Open Access Books

The industrialization of the urban food system, alongside the proliferation of supermarkets, has dramatically transformed the landscape of food accessibility in cities. In many countries, the spatial consolidation of food provisioning has deprived many urban neighbourhoods of easy access to food, particularly foodstuffs integral to a healthy diet. These often socioeconomically disadvantaged urban areas are referred to as “food deserts”. However, studies of urban food deserts in cities of the Global South are sparse, given their complicated urban food systems with the strong presence of informal food economies and diverse food sources. This book draws on empirical studies from South African, Brazilian and Chinese cities to investigate the food desert narrative, the characteristics of urban food environment and the various socioeconomic factors shaping it, as well as the food security and health consequences of urban food deserts. These studies reveal the limitations of applying the food desert concept to cities in the Global South and call for more holistic measurements of urban food insecurity.

Policy overreaction is an objective fact and, at the same time, a matter of interpretation. Policy scholars tend to view this duality as a problematic ontological issue and to categorize such policies as errors of commission or omission. This chapter builds on (i) the aforementioned duality and (ii) a recent conceptual turn whereby this concept is re-entering the policy lexicon as a type of deliberate policy choice. This may be motivated by, among other factors, political executives’ desire to pander to public opinion, appear informed to voters, and signal extremity. The chapter assigns specific policy overreaction responses to two dimensions: the scale of policy in terms of objective costs and benefits, and public perceptions of policy. The derived policy taxonomy highlights four distinct empirical categories, which are elaborated and exemplified here, as well as a set of hypotheses about differing patterns of politics and governance associated with the design of these policy choices.

Originally published in 1970. Many contemporary philosophers have thought that certain philosophic disputes could be settled by using the concept of meaninglessness. To solve philosophic problems in this way, however, it seemed necessary to provide a reliable criterion for deciding when a particular sentence or statement is meaningless. But devising such a criterion has proved to be very difficult. In fact, in recent years many philosophers have become quite skeptical about the adequacy of the standard criteria of meaninglessness. Some of the more radical skeptics have even argued that the concept of meaninglessness, as it is used by philosophers, is itself defective and would be even if an adequate criterion could be found. Professor Erwin, in a systematic study of the concept of meaninglessness, begins by examining the standard criteria of meaninglessness proposed by philosophers. These criteria include operationalist, verificationist, and type or category criteria. Each of these criteria, he argues, is inadequate. Erwin then turns to the question, What kinds of items, if any, should be said to be meaningless? Most philosophers concerned with this question have claimed that only sentences, not statements or propositions, can be meaningless. Erwin argues, however, that this is wrong: statements (and propositions) can be meaningless. Once this is demonstrated, it can then be shown that the more radical skepticism about the philosophic use of the concept of meaninglessness is misguided. In particular, Erwin shows that the following assertions of the radical skeptic are false: that what is meaningless is relative to a given language or to a given time, and that the concept of meaninglessness forces us to condemn as nonsense metaphors comprehensible to competent speakers of English. In his concluding chapter, Erwin considers the implications of there not being any adequate general criterion of meaninglessness. He then tries to show how the concept of meaninglessness, when interpreted in the manner he suggests, can be profitably used by philosophers, despite the many persuasive objections to its use that philosophers have raised in their disputes over it.

A Gazdaság 5D-ben című kötet a jelenlegi társadalmi-gazdasági rendszerek alapvető ellentmondásait vizsgálja, módszertani eszközökkel is elemezve az ökológiai, gazdasági és társadalmi alrendszerek kölcsönhatásait. Mivel a pénz és a gazdasági növekedés iránti vonzódásunk rövid távon aligha változik meg, ezt a hajtóerőt kihasználva kell olyan életképes alternatívát keresni, amely összeegyeztethető a természeti rendszerek működésével. Ennek egy lehetséges módja, hogy a gazdasági növekedés iránti preferenciánkat és pénzalapú értékrendszerünket olyan irányba hangoljuk át, amely összhangban van a természet rendszerszintű működésével. A szerző rámutat, hogy már a számviteli rendszer egy hiányosságának puszta korrekciója paradigmaváltáshoz vezethet. A szerző a civilizációk ciklikus fejlődését és összeomlását feltáró történeti áttekintésével feltárja a jelenlegi világrendszer sajátos sérülékenységét. Az elméleti alapokat kiterjedt esettanulmányok egészítik ki, mint a Las Gaviotas ökológiai közösségének, a bali víztemplomok rendszerének, a regeneratív mezőgazdaságnak vagy a városi reziliencia példáinak bemutatása.

Few African countries provide for an explicit right to a nationality. Laws and practices governing citizenship effectively leave hundreds of thousands of people in Africa without a country. These stateless Africans can neither vote nor stand for office; they cannot enrol their children in school, travel freely, or own property; they cannot work for the government; they are exposed to human rights abuses. Statelessness exacerbates and underlies tensions in many regions of the continent. Citizenship Law in Africa, a comparative study by two programs of the Open Society Foundations, describes the often arbitrary, discriminatory, and contradictory citizenship laws that exist from state to state and recommends ways that African countries can bring their citizenship laws in line with international rights norms. The report covers topics such as citizenship by descent, citizenship by naturalisation, gender discrimination in citizenship law, dual citizenship, and the right to identity documents and passports. It is essential reading for policymakers, attorneys, and activists. This second edition includes updates on developments in Kenya, Libya, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe, as well as minor corrections to the tables and other additions throughout.

Recoupant d’emblée les champs qui seront ceux de la géographie, de l’ethnographie, de l’histoire et même de la philosophie de l’histoire, fascinée à la fois par l’altérité et par la diversité des peuples et des coutumes, l’Enquête hérodotéenne dialogue sans cesse avec les autres genres et les autres modes de pensée que l’Antiquité nous a légués. Après d’autres travaux, individuels et collectifs, ce recueil d’essais a cherché à cerner les modalités et les enjeux de ce dialogue, mais en y ajoutant celui qui s’est instauré entre Hérodote et ses lecteurs, admiratifs ou critiques, de l’Antiquité jusqu’à nos jours. L’Enquête est donc ici mise en rapport avec l’épopée, la pensée ionienne, le théâtre athénien, mais aussi confrontée à des lectures aussi différentes que celles de Lucien dans l’Antiquité, de Montaigne à la Renaissance et, tout près de nous, de Ryszard Kapuściński ou de Claude Lévi-Strauss. Qu’il s’agisse des grandes questions anthropologiques posées par tout effort de compréhension et de représentation de l’autre ou des choix narratifs qu’implique toute tentative d’écrire l’histoire, cet éclairage pluriel témoigne de l’actualité sans cesse renouvelée de l’entreprise hérodotéenne.

Migration and Labour Mobility The willingness to migrate in search of employment is in itself insufficient to compel anyone to move. The dynamics of labour mobility are heavily influenced by the opportunities perceived and the imaginaries held by both employers and regulating authorities in relation to migrant labour. This volume offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the structures and imaginaries underlying various forms of mobility. Based on research conducted in different geographical contexts, including the European Union, Turkey, and South Africa, and tackling the experiences and aspirations of migrants from various parts of the globe, the chapters comprised in this volume analyse labour-related mobilities from two distinct yet intertwined vantage points: the role of structures and regimes of mobility on the one hand, and aspirations as well as migrant imaginaries on the other. Migration at Work thus aims to draw cross-contextual parallels by addressing the role played by opportunities in mobilising people, how structures enable, sustain, and change different forms of mobility, and how imaginaries fuel labour migration and vice versa. In doing so, this volume also aims to tackle the interrelationships between imaginaries driving migration and shaping “regimes of mobility”, as well as how the former play out in different contexts, shaping internal and cross-border migration. Based on empirical research in various fields, this collection provides valuable scholarship and evidence on current processes of migration and mobility. Contributors: Iratxe Aristegui (University of Deusto), Deniz Berfin Ayaydin (CEMESO), Maria Luisa Di Martino (University of Deusto), Iraklis Dimitriadis (University of Milan), Russell King (University of Sussex / Malmö University), Aija Lulle (University of Louborough), Concepción Maiztegui-Oñate (University of Deusto), Faith Mkwananzi (University of the Free State), Christine Moderbacher (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), Alice Ncube (University of the Free State), Noel B. Salazar (KU Leuven), Fiona-Katharina Seiger (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Joana de Sousa Ribeiro (University of Coimbra), Mirjam Wajsberg (Radboud University), Johan Wets (KU Leuven)

Many of the most prevalent and devastating human and animal pathogens have part of their lifecycle out-with the animal host. These pathogens have a remarkably wide capacity to adapt to a range of quite different environments: physical, chemical and biological, which is part of the key to their success. Many of the well-known pathogens that are able to jump between hosts in different biological kingdoms are transmitted through the faecal-oral and direct transmission pathways, and as such have become important food-borne pathogens. Some high-profile examples include fresh produce-associated outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica. Other pathogens may be transmitted via direct contact or aerosols are include important zoonotic pathogens. It is possible to make a broad division between those pathogens that are passively transmitted via vectors and need the animal host for replication (e.g. virus and parasites), and those that are able to actively interact with alternative hosts, where they can proliferate (e.g. the enteric bacteria). This research topic will focus on plants as alternative hosts for human pathogens, and the role of plants in their transmission back to humans. The area is particularly exciting because it opens up new aspects to the biology of some microbes already considered to be very well characterised. One aspect of cross-kingdom host colonisation is in the comparison between the hosts and how the microbes are able to use both common and specific adaptations for each situation. The area is still in relative infancy and there are far more questions than answers at present. We aim to address important questions underlying the interactions for both the microbe and plant host in this research topic.

In this comprehensive open access book, written for readers from any or no religious background, Leena El-Ali does something remarkable. Never before has anyone taken on every last claim relating to Islam and women and countered it not just with Qur’anic evidence to the contrary, but with easy-to-use tools available to all. How can a woman’s testimony be worth half of a man’s? How can men divorce their wives unilaterally by uttering three words? And what’s with the obsession with virgins in Paradise? Find the chapter on any of the seventeen topics in this book, and you will quickly learn a) where the myth came from and b) how to bust it. The methodology pursued is simple. First, the Qur’an is given priority over all other literary or “scriptural” sources. Second, the meaning of its verses in the original Arabic is highlighted, in contrast to English translations and/or widespread misunderstanding or misinterpretation.

Mounting evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship between metabolism and inflammation. Molecular crosstalk between these processes occurs at different levels with the participation of nuclear receptors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). There are three PPAR isotypes, α, β/δ, and γ, which modulate metabolic and inflammatory pathways, making them key for the control of cellular, organ, and systemic processes. PPAR activity is governed by fatty acids and fatty acid derivatives, and by drugs used in clinics (glitazones and fibrates). The study of PPAR action, also modulated by post-translational modifications, has enabled extraordinary advances in the understanding of the multifaceted roles of these receptors in metabolism, energy homeostasis, and inflammation both in health and disease. This Special Issue of IJMS includes a broad range of basic and translational article, both original research and reviews, focused on the latest developments in the regulation of metabolic and/or inflammatory processes by PPARs in all organs and the microbiomes of different vertebrate species.

"This book is focused on the street-naming politics, policies and practices that have been shaping and reshaping the semantic, textual and visual environments of urban Africa and Israel. Its chapters expand on prominent issues, such as the importance of extra-formal processes, naming reception and unofficial toponymies, naming decolonisation, place attachment, place-making and the materiality of street signage. By this, the book directly contributes to the mainstreaming of Africa’s toponymic cultures in recent critical place-names studies. Unconventionally and experimentally, comparative glimpses are made throughout between toponymic experiences of African and Israeli cities, exploring pioneering issues in the overwhelmingly Eurocentric research tradition. The latter tends to be concentrated on Europe and North America, to focus on nationalistic ideologies and regime change and to over-rely on top-down ‘mere’ mapping and street indexing. This volume is also unique in incorporating a rich and stimulating variety of visual evidence from a wide range of African and Israeli cities. The materiality of street signage signifies the profound and powerful connections between structured politics, current mundane practices, historical traditions and subaltern cultures. Street-Naming Cultures in Africa and Israel is an important contribution to urban studies, toponymic research and African studies for scholars and students. "

Natura is a polysemic Latin word that has accompanied the historical development of the West for centuries, spreading around much of the globe with colonialism and imperialism. It has been adopted in numerous languages. Our relationship with nature has become a highly charged issue at least since the "ecological turn" around 1970. It is as much about the relationship of humans to the environment as it is about the relationship of humans to each other. In the course of these debates, research has intensified in various disciplines: history, anthropology, philosophy, literature, ecology, etc. The nine contributions gathered in this volume deal with the dimension of perception and its long-term development from the Middle Ages to the present time. They trace in detail how images of nature were adopted, modified, and transmitted for specific purposes in specific situations. The introduction to the volume provides an overview and brings the contributions together.

Le programme de travail qui aboutit à ce livre s’inscrit dans le cadre du réseau d’excellence européen Ramses2, initié par la Maison méditerranéenne des sciences de l’homme. Une demi-douzaine de tables rondes ont réuni entre 2006 et 2008, d’un bout à l’autre de la Méditerranée (à Empúries, Aix-en-Provence, Palerme, Naples, Athènes), quelque soixante-dix chercheurs essentiellement français, italiens et espagnols, mais aussi anglais, grecs, bulgares, roumains, canadiens et russes. Il s’agissait d’étudier les rapports d’acculturation entre colons grecs et populations indigènes, en tenant compte des différences géographiques et chronologiques mais aussi de l’historiographie et des habitudes de recherche des diverses institutions. Les nombreuses communications qui ont jalonné les six tables rondes sont ici la plupart du temps précédées de textes introductifs. Une première partie, consacrée aux approches régionales, permet d’illustrer l’état de la recherche dans quelques régions choisies (autour d’Empuries, d’Himère, de Marseille, de Vélia, en Thrace et en mer Noire). La seconde partie, thématique, aborde un certain nombre de thèmes de recherche dans les régions précédentes, mais aussi dans d’autres régions du monde de la colonisation grecque. Le point de vue adopté dans ce livre est d’abord celui de la culture matérielle ; l’approche en est essentiellement archéologique. On se demandera par exemple quels sont les indices archéologiques qui permettent de dire si un site est habité par des Grecs, par des indigènes ou par une population “mixte”, et comment ces indices ont été appréciés selon les périodes et selon les régions. Beaucoup de communications présentent des synthèses régionales ou thématiques, mais une large place est faite également à des sites inédits, pour lesquels on n’a pas hésité à livrer une abondante documentation (plans, matériel de fouille). C’est en effet par le renouvellement de la documentation archéologique que nous pouvons espérer avancer dans la compréhension des rapports d’acculturation entre les colons grecs et les populations locales.

"Stitched together over five years of journaling, Obiter Dicta is a commonplace book of freewheeling explorations representing the transcription of a dozen notebooks, since painstakingly reimagined for publication. Organized after Theodor Adorno’s Minima Moralia, this unschooled exercise in aesthetic thought—gleefully dilettantish, oftentimes dangerously close to the epigrammatic—interrogates an array of subject matter (although inescapably circling back to the curiously resemblant histories of Western visual art and instrumental music) through the lens of drive-by speculation. Erick Verran’s approach to philosophical inquiry follows the brute-force literary technique of Jacques Derrida to exhaustively favor the material grammar of a signifier over hand-me-down meaning, juxtaposing outer semblances with their buried systems and our etched-in-stone intuitions about color and illusion, shape and value, with lessons stolen from seemingly unrelatable disciplines. Interlarded with extracts of Ludwig Wittgenstein but also Wallace Stevens, Cormac McCarthy as well as Roland Barthes, this cache of incidental remarks eschews what’s granular for the biggest picture available, leaving below the hyper-specialized fields of academia for a bird’s-eye view of their crop circles. Obiter Dicta is an unapologetic experiment in intellectual dot-connecting that challenges much long-standing wisdom about everything from illuminated manuscripts to Minecraft and the evolution of European music with lyrical brevity; that is, before jumping to the next topic."

Find out an innovative exploration of online violence through this book, which is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between Bordeaux Montaigne University and the French National Police Service, within the “CyberNeTic” research project. It explores underlying cyberbullying practices and its violent mechanisms as it gets to the heart of communication and information sciences as well as cybercriminology. It can also provide a typology of over forty modes of operation. This approach offers a nuanced, multidisciplinary understanding of this modern scourge. Both academic and practical, this book focuses on a specific scientific definition of identified cyberbullying practices. Along with these online crime explorations, harrowing testimonial integrations and concrete examples presentations, it is in fact relying on the in-depth legal framework and providing scientific references that are essential for a better full apprehending of the issue. This book is a keen resource for all professionals confronted to digital violence or committed to create a safer online space.