Context Of Settlement Research Articles

A ‘Refugee’ No Longer: Karen Residents’ Experiences of Discarding a Label in Australia

The label ‘refugee’ is often used to describe a person long after they have settled as a permanent resident in a new country. What ‘refugee’ means to those labeled as such, however, is regularly missing from discourses about third country resettlement. This article seeks to bring attention to such voices, acknowledging them as crucial to discussions about the usefulness and relevance of the ‘refugee’ label in a settlement context. Drawing data from in-depth interviews with ethnic Karen people, I highlight participants’ perceptions of their identities after they have settled in an Australian city. I demonstrate that many participants stopped thinking of themselves as ‘refugees’ upon arrival in Australia.

The Racial Horizon of Utopia: Unthinking the Future of Race in Late Twentieth-Century American Utopian Novels

The Racial Horizon of Utopia: Unthinking the Future of Race in Late Twentieth-Century American Utopian Novels

Male partners of female sex workers: The intersectional risk environment of HIV/AIDS in a Kampala informal settlement

AimThis study examined the context and drivers of HIV risk and vulnerability among male partners of female sex workers in Kampala, Uganda, using an “intersectional risk environment” framework. MethodsThis research reports on findings from an ethnographic study (2016–2019) of men in one informal settlement in Kabalagala Parish in Kampala. This research included long-term participant observation in and around the study community. Thematic analysis was used to assess aspects of the risk environment and how it influences HIV/AIDS among male partners of female sex workers. ResultsThe informal settlement context where sex work takes place is conceptualized here as a “risk environment,” or a social-physical space in which risk and harm are produced (Rhodes, 2002). Risk is situated within a broader social and political structure that constrains choices and facilitates HIV risk, particularly for young, low-income men facing matrices of domination on the basis of age, gender, residence, and income. These intersectionalities guide experiences of HIV vulnerability in the risk environment, including physical, social, economic, and policy risks. This includes physical risks (population density, bar density), social risks (sex work, bar groups), economic risks (informal and low wage work), and political risks (anti-poverty laws and legislation, urban policy). ConclusionThese findings highlight how an intersectional risk environment is differentially experienced by young, low-income men to produce unequal HIV/AIDS outcomes. This research fills a gap in the literature on the context of HIV/AIDS among men, particularly high-risk men like male partners of female sex workers. Using this framework will improve understandings of HIV outcomes among male partners of female sex workers and will facilitate context-specific and adapted structural interventions for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

Using local and indigenous knowledge in selecting indicators for mapping flood vulnerability in informal settlement contexts

Floods have been projected to increase due to climate change and informal settlements in developing countries will be the most affected. This study presents results of using Local and Indigenous Knowledge in selecting indicators for mapping the vulnerability of people to flood hazards in an informal settlement context. Using Quarry Road West informal settlement, the study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods approach which involved a household survey (n = 359), interviews with key informants (n = 8) and a focus group discussion (n = 1). The study findings reveal that flood vulnerability in the study area is not only a result of the proximity of the houses to the Palmiet River, the M19 freeway and Quarry Road, but also as a result of the nature of the soil and the type of materials people use to build their houses. Furthermore, findings reveal that using both Local and Indigenous Knowledge possessed by community members, a minimal number (sixteen) of context-specific indicators for mapping flood vulnerability in the study area were selected. The study also finds that flood vulnerability in the study area is a result of physical, socio-economic and institutional problems. Therefore, using Local and Indigenous Knowledge to select indicators for mapping flood vulnerability helps to provide a better understanding of flood vulnerability in an informal settlement and this gives decision-makers and other stakeholders a glimpse of adaptive measures that can be implemented to increase people's resilience.

Are Muslim immigrants assimilating? Cultural assimilation trajectories in immigrants’ attitudes toward gender roles in Europe

ABSTRACT As public attitudes toward gender roles in Western societies become increasingly liberal, Muslim immigrants and their children in Europe are regarded as conservative and unassimilated. This study treats acculturation as a process by which immigrants and their children shift from the attitude distribution in their origin country to that of their settlement country, and distinguishes the influence of Islam and origin-country gender norms on Muslim immigrants’ and their children’s gender role attitudes. Using data on gender role attitudes from 32 European settlement countries and 98 origin countries, the study models the relative influence of origin and settlement contexts on 25,220 first- and second-generation immigrants in Europe. Similar to previous studies, this study finds that Muslim immigrants have more traditional gender role attitudes than non-Muslim immigrants when controlling for the effect of origin-country gender norms. However, there is no evidence that Muslims are more attached to their origin country’s gender norms than non-Muslims. Instead, Muslim immigrants’ attitudes about gender norms are more similar to those in the settlement society than those of non-Muslim immigrants: Unlike their foreign-born parents, second-generation Muslims are as liberal as non-Muslim populations. Taken together, these results suggest that second-generation Muslims are adopting mainstream European gender norms.

Coastal landscape changes at Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar: Contextualizing the archaeology of an early Islamic port of trade

Unguja Ukuu, located on the Zanzibar Archipelago, eastern Africa, was an active Indian Ocean trading settlement from the mid-first millennium until the early second millennium AD. As part of recent archaeological excavations aimed at understanding the site’s transregional trade networks, geoarchaeological analyses were undertaken to document the geomorphic context of the ancient settlement. Here, we outline the results of these field and laboratory studies to discuss patterns of anthropogenic sediment deposition. Unguja Ukuu’s deep coastal stratigraphy appears to record progradation of an inhabited back-reef shore from the mid-seventh to the nineth centuries AD, perhaps in the wake of an earlier middle to late Holocene marine transgression. Excavations on the back-beach show that deposits associated with the ancient settlement include interlayered middens, paleofloors, and backshore sands and, in later phases, a peri-urban dump with dark-earth-type anthrosols developed on these deposits. Coastal progradation appears to have been driven in part by the accumulation of anthropogenic detritus and compaction of ancient surfaces. We hypothesize how the inherited, submerged relic Late Pleistocene geomorphology of the intertidal zone and later Holocene sediment supply from the hinterland may have supported the emergence of Unguja Ukuu as a trading locale, and possibly contributed to its decline in the early second millennium AD.

Peri-urban interface: An alternative residential location of low-income migrants in Kumasi, Ghana

While a plethora of studies have shown that slum settlements are the commonest choice of residence for low-income migrants in cities, little is known about the peri-urban landscape as host settlements for low-income migrants. This study aims to explore the context, motivation and outcomes of migrant settlements in peri-urban areas in Ghana. Using a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews, the findings suggest that low-income migrants opt for a rent-free stay in uncompleted houses in peri-urban areas. A major reason for this is the affordability challenge low-income migrants face in the rental housing market. Migrants choose to stay in uncompleted houses because they offer more space for both dwelling and storage. The unavailability of services such as electricity and potable water sometimes presented unique challenges for migrants, but this was also found to be a cost-saving mechanism. Employment prospects in peri-urban areas such as housing construction also contribute to the reason for migrant settlement in such areas.

Пандемия: возвращение в прошлое или окно в будущее?

The article analyzes political, social, economic and cultural consequences of the COVID‑19 pandemic for French society. The national strategies of the state management of the sanitary crisis that have developed in the world are investigated: the strategy of “zero tolerance to coronavirus”; the strategy of free circulation of the virus; the strategy determined by the formula “stop and go”. France, like many other Western countries, chose the last one, which implied a combination of harsh measures (lockdown, self-isolation, mandatory vaccination, introduction of sanitary passes) with relaxation caused by the demands of business and society. The increased role of the State in the fight against the pandemic is revealed. The political context of the pandemic crisis settlement is revealed: centralization of power; tight control of the head of state over the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers; dominance of political power over the professional medical community; reduction of the parliament’s role. It is shown that under conditions of the sanitary crisis, the process of informatization of production and services accelerated, significant shifts occurred in the labor market, and there was an increase in social and socio-spatial inequality. The problem of the middle class, which continues to fragment, is acute. The pandemic and especially the methods of combating it caused a protest in French society: the French did not just express disbelief in the effectiveness of the vaccine, with their speeches they demonstrated distrust of the authorities and state institutions. The pandemic has shown that France is in dire need of a new social compromise that would take into account not only the interests of global corporations, but also people who have remained beyond the threshold of the information economy. The issue of reviewing the lowest salaries and raising the status of a number of professions is acute.

The trouble with local community in Longyearbyen, Svalbard: Howbig politicsand lack offellesskaphinder a not-yet-decided future

AbstractBased on long-term ethnographic fieldwork data, this article argues there is tension between how Longyearbyen’s residents wish to perform as a community and hindrances the town inherited from its past and accepts as demarcation lines of Norway’s Svalbard politics. The population of Longyearbyen has undergone considerable change since the 1990s, turning from a predominantly Norwegian mining community into a highly diversified group of people from all over the world. This article places Longyearbyen into the wider context of settlements with similar traces (in Scandinavia, the Arctic, multilingual and immigrant communities worldwide, or in the context of extractivism) and discusses the existing barriers of communitification. Encounters with four participants illuminate the tensions and contradictions when it comes to cultivating social cohesion and shaping Longyearbyen’s “desired futures.” Unless the process of increasing the community’s agency is actively encouraged by people living there and those governing it from the outside, the future of the settlement risks being alienating for its inhabitants, weakening further the communitification potential.

Life and death in Iron Age Ogulinsko-Plaščanska valley

Despite the long-standing importance of the Ogulin-Plaški regionin past trade and communication networks, few radiocarbondates have been reported from the area’s prehistoric contexts.This article presents new accelerator mass spectrometry(AMS) radiocarbon dates from the Iapodian sites of Trošmarija,Sultanov grob, and Mala and Velika Metaljka. Radiocarbon datesfrom burial and settlement contexts demonstrate activity atthese sites was underway by the start of the Iron Age, ca. 800 BCand continued for centuries afterward. These new radiocarbondates contribute to our growing understanding of sociopoliticaland cultural development in prehistoric and Roman period ofthe Ogulin-Plaški region.

Identification and characterisation of Late Neolithic (3600–2150 Cal. BC) living floors in a temperate environment: Case studies from the southern Paris Basin

Late Neolithic living floors in the southern Paris Basin are still not completely understood. In settlement contexts, the architecture and the organisation of activity areas are quite difficult to characterize and reconstruct. Only a few house plans are known. However, many thinly stratified sites with artefact spreads could represent preserved living floors. The aim of this paper is to investigate the formation processes of this type of site through geoarchaeological study (soil micromorphology) of three sites (Gas, Sours and Pussigny), located in different geographic contexts. In particular, discussion centres on whether these are disturbed layers or well or partially preserved living floors. Using micromorphological analysis we were able to identify several constructed micro-facies (invert, backfill and screed) and functional micro-facies (trampled occupation surfaces inside or outside buildings). The microstratigraphic organisation of pedo-sedimentary sequences could be representative of different types of living floor: constructed floors inside cob buildings, living floors just outside buildings and yard floors. The results of this research confirm that the artefact spreads are the visible aspect of living floors. While for a long time the preservation of living floors was not considered because the conditions were regarded as unfavourable, this study actually demonstrates their possible preservation in different geomorphological and pedological contexts, as well as their informative potential. Moreover, the study shows that the artefact spreads reflect different spaces, depending on environmental conditions and human activities. In a context where data on Late Neolithic architecture in the south-western part of the Paris Basin is limited, these results confirm the presence of built structures on these sites and provide insights into the raw materials used for the construction of houses. Ultimately, the results contribute new knowledge and broaden the fields of research in geoarchaeology and the palaeo-ethnology of living floors.

Older Syrian Refugees’ Experiences of Language Barriers in Postmigration and (re)settlement Context in Canada.

This research explores older Syrian experiences of language barriers in Canada's post-migration and resettlement context. Guided by the ecosystemic model, the qualitative descriptive method was used to describe the experiences of six older adults (three women and three men, 55-year-old and over) living in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area. Results suggest the lack of English proficiency affects refugees' resettlement and, in particular, older adults at risk of abuse. Language barriers influence older adult refugees because it limits their ability to navigate the Canadian systems, exacerbate their dependency on adult children, increase social isolation, and decrease employment and income opportunities. Participants' commitment to learning English comes from their conviction that fluency has an essential role in shaping their experiences in Canada. Conclusions can help policymakers identify specific interventions to address language barriers among older adult Refugees.

The Subsistence Strategy of Linear Pottery Culture in Moravia (Czech Republic): Current State of Knowledge

AbstractThe main goal of this article is to present an overview of current knowledge about the subsistence strategy of Linear Pottery culture (LBK) in Moravia, Czech Republic. The main aspect of the subsistence strategy mentioned here will be the issue of dietary. Early Neolithic sites that in some way contributed to the knowledge about the dietary character (both meat and plant food) will be presented here. On this occasion, a case study of the Žádovice site, which belongs to the most recently analyzed settlements, will be presented. In addition, the methods used in the subsistence strategy of LBK in Moravia will be mentioned. The existing knowledge will be included in a broader settlement context and will be compared with each other. For the time being, it seems that in terms of the species spectrum of farmed animals, the area of Moravia does not differ from the situation known from Central Europe. Certain geographical differences are possible in Moravia, but this hypothesis must be verified in the future, depending on the expansion of the database. The study thus represents a springboard for further research in this area.

Mummified animal skin with tar content from the castle of the late medieval town of Novo Brdo (Central Balkans)

Organic materials are rare in the archaeological settlement context of the central Balkan area. A unique assemblage consisting of mummified animal skin with preserved hair, filled with resinous material, and four smaller pieces of animal skin with preserved hair was discovered during archaeological excavations of the Novo Brdo castle in 2015. The late medieval town of Novo Brdo was an important mining centre of the Balkans (and the entire Europe) for the production and distribution of silver ore. The archaeological context for the mummified animal skin was the workshop for the production of lead projectiles, situated in the northeast corner of the castle’s Great Hall, and it can be reliably dated to the first half of 1455. The finds were first subjected to macroscopic analysis, which included observations on the skinning method and the details of use. Applying light and SEM microscopy, a comparative set of hair surface structure images from seven mammal species was created, and a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis of resinous material was performed. By comparing it with the reference images of hair microstructure, the animal skin was identified as goat, while the FTIR of the resinous material identified pine tar. The four smaller pieces of skin probably originated from one individual sheep. The tar stored in the goat skin was most likely used in the impregnation of wooden structures or even to illuminate buildings and ramparts of the Novo Brdo castle, although other purposes, such as being used as a lubricant for weapons, cannot be completely ruled out.

Aceh Cultural Elements in the Settlement Context

Indonesia consists of various diverse tribes and cultures. Culture is the result of people's thoughts and behavior. Culture can also act as the identity of a tribe that has its characteristics. The difference in characteristics is interesting to study, one of which is the culture of Aceh in Indonesia. Aceh is rich in cultural values and customs because of its historical background. Influences from various backgrounds eventually shaped the characteristics of Acehnese. The culture of Aceh has been discussed in several studies, but no one has focused on the context of settlement. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze aspects of Aceh's culture in a settlement. Cultural aspects can be analyzed based on world views, values, manifestations, activity systems, and social expressions. This study is a literature review, which uses secondary data to answer the research objectives. Secondary data were obtained from literature related to research topics, such as books, journals, regulations, etc. Furthermore, the data collected will be analyzed and concluded using descriptive analysis. The study results explain that every aspect of Aceh's culture refers to Islamic rules, where the balance between customary law and religious law is important for Acehnese lives.

Do international trade and investment agreements generate regulatory chill in public health policymaking? A case study of nutrition and alcohol policy in South Africa

BackgroundTrade and health scholars have raised concern that international trade and particularly investment disputes may be used by transnational health harmful commodity corporations (THCCs) to effectively generate public health regulatory chill. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the limited evidence base of trade or investment dispute-related regulatory chill using a case study of nutrition and alcohol policy in South Africa.MethodsWe conducted 35 semi-structured interviews with 36 key stakeholders involved in nutrition, alcohol and/or trade/investment policymaking in South Africa. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. We used Schram et al’s theory on three forms of regulatory chill (anticipatory, response and precedential) to guide the analysis. We report evidence on each form of regulatory chill as well as specific contextual factors that may influence the risk of regulatory chill.ResultsTrade obligations were found to generate a significantly greater anticipatory-type chilling effect on nutrition and alcohol regulation than South Africa’s investment treaty obligations. Response chill was reported to have occurred in relation to South Africa’s proposed tobacco plain packaging regulation while awaiting the outcome of both Australia’s investor-state and WTO state-state disputes. No cases were reported of THCCs threatening an investor-state dispute over nutrition or food regulations, but there were reported cases of THCCs using arguments related to South Africa’s trade obligations to oppose policy action in these areas. No evidence of nutrition or alcohol policy precedential chill were identified. Factors affecting the risk of policy chill include legitimacy and perceived bias of the dispute system, costs involved in pursuing a regulation/defending a dispute and capacity to pay, social acceptability of the industry, a product’s perceived risk to health and confidence in a successful dispute outcome e.g. through cross-border policy learning.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that currently, South Africa’s trade obligations have a more prominent role in inhibiting nutrition and alcohol action than investment treaty-related concerns. However, given the potential for wider use of the ISDS mechanism by THCCs in the future, strategies to protect public health policy space in the context of both international trade and investment treaty and dispute settlement contexts remain important.

Performance Analysis of FISSER Model in Rural-Urban Cognitive Radio Networks

In the past few decades, Cognitive Radio network (CRN) has been regarded in the literature as the most promising technology for performing dynamic spectrum management. One of the major aspects of spectrum management is referred to as the spectrum-reconfiguration decision-making ability of CR users. Dynamic spectrum reconfiguration has previously been reported to improve the spectrum utilisation in CRN. In exploiting spectrum reconfiguration to improve spectrum utilisation, various approaches have been adopted to develop models. However, none of these research works has been evaluated in the urban and rural settlement context. In a CRN environment, the frequency availability is not static like that of traditional networks. There are resource-rich regions such as in rural areas, where many frequencies are available for the Secondary Users (SUs) and resource-poor regions such as urban areas, where there are only a few frequencies available for SUs. Hence, this paper proposed a novel Foraging Inspired Spectrum Selection and Reconfiguration (FISSER) model. The performance of the FISSER model has been analysed through computer simulations both in the rural and urban CRN, using high and low perceptual radii. A high perceptual radius has been shown in the literature to improve energy efficiency and data communication performance in ad hoc networks. However, the simulation results reported in this paper show that even though the high perceptual radius improves the nodes’ energy efficiency it does not achieve optimal data communication performance compared to when the nodes use a low perceptual radius. Also, the efficacy of FISSER model was tested by comparing it against the reinforcement learning model. Based on the obtained results, it was shown that the FISSER model achieved better results in both the network throughput and the channel switching time.

What Makes Me Want You Here? Refugee Integration in a Zambian Settlement Setting

Many of the world’s refugees remain in Africa, where they stay long-term, mainly in neighboring countries. The present directions point to integration, in which the host society and the political surroundings play a key role. This paper aims to investigate the ways in which public opinion towards and contact with refugees support integration processes. We apply this research to a settlement setting in rural Zambia, a recent dataset of 275 households from 2018, and an econometric analysis. This is the first study dealing with a set of factors that affect the hosts’ opinion towards and contact with refugees in an African settlement context, and with respect to the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework produced by the United Nations. Our results show, particularly, the religiosity, group membership, life satisfaction, food insecurity, agricultural ownership and natural resource uses of the host society to be the main factors that need policy consideration for the promotion of refugee integration. Stakeholders dealing in host–refugee settings and seeking for durable solutions should roll out community programs to address threat perceptions and interaction improvements.

The bird remains from WF16, an early Neolithic settlement in southern Jordan: Assemblage composition, chronology and spatial distribution

AbstractExcavations at the early Neolithic settlement of WF16 in Faynan, southern Jordan, 11.84–10.24 ka BP, recovered 17,700 bird bones, of which 7808 could be identified to at least family level. Sixty‐three different bird taxa are present from 18 families, representing a mix of resident and migrant birds, based on present‐day ecology. We describe the settlement context for the assemblage, its taxonomic composition, spatial and chronological distribution, identifying its similarities and differences to avian assemblages from broadly contemporary sites in the region.

The tradition of pottery painting in the Upper Silesian-Lesser Polish regional group of the Lusatian culture in the Early Iron Age. The example of the cemetery at Dobrzeń Mały, Opole district.

Abstract The idea of covering pottery with polychrome ornaments adopted from the Greek art of the Late Geometric period spread to almost every corner of Early Iron Age Europe, including some areas in present-day Poland. Painted pottery was manufactured in Middle Silesia and southern Greater Poland. Finds of painted vessels are recorded also in Upper Silesia, and a smaller number still, in Lesser Poland. The presented paper addresses painted pottery identified with the Upper Silesian-Lesser Polish regional group of the Lusatian culture from settlement and funerary contexts (cremation and bi-ritual cemeteries). A closer look is taken at the previously unpublished finds of polychrome vessels from the cemetery at Dobrzeń Mały investigated during the 1970s. Their collection is now displayed and preserved in the Museum of Opole Silesia in Opole.