Post-war Areas Research Articles

An Experimental Study on Innovative Concrete Block Solutions for Reconstruction

In this study, an experiment was conducted to innovate a new design of interlocking concrete blocks (ICBs) containing recycled aggregates (RAs) by reducing the consumed time and cost in construction using an environmental approach. Accordingly, the designed ICBs were produced manually using RAs, and wallettes were easily built with a mortarless mechanism by stacking the blocks without any mortar layers. In the experiments, besides the individual compression tests of the two types of ICB with natural and recycled aggregates, the wallette samples that were produced using ICBs, containing either 100% natural aggregates or 100% Ras, were tested under axial compressive loading. The experimental results were assessed considering the compressive strength, displacement, and failure mode. In the obtained results, we noticed that the average compressive strengths of the wallettes that were produced with natural or recycled aggregate ICBs were large enough to meet the standards of Syrian regulations, which are considered an example reference. The resulting displacement values were acceptable and could be negligible in some wallette specimens. It was concluded that the innovative ICBs with both normal or recycled aggregates could be a good alternative to traditional blocks, especially in post-disaster or post-war areas.

Implementation of vertical landscaping in the renovated post-war area of Kherson

Implementation of vertical landscaping in the renovated post-war area of Kherson

Experts’ perspective towards smart management in the post-war reconstruction of the city of Mosul

Motives: Urban developers around the world have been using smart management systems in redeveloping cities. This strategy allows a sustainable long term approach, built on scientific findings. Accurate data and information are key in achieving smart management in the reconstruction of post-war areas. Having the right information at the right time helps government officials, service providers and residents themselves make better choices when it comes to the reconstruction of post-conflict areas. Aims: This paper explores the role of resident experts’ contribution and how they can aid officials make more educated choices when it comes to urban decision making. It also addresses the ambiguity of the impact of using the expertise of local urban planners and architects in urban decision making in the reconstruction process as one of the strategies to achieve a smart city. The Old City of Mosul was selected by the authors as a case study in the post-war regeneration process. Therefore, the paper attempts to reach a scientific decision in selecting the best approach towards the urban regeneration of the Old City of Mosul. Results: The paper signifies the role of the local community experts in urban decision making as a bottom to top approach, and recommendations were made based on the research findings.

Labot in Dual Spaces and Land Conflict in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda: A Gender Discourse Analysis

This paper seeks to discuss the dual spaces which labot1occupy within the post-war land-conflict setting in Amuru District. From a gendered perspective, this is a critical discussion contesting the dominant discourse that represents women as occupying the dual spaces. This perspective has been accepted by society and women have been supported accordingly. However, labot in these same dual spaces have not been embraced in the same way. Analyses of the narratives and lived experiences of labot challenge the notion that men are less affected than women by land conflicts in post-war areas. Three themes emerged from the narratives: woman as security for land, labot and land conflict, and social navigation to reclaim land. This paper interacts with feminist discourse that tries to explain the relationships and interactions of women within the feminine master-narrative in relation to ownership, access and control over resources. Therefore, the paper argues that labot have crossed into the private space as well and taken on the character of dual spaces.

Freedom as the Antithesis of Commitment in Jean-Paul Sartre’s The Flies (Les Mouches)

In the mid of the twentieth century, French Existentialism was a predominant doctrine that significantly enriched and influenced the literary scene in Europe during the Post-War area. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), the founder of Existentialism, is both a professional philosopher and a talented man of letters whose literary achievements represent a declarative embodiment of his Existentialist philosophy. In his 1943 drama, The Flies (Les Mouches), Sartre puts the Greek myth into a drastically innovative structure, where contemporary issues and values are presented through classical outlines. The current study aims to present a critical analysis of Sartre's depiction of the Electra/Orestes myth in The Flies through demonstrating how Greek mythology becomes an essential substructure of the play's Existentialistic framework, on the one hand, and questioning the credibility of the Sartrean concept of freedom and commitment, as illustrated in the play, on the other hand. The study utilizes the Existentialist philosophy as a theoretical framework in order to elucidate that the Sartrean conception of freedom and commitment is paradoxically antithetical. The research investigates how Orestes has been theoretically free and the extent to which he strives, throughout the drama, to transform this abstract freedom into a concrete experience by committing himself to a specific action: murdering Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. However, as the study proves, this Existentialist freedom becomes an illusion in the sense that Orestes' commitment to the Argives makes him a captive of society; by choosing commitment, he dismisses his freedom. The researcher has chosen "Freedom" and "Commitment" as the main topic of the present study in order to expose Sartre's existentialistic awareness of modern human beings' dilemma under the influence of all forms of aggression and highlight the discrepancy between theoretical philosophy and real-life experiences. The study adopts an interdisciplinary analytical approach where myth, philosophy, and drama are dovetailed and fused in order to expand the scope of the analysis.

Using Neuro-Architecture to Reinforce Participatory Planning and Design

Urban renewal and urban area development projects are by nature highly complex processes involving a multiplicity of professionals, stakeholders, and conflicting interests. Adding to this complexity are the formulated ambitions and societal challenges projects have to answer to. One of these ambitions emphasizes a more inclusive planning process, involving the inhabitants in all stages of the planning process. In terms of design, another challenge is to create environments on a human scale while building in high density such as with tall residential buildings. The metropolitan area of Amsterdam intends to have 100,000 new dwellings by 2025. Most of these dwellings have to be added within the existing urban fabric, planned on obsolete inner-city brownfield locations, at the waterfront, nearby highways whereas others are going to be built in deprived neighborhoods. The deprived neighborhoods are mainly located in the postwar areas of Amsterdam, on its northern, western, and south-eastern sides. The deprived neighborhood called the Bijlmermeer located on the south-eastern side of the city, for instance was the first high-rise development project in the Netherlands. It was designed as a single project with identical high-rise buildings in a hexagonal grid surrounded with large green spaces. These deprived, modernistic neighborhoods lack the classic housing block structures with a clear articulation of buildings and street spaces. They appear to be responsible for an ‘inhuman’ scale and demonstrate the lasting impact critical design flaws can have on the daily lives of inhabitants. Hence, the question is how to develop liveable environments where people feel fully supported by building architecture and streetscape configuration. To prevent new urban area developments that will again fail to incorporate human scale, scientific methods and user input are needed to inform the practice of planning and design, and their applied design solutions. Building on two research projects (one on participatory planning and the other on neuroarchitecture research), we explore how the newly emerging field of neuroarchitecture - and the eye-tracker in particular, might enhance urban area developments on a human scale.

The SSRC and the founding movement of area studies in America, 1943–1953

Area studies, as characterized by “complete world coverage” and “interdisciplinary integration”, constitutes a major branch of academic research. As an institutional framework embedded in the American social sciences, higher education, and intellectual life, area studies developed during the decade from 1943 to 1953. These founding years, during which the basic intellectual components and institutional patterns of postwar area studies were laid down, saw a transformative process involving not only knowledge-building, but also institutional reformation and intellectual/cultural reorientation. The Social Science Research Council (SSRC), with its strategically pivotal position in the American social science community, played the role of leading and bolstering the area studies movement, functioning as a central body for area studies planning. The committees the SSRC organized solely or jointly with other learned councils, the meetings and conferences it held and convened, and the reports it released, reveal the reflections and expectations of the founders of area studies related to social scientific epistemology, the composition of American social knowledge, general education and American culture, the public relevance of professionalized scholarship, and the relationship between the U.S. and the world. The story may be reasonably considered an integral phase of evolution in American cosmopolitanism/internationalism and cultural relativism/multiculturalism. This historical episode, therefore, has rich, significant intellectual and cultural implications that we cannot afford to overlook or distort with “Cold War Knowledge” or “Cold War Social Sciences” explanations.

Deploying to Protect: The Effect of Military Peacekeeping Deployments on Violence Against Civilians

ABSTRACTDo UN peacekeeping forces protect civilians from harm in post-war environments? Current evidence suggests that the answer to this question is yes. But extant research mostly examines this relationship at the country-level and consequently has logical difficulty tracing decreases in civilian fatalities to actual peacekeeper activities. We would have more confidence in the ability of peacekeepers to limit harm and protect non-combatants if the reduction in violence occurred locally where blue helmets were positioned. Using original geocoded data of yearly UN deployments in four Sub-Saharan African conflicts (Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ivory Coast), we find that peacekeeping units get locally deployed to violent post-war areas and they reduce the level of civilian harm almost immediately. But, in areas without violent clashes between government forces and rebels, we find peacekeeping units more responsive to civilian targeting by rebels, which indicates a reluctance among peacekeepers to confront government forces that target civilians. While host nation consent is crucial for the success of a peacekeeping mission, the findings from this study caution against nurturing illiberal regimes by failing to check government atrocities. The failure to confront government abuse can jeopardize long-term peace and reconciliation.

The use of help seeking and coping strategies among Bosnian women in domestic violence shelters

Victims/survivors of domestic violence face a variety of decisions in determining whether and from whom to seek help. Although western literature on help-seeking is extensive, few studies have examined help-seeking behaviours of victims/survivors in post-war areas. The current study investigates use of help-seeking behaviours and coping mechanisms among women receiving services from domestic violence shelters in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war. A total of 107 women across eight shelters completed pencil and paper surveys that explored formal and informal help-seeking behaviours and coping mechanisms employed to prevent and/or reduce victimisation. Help-seeking and coping strategies were organised into one of four categories based upon similar themes, including communication strategies, avoidance strategies, protection and resistance strategies, and safety planning strategies. Additionally, respondents were asked to assess what impact (that is, made the situation better, worse, or had no impact) utilised behaviours had. Communication and avoidance strategies were the most commonly reported behaviours. Safety planning techniques were less frequently reported, although victims/survivors perceived these as making their situation better, while trying to end the relationship or avoiding the abuser made the situation worse. These findings are similar to research conducted among victims/survivors residing in countries not directly affected by armed conflict. Interpretation of results, limitations, implications and future research are discussed.

Determinations of uranium concentrations in soil, water, vegetables and biological samples from inhabitants of war affected areas in eastern Croatia (ICP-MS method)

The occurrence of elevated uranium levels in post-war areas raise concerns among populations, especially in areas affected by heavy bombardment and potential use of depleted uranium weapons. The aim of this study was to assess public exposure to the uranium Water, soil, vegetables, urine, serum and hair samples were collected for the first time in eastern Croatia and analysed using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method, in order to try to explain the possible origins of uranium in the population and environment. Urine, serum and hair samples were collected from 389 inhabitants. A large variation of uranium concentrations in urine, serum and hair samples was found in this study. The majority of urine, serum and hair samples from our study had uranium concentrations below the reference literature values. A higher uranium concentration in the hair of 4% of inhabitants, mostly from rural areas, could not be explained at this stage of research. A further, extended epidemiological study should be made of uranium in the region.

Cultural and Heritage Tourism Development in Postwar Regions: Concerns for Sustainability from Northern Sri Lankan Capital Jaffna

Cultural and heritage tourism shows tremendous potential in developing countries and regions where traditional economic activities are no longer sustainable. Sharing and preserving cultural heritage in tourism is challenging while advocating economic benefits. An integrated approach to examine sustainability, tourism, cultural heritage and economic wellbeing is overseen. Theorizing above concepts in postwar context indicates laps in academic literature. This paper examines the cultural and heritage tourism development potentials and their sustainability issues in postwar development in Jaffna. The study argues that comprehensive analysis of cultural resources and their potential in ongoing development, drawing plans and institutionalizing the cultural and heritage tourism initiatives, enlightening authorities on cultural and heritage tourism and sustainable community development, stakeholder empowerment and fully engaging all development agencies in a single mission in postwar areas are prerequisites for sustainability of ongoing isolated activities. The empowerment of community and other key stakeholders of the cultural heritage is the key to address long-term sustainability.

Cultural and Heritage Tourism Development in Postwar Regions: Concerns for Sustainability from Northern Sri Lankan Capital Jaffna

Cultural and heritage tourism shows tremendous potential in developing countries and regions where traditional economic activities are no longer sustainable. Sharing and preserving cultural heritage in tourism is challenging while advocating economic benefits. An integrated approach to examine sustainability, tourism, cultural heritage and economic wellbeing is overseen. Theorizing above concepts in postwar context indicates laps in academic literature. This paper examines the cultural and heritage tourism development potentials and their sustainability issues in postwar development in Jaffna. The study argues that comprehensive analysis of cultural resources and their potential in ongoing development, drawing plans and institutionalizing the cultural and heritage tourism initiatives, enlightening authorities on cultural and heritage tourism and sustainable community development, stakeholder empowerment and fully engaging all development agencies in a single mission in postwar areas are prerequisites for sustainability of ongoing isolated activities. The empowerment of community and other key stakeholders of the cultural heritage is the key to address long-term sustainability.

Global mental health and trauma exposure: the current evidence for the relationship between traumatic experiences and spirit possession

BackgroundWe present a literature review on trauma exposure and spirit possession in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite the World Health Organization's objective of culturally appropriate mental health care in the Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2020, and the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee to consider local idioms of distress and to collaborate with local resources, this topic still receives very little attention. Pathological spirit possession is commonly defined as involuntary, uncontrollable, and occurring outside of ritual settings. It is often associated with stigmatization, suffering, and dysfunctional behavior. While spirit possession has been discussed as an idiom of distress in anthropological literature, recent quantitative studies have presented support for a strong relationship between traumatic experiences and pathological possession states.ObjectiveThe aim of this review was to investigate this relationship systematically in LMICs, in view of the debate on how to address the mental health gap in LMICs.MethodsTwenty-one articles, published in peer-reviewed English-language journals between 1994 and 2013, were identified and analyzed with regard to prevalence of possessive trance disorders, patients’ sociodemographic characteristics, and its relation to traumatic experiences.ResultsThe review and analysis of 917 patients with symptoms of possessive trance disorders from 14 LMICs indicated that it is a phenomenon occurring worldwide and with global relevance. This literature review suggests a strong relationship between trauma exposure and spirit possession with high prevalence rates found especially in postwar areas in African countries.ConclusionsMore attention for possessive trance disorders in mental health and psychosocial intervention programs in humanitarian emergency settings as well as in societies in transition in LMICs is needed and justified by the results of this systematic literature review.

Methodological and epistemological challenges of researching co-ethnic migrations in a post-war area

Methodological and epistemological challenges of researching co-ethnic migrations in a post-war area

Entre Tōyōgaku et Nan.Yōgaku : L'origine multiple des études vietnamiennes au Japon (1881-1951)

In the early 1880's, the first productions of knowledge on Vietnam in Japan was created simultaneously, but in parallel, with Japanese Oriental Studies (Tōyōgaku). It was not until early 1930's that Vietnam became a topic of research in Japanese metropolitan universities. Before this period, the knowledge was mainly produced outside of universities, and was even, at its origin, a non-institutional production. In this article, we will explain how the production of knowledge grows and evolves in two distinct geographical concepts that are also the borders of two worlds in which Japanese knowledge on Asia is produced. We try to understand the structure process of a field of research taking into account the institutions, research methodologies and actors who have given to Vietnamese studies in Japan its specificities until the postwar area.

Towards sustainable infrastructure: an adaptable model for post-war areas in developing countries

Armed conflict can lead to the collapse of many of the institutions which constitute the framework of a viable society. Their reconstitution in whatever form requires strategies which lead to sustainable solutions. Effective infrastructure forms the backbone to the recovery process. This paper describes the development of theory to support the establishment of sustainable infrastructure programmes in post-war areas. It contains adapted extracts from an extensive research project into post-war infrastructure in East Timor and North Maluku undertaken by the author.

Towards sustainable infrastructure: an adaptable model for post-war areas in developing countries

Armed conflict can lead to the collapse of many of the institutions which constitute the framework of a viable society. Their reconstitution in whatever form requires strategies which lead to sustainable solutions. Effective infrastructure forms the backbone to the recovery process. This paper describes the development of theory to support the establishment of sustainable infrastructure programmes in post-war areas. It contains adapted extracts from an extensive research project into post-war infrastructure in East Timor and North Maluku undertaken by the author.