Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

Making the Connections

As digitalized election campaigns are a new phenomenon, there are almost no studies defining the peculiarities of modern nationalist messages in online political communication. This article seeks to identify some communication patterns and recent innovations in delivering online nationalist messages. These patterns are regarded in conflation with nationalist and populist approaches by political leaders during their digital election campaigns. The literature review approach is chosen to explore the articulation of nationalist and populist messages during Donald Trump’s (The United States), and Jair Bolsonaro’s (Brazil) election campaigns. Overall, the study boils down to an analysis of the populist and nationalist signifiers in social media posts, and the degree to which their structures of meaning revolve around the vertical down/up or the horizontal in/out axis. As a result, some common traits of modern nationalist messages in online political communication are identified and future areas of research are proposed.

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Peculiarities of Modern Nationalist Messages in Online Political Communication: The Analyses of Donald Trump’s and Jair Bolsonaro’s Election Campaigns

Cities of India are undergoing a phase of tremendous change in their urban geography and development practices. With the neoliberal economic reforms introduced in the country in the early nineties, urban places, preferably large cities and towns, have been comparatively advantageous. They come out as forerunner in attracting investment, increasing attention to urban governance and importantly spatial transformation in relation to growth in sectors of urban economy. Since Indian economy has been passing through the neoliberalization, there seems a common concern that how urbanization is managed has implications for both economic efficiency and equity. This is equally witnessed by a growing interest among policy makers and planners towards better improvement of urban infrastructure, public utility services and urban poverty alleviation. However, rather than achieving holistic regeneration of urban places leading to decent livings, the spatial practices at work seem discontented.

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Urban Living and Discontented Regeneration of Cities: Reflections on Planning, Social Inclusion and Challenges in the Post-Neoliberal Reforms India

Objectives: This article argues that unless we understand the context in which we aim to build smart cities, we may fail to develop smart cities that are workable and sustainable. Prior work: there is a wealthy body of knowledge on the why, what and how of smart cities, however they do not address the actual needs of the citizens of every city. To make the smart cities solution frameworks work in different cities, we need to tailor these frameworks to the actual needs and constraints of the cities. Approach: To address this gap, this article proposes a contextual participatory approach and demonstrates how to use this approach to conduct smart city projects that address real-life problems and generate workable and sustainable solutions.This study explains why one size smart solution does not fit all citiesâ€™ problems and delivers a prompt guideline on how to uncover the actual needs of a city and to deliver feasible solutions that make the city smart(er). Results: To build smart cities we need to conceptualize the why, what, and how of smart city considering the actual needs of the citizens in a participatory manner. To get the citizens engaged in the building process of the smart city we need to get them in some real-life situations then expose them to well-constructed questions. Implications: this approach can be of value to researchers and practitioners who are seeking insights on the concept and practice of smart cities regardless of where they live. If employed correctly, this approach promises results, i.e. smarter cities. Value: It generates insightful and practical knowledge on the actual needs of the citizens and the workable and sustainable solutions. The smart cities built by this approach will bring more wealth, ease and happiness to the life of the citizens.

http://scrd.eu/index.php/scrd/article/download/27/23

Smart cities built by smart people: How to build Smart cities using a contextual participatory approach?

Dharamshala is home to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Its small-town journalism landscape is unique due to specific forms of community journalism practice adopted by Indian and Tibetan journalist...

Encroachers and victims: Framing of community dynamics by small-town journalists in Dharamshala, India:

City is not a new phenomenon. Civilizations like Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Indus valley had a rich culture of urban life. However, not more than ten per cent of population of these civilizations used to live in cities (Modelski, 1997). Cities were dependent of villages to meet their everyday needs. They were geographically small and less populated as compared to the Modern Cities. Urban life was not much different in the cities of these civilization than that of the cities of pre-industrialization. Industrialization first happened in 16th century in North-West Europe specifically in Britain and Denmark. Later on it spread to other part of Europe and America. By 20th century it spread its legs to the African and Asian continent in the form of colonization. New modes of social and economic life became evident in all part of the world and this marked the onset of new age called ‘modernization.’ Modernization redefined urban life and urbanization became a mandatory precondition to modernization. Urban-Rural relationship experienced a paradigm shift. New socio-politico environment put villages at back stage. Village resources were drained out to support urban life. A dependency of rural upon urban was created. As a result urbanization increased rapidly. At present there are such countries in the world where urbanization has reached to more than 90 per cent (Geoffrey, 2005). India has 31 percent of her population living in urban area with a growth rate of 2.3 per cent per year (Mani, 2016).

Smart City: A Failed Approach to Urban Regeneration for Indian Cities

‘Aftermath’ of the American presidential elections, streets in several cities of America rocked with the slogan “Not My President”. This sloganeering rose against a person who went into election (and won the same) with a campaign catchphrase ‘Make America Great Again’. The protesters termed his win ‘unusual’, ‘unexpected’ and ‘unconventional’ and feared the ways he would realize his dream of making America great again! Mr. Donald John Trump, a real estate mogul, businessman, pageant owner and a billionaire reality TV star is the new president of United States of America. Defeating all pollsters’ predictions, crushing the media agenda and undermining the popular votes, he surged to victory and set a new paradigm of the American character of presidential candidate. This article looks into his win with a deeper insight and meaning crossing beyond the Democrat and Republican Party politics.

Populism Finds the Way: Trump, Pollsters and the People's Choice

John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University is a classic work on university education which conceptualised university as a society in which the student absorbs the graces and accomplishments of a higher form of life. It is a place where the pursuit of truth and the active discussion of its meaning integrate into a wider culture, in which the ideal of the gentleman is acknowledged as the standard (Ker, 2011:19). 
This commentary appreciates the Newman’s idea of ‘University’ and is evolved with an analysis that how universities in India are ‘steered’ from outside and ‘managed’ internally to accept changes as per the political anticipation of the ruling parties. From the last five decades, after every general election, whenever there is a change in the government at central and state level, universities are the first to be affected by the ideology/policy-related ambitions of the political parties which forms the government. This trend is in fashion since old time and is not specific to India only. Even in Germany, when Hitler seized the political power, Frankfurt University was the first one targeted for ideological reasons, owing to which the liberal democratic minded professors and intellectuals were forced to leave Germany. This eventually benefited the UK and US universities not only in making their higher education more liberal with the help of these intellectuals but also enriching their scientific research and inventions in post world war period.

The Idea of a 'University': What It Should or Should Not Be!

The Tibetan government’s arrival at the horizon of democracy is viewed as another stone solidifying the foundation of Tibetan freedom movement. In 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama devolved all his political power and restricted himself to be the spiritual head only. In the wake of this development, in 2011, first direct elections were conducted for the post of Prime Minister and the Members of Parliament of Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Recently concluded elections in April-May 2016 were only second elections of this type. This short note looks into the governance structure and functioning of the Tibetan Government-in-exile and reviews the recently concluded Tibetan general elections with a view that how through these democratic political processes the exiled community has transplanted, institutionalized and democratized its government structures to establish a state-like polity in a stateless and territory-less exile. This study is based on field observation undertaken in Dharamshala. Interviews were conducted with Tibetan government officials, journalists and members of Tibetan electorate.

Sandeep Sharma

Papers

Encroachers and victims: Framing of community dynamics by small-town journalists in Dharamshala, India:

Smart City: A Failed Approach to Urban Regeneration for Indian Cities

Populism Finds the Way: Trump, Pollsters and the People's Choice

The Idea of a 'University': What It Should or Should Not Be!

Democracy for a Territoryless and Stateless Polity: The Elections of Tibetans-in-Exile