunities of intervention to the technicians that are involved in urban regeneration processes. In the case study, we are able to find many examples of rural and industrial legacy, that reveal the past of that territory. Considering that the past justifies and supports the intervention in the contemporary city and the current scarcity of funds/in times of crisis, it is now crucial to question ways of regenerate declined areas. We conclude that the territory must be social and economic active and productive, renting pre-existing elements. Especially in the current context of public financial unavailability, it urges to globally rethink urban management strategies - highlighting factors as cooperation, connection and public participation -, and stimulating the intervention departing from the pre-existences, history and heritage.

Objective - This research aims to analyze the impact of residential relocation to the change in social and economic conditions of the beneficiary. This change is then used to analyze whether it is related to the decision for selling, or putting out to lease, the relocation house. Methodology/Technique - Primary data is collected from 68 samples which are chosen by an area sampling method. The focus of the sample is on houses which are built between 2008 and 2010. The variables applied cover perception about the state of the relocation house, perceptions of change in social and economic conditions, perceptions of housing characteristics and perceptions of the existence of another residential house. This research uses a mixed method for analyzing and interpreting the results. A binary response model is used for quantitative analysis. Findings - The results shows that there is no significant change in the social and economic conditions of the beneficiary. The logistics model indicates there is no direct correlation between perceptions of the change in social economic conditions to the decision for selling or renting a relocation house. Novelty - The study looks at decisions for selling or renting s relocation house. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Relocation; Speculative Motive on Housing; Binary Respond Model.

Cultural theory provides a good contextual analysis of governance, but it does not detail the relationships between networks, public and private organisations and policy strategy. Cultural theory usefully identifies the social changes that contextualise change in government, but the relationship between organisational complexity and policy outcomes is not addressed. As the Ostroms (1997) argue, cultural theory currently provides a broad framework for analysis as opposed to a way of effectively dealing with specific policy problems. In contrast, a contingency model is employed in this chapter to establish a model for analysing the patterning of different economic development and urban regeneration partnerships. The model places emphasis on the importance of interorganisational relationships and the external and internal contingencies (Kouzmin and Jarman, 1989) that shape partnerships and influence strategy making. The chapter begins with a brief overview of extant urban theories and reviews major disagreements about the roles and characteristics of policy networks.

Rather than agreeing to any one meaning or referent, most critics these days speak of ‘post-colonialisms’ to refer principally to ‘historical, social and economic material conditions’ and at other times to ‘historically-situated imaginative products’ and ‘aesthetic practices: representations, discourses and values’ (McLeod 2000: 254). Arising from subaltern studies, its theorists embrace hybridity, indict alterity, analyze colonial discourse, and employ strategic essentialism to promote identity politics. Under its influence, a strain of self-interrogation has for decades run as an undercurrent through much of anthropology and archaeology. Topics including looting, repatriation, stewardship, and the transformation of disciplinary identity are now persistent tropes in the field. Indigenous archaeology, emergent cosmopolitanisms, building up knowledge from below—these now occupy ongoing archaeological work. Limiting its applicability, though, are charges against its homogenization of colonial experience, its perpetuation of academic imperialism, and its relative neglect, until recently, of regions such as Latin America.