Forging the nation as an imagined community

This article examines the ways in which young Canadians represent the ‘the War on Terror’ in their narratives. I explore how a hegemonic nationalist narrative enters into this representation in different ways and positions itself in a dynamic tension with the USA, at times eliding the difference and at times affirming it. I illustrate that these students do not simply tell the narrative of the war, but use the deixis of ‘we/us/our’ or ‘them/they/their’ in a way that constructs multiple imagined communities. I argue that these presumably benign representations of Canadian involvement in the war produce banal nationalism that excludes ‘others’, and binds human imagination into a framework that works against critical thinking.     

Privatization in Bangladesh: The Emergence of ‘Family Capitalism’

The programme of state enterprise privatization pursued by the government of Bangladesh since 1975, largely under the influence and financial conditions of the aid agencies, has been subject to widespread debate. In 1991, at the suggestion of the World Bank, the government of Bangladesh formed the Privatization Board to ensure better outcomes of privatization. This article investigates whether firms privatized under the auspices of the Privatization Board up to 1996 were adding to the nation's economic growth or — as critics claimed — to individual families’ pockets. More specifically, it examines whether enterprises privatized in 1991–6 reversed previous losses and introduced better management controls, leading to increased investment, productivity, and overall organizational effectiveness and efficiency. The major findings are not supportive of privatization policy, indicating that the performance of privatized enterprises has not improved significantly. Without denying the economic problems of Bangladesh's public enterprises, past and present, this article questions the performance of privatized companies in terms of their declining profitability and productivity; employment conditions and trade union and individual rights; altered distributions of value added in absolute and relative terms; and serious lack of financial transparency and accountability.     

Shiʻi Piety and Dynastic Legitimacy: Mashhad under the Early Safavid Shahs

Mashhad, the site in northeastern Iran of the shrine of the eighth Shi?i imam, is arguably one of the largest and wealthiest sacred shrines in the world. The gilded dome over the imam's mausoleum stands amidst an expansive complex of courts, monumental gateways, libraries, museums, guesthouses, and administrative offices that cater to thousands of pilgrims each year. This paper examines the period, under the aegis of the early Safavid shahs, when Mashhad was established as the preeminent Shi?i pilgrimage center in Iran. Appropriating the Timurid ecumenical vision for the shrine, the Safavid shahs refashioned the holy city into a site that celebrated the triumph of Twelver Shi?ism in the Safavid realm and reinforced Safavid claims of legitimacy. While highlighting Shah Tahmasb's personal devotion to Mashhad, and his privileging of the shrine within Safavid sacred topography, the paper focuses on Shah ?Abbas's urban reshaping of Mashhad and the architectural and institutional expansion of the shrine during his reign, thereby enhancing its status as the leading spiritual center in the Safavid empire.     

Seismic Performance Assessment of Non-Compliant SMRF-Reinforced Concrete Frame: Shake-Table Test Study

Seismic performance assessment is carried out for reinforced concrete structure built in low-strength concrete lacking confining ties in beam-column joint. Shake-table tests were performed on 1/3rd scaled two-story frame using design-spectrum-compatible accelerogram, scaled to various target levels. The frame is observed with beam longitudinal bar slip and pullout. Joints with no confining ties experienced extensive damage, observed with cover/core concrete spalling. The frame could resist 70% of the design ground motion to remain within the code-specified drift limit. The code requirement for minimum column depth will not avoid joint damageability in case of low-strength concrete and joints lacking confining ties.     

The Discourse of Fear: Effects of the War on Terror on Canadian University Students

This multimethod study is based on written narratives, demographic questionnaires, and interviews. I examine data collected from 99 students of a Canadian university to explore how the War on Terror has affected them. The findings are divided into four categories. The first category of the respondents is mute about the war’s effects. The second shows a disjuncture between the respondents’ lives and the war. The third reflects the effects on the Canadian soldiers’ friends or relatives, and the final represents those who do not have personal connections to the war but feel deeply affected by it. The discourse of fear appears as the most prominent effect in the narratives of the respondents. The basic themes that emerged from the discourse of fear (racism, Islamophobia, and social control) are then developed and discussed as they pertain to the respondents. The findings have many implications for both researchers and educators.