Download or read book Practising Interdisciplinarity written by Nico Stehr and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First-hand insights into the operations and successes of some of the world's foremost interdisciplinary research centres and the ways in which interdisciplinarity is researched, organized, and taught around the world.
Download or read book Food Security and Global Environmental Change written by John Ingram and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-07-26 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global environmental change (GEC) represents an immediate and unprecedented threat to the food security of hundreds of millions of people, especially those who depend on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods. As this book shows, at the same time, agriculture and related activities also contribute to GEC by, for example, intensifying greenhouse gas emissions and altering the land surface. Responses aimed at adapting to GEC may have negative consequences for food security, just as measures taken to increase food security may exacerbate GEC. The authors show that this complex and dynamic relationship between GEC and food security is also influenced by additional factors; food systems are heavily influenced by socioeconomic conditions, which in turn are affected by multiple processes such as macro-level economic policies, political conflicts and other important drivers. The book provides a major, accessible synthesis of the current state of knowledge and thinking on the relationships between GEC and food security. Most other books addressing the subject concentrate on the links between climate change and agricultural production, and do not extend to an analysis of the wider food system which underpins food security; this book addresses the broader issues, based on a novel food system concept and stressing the need for actions at a regional, rather than just an international or local, level. It reviews new thinking which has emerged over the last decade, analyses research methods for stakeholder engagement and for undertaking studies at the regional level, and looks forward by reviewing a number of emerging 'hot topics' in the food security-GEC debate which help set new agendas for the research community at large. Published with Earth System Science Partnership, GECAFS and SCOPE
Download or read book Island Rivers written by John R. Wagner and published by ANU Press. This book was released on 2018-06-19 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anthropologists have written a great deal about the coastal adaptations and seafaring traditions of Pacific Islanders, but have had much less to say about the significance of rivers for Pacific island culture, livelihood and identity. The authors of this collection seek to fill that gap in the ethnographic record by drawing attention to the deep historical attachments of island communities to rivers, and the ways in which those attachments are changing in response to various forms of economic development and social change. In addition to making a unique contribution to Pacific island ethnography, the authors of this volume speak to a global set of issues of immense importance to a world in which water scarcity, conflict, pollution and the degradation of riparian environments afflict growing numbers of people. Several authors take a political ecology approach to their topic, but the emphasis here is less on hydro-politics than on the cultural meaning of rivers to the communities we describe. How has the cultural significance of rivers shifted as a result of colonisation, development and nation-building? How do people whose identities are fundamentally rooted in their relationship to a particular river renegotiate that relationship when the river is dammed to generate hydro-power or polluted by mining activities? How do blockages in the flow of rivers and underground springs interrupt the intergenerational transmission of local ecological knowledge and hence the ability of local communities to construct collective identities rooted in a sense of place?
Download or read book Food written by Warren Belasco and published by Berg. This book was released on 2008-10-15 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Food: The Key Concepts presents an exciting, coherent and interdisciplinary introduction to food studies for the beginning reader. Food Studies is an increasingly complex field, drawing on disciplines as diverse as Sociology, Anthropology and Cultural Studies at one end and Economics, Politics and Agricultural Science at the other. In order to clarify the issues, Food: The Key Concepts distills food choices down to three competing considerations: consumer identity; matters of convenience and price; and an awareness of the consequences of what is consumed. The book concludes with an examination of two very different future scenarios for feeding the world's population: the technological fix, which looks to science to provide the solution to our future food needs; and the anthropological fix, which hopes to change our expectations and behaviors. Throughout, the analysis is illustrated with lively case studies. Bulleted chapter summaries, questions and guides to further reading are also provided."--P. [4] of cover.
Download or read book Mapping Vulnerability written by Greg Bankoff and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Raging floods, massive storms and cataclysmic earthquakes: every year up to 340 million people are affected by these and other disasters, which cause loss of life and damage to personal property, agriculture, and infrastructure. So what can be done? The key to understanding the causes of disasters and mitigating their impacts is the concept of 'vulnerability'. Mapping Vulnerability analyses 'vulnerability' as a concept central to the way we understand disasters and their magnitude and impact. Written and edited by a distinguished group of disaster scholars and practitioners, this book is a counterbalance to those technocratic approaches that limit themselves to simply looking at disasters as natural phenomena. Through the notion of vulnerability, the authors stress the importance of social processes and human-environmental interactions as causal agents in the making of disasters. They critically examine what renders communities unsafe - a condition, they argue, that depends primarily on the relative position of advantage or disadvantage that a particular group occupies within a society's social order. The book also looks at vulnerability in terms of its relationship to development and its impact on policy and people's lives, through consideration of selected case studies drawn from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Mapping Vulnerability is essential reading for academics, students, policymakers and practitioners in disaster studies, geography, development studies, economics, environmental studies and sociology.
Download or read book Social Vulnerability to Disasters written by Deborah S.K. Thomas and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2013-05-09 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With chapters that incorporate additional perspectives on social vulnerability, this second edition focuses on the social construction of disasters, demonstrating how the characteristics of an event are not the only reason that tragedies unfurl. It incorporates disaster case studies to illustrate concepts, relevant and seminal literature, and the most recent data available. In addition to highlighting the U.S. context, it integrates a global approach and includes numerous international case studies. The book highlights recent policy changes and current disaster management approaches and infuses the concept of community resilience and building capacity throughout the text.
Download or read book Social Vulnerability and Climate Change written by Kathy Lynn and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-14 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The effects of climate change are expected to be more severe for some segments of society than others because of geographic location, the degree of association with climate-sensitive environments, and unique cultural, economic, or political characteristics of particular landscapes and human populations. Social vulnerability and equity in the context of climate change are important because some populations may have less capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related hazards and effects. Such populations may be disproportionately affected by climate change. This synthesis of literature illustrates information about the socioeconomic, political, health, and cultural effects of climate change on socially vulnerable populations in the United States, with some additional examples in Canada. Through this synthesis, social vulnerability, equity, and climate justice are defined and described, and key issues, themes, and considerations that pertain to the effects of climate change on socially vulnerable populations are identified. The synthesis reviews what available science says about social vulnerability and climate change, and documents the emergence of issues not currently addressed in academic literature. In so doing, the synthesis identifies knowledge gaps and questions for future research.
Download or read book Confronting Catastrophe written by David E. Alexander and published by Terra Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey and analysis of natural disasters - volcanoes, floods, landslides, hurricanes, etc.-in terms of new concepts and approaches.
Download or read book Japanese Images of Nature written by Pamela J. Asquith and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 1997 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Documents the great diversity in how people perceive their natural environment and how they come to terms with nature, be it through brute force, rituals or idealization. The main message of the book is that 'nature' and the 'natural' are concepts very much conditioned by their context.
Download or read book Unwrapping Japan written by Eyal Ben-Ari and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-10-18 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent years have witnessed an explosive growth in the literature published about Japan. Yet it seems that the more that is written about Japan and Japanism – its culture, society, people – the more mysterious it becomes. As well as exploring issues relating to advertising, tourism, women, festivals and the art world, the book depicts how the study of Japanese society contributes to anthropological theory and understanding. The editors use the term ‘unwrapping’ to provide insights into Japanese culture and relate these insights to broader problems and questions prevalent in contemporary anthropological discourse. The issues explored include the contribution of applied anthropology to theory; the relationship between tourism and nostalgia; the interplay of marginality and belonging; the role of advertising in gender relations; status in the art world and the place of Japanese genres of writing within anthropology texts.
Download or read book World Bank Annual Report written by World Bank and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Budo Perspectives written by Alexander Bennett and published by . This book was released on 2014-11-12 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bud is one of Japan's most significant contributions to the world's athletic heritage. In fact, I consider bud to be Japan's most successful cultural export. Wherever you go in the world, even in the remotest towns of the farthest countries, there is a high probability that there will be a 'd j ' of some sort in the community. In that d j you will find the local people barefooted, dressed in Japanese d -gi, obeying commands in the Japanese language, bowing the Japanese way, and more often than not, there will be a Japanese flag or a picture of some great Japanese master from the past occupying a prominent part of the d j . Interestingly, probably not one of the members will have ever been to Japan, and contact with Japanese people will be limited. There will always be some idiosyncrasies in the way training is conducted stemming from the fact that it is not actually Japan, and there are many aspects which have to be adapted to suit that particular social milieu.
Download or read book Home and Family in Japan written by Richard Ronald and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-04 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Japanese language the word ‘ie’ denotes both the materiality of homes and family relations within. The traditional family and family house - often portrayed in ideal terms as key foundations of Japanese culture and society - have been subject to significant changes in recent years. This book comprehensively addresses various aspects of family life and dwelling spaces, exploring how homes, household patterns and kin relations are reacting to contemporary social, economic and urban transformations, and the degree to which traditional patterns of both houses and households are changing. The book contextualises the shift from the hegemonic post-war image of standard family life, to the nuclear family and to a situation now where Japanese homes are more likely to include unmarried singles; childless couples; divorcees; unmarried adult children and elderly relatives either living alone or in nursing homes. It discusses how these new patterns are both reinforcing and challenging typical understandings of Japanese family life.
Download or read book Wearing Cultural Styles in Japan written by Christopher S. Thompson and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking collection examines the regional dynamics of state societies, looking at how people use the concepts of urban and rural, traditional and modern, and industrial and agricultural to define their existence and the experience of living in contemporary Japanese society. The book focuses on the Tohoku (Northeast) region, which many Japanese consider rural, agrarian, undeveloped economically, and the epitome of the traditional way of life. While this stereotype overstates the case—the region is home to one of Japan's largest cities—most Japanese contrast Tohoku (everything traditional) with Tokyo (everything modern). However, the contributors show how various regional phenomena—internationalization, lacquerware production, farming, enka (modern Japanese ballads), women's roles, and professional dance —combine the traditional, the modern, and the global. Wearing Cultural Styles in Japan demonstrates that while people use the dichotomies of urban/rural and traditional/modern in order to define their experiences, these categories are no longer useful in analyzing contemporary Japan.
Download or read book Sustainability in Contemporary Rural Japan written by Stephanie Assmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-22 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rural communities in Japan have suffered from significant depopulation and economic downturn in post-war years. Low birth rates, aging populations, agricultural decline and youth migration to large cities have been compounded by the triple disaster of 11 March 2011, which destroyed farming and fishing communities and left thousands of people homeless. This book identifies these challenges and acknowledges that an era of post-growth has arrived in Japan. Through exploring new forms of regional employment, community empowerment, and reverse migration, the authors address potential opportunities and benefits that may help to create and ensure the quality of life in depopulating areas and post-disaster scenarios. This book will be of interest not only to students of Japanese society, but also to those outside of Japan who are seeking new approaches for tackling depopulation challenges.
Download or read book Small Type Coastal Whaling in Japan written by Tomoya Akimichi and published by Canadian Circumpolar Institute. This book was released on 1988 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes chapters on the history of whaling in Japan, uses of whale meat and social integration and whaling culture. Appendices include Japanese and English names for several whale species, whale meat in Japanese food culture, the impact of the whaling moratorium, etc.
Download or read book The Fishing Culture of the World written by Béla Gunda and published by Humanities Press International. This book was released on 1984 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
