Capitalizing on Desire: Reconfiguring ‘the Social’ and the Government of Poverty in the Philippines

Tracing the contours of ‘the social’ is of critical importance today, since there is a widely shared understanding that ‘the social’ has been undergoing a fundamental mutation under the encroaching influence of globalization and neoliberalism. This mutation means that a population and its risks are increasingly administered and managed through the nurturing of free subjects, productive citizens and active communities. By focusing on conditional cash transfers as a poverty‐alleviation programme in the Philippines, this study examines how the contemporary government of poverty attempts to realize social inclusion through the nurturing of desires, habits and dispositions that are conducive to an ‘investment in human capital’. The study argues that such regimes produce various forms of exclusion and counterclaims by the beneficiaries, and that these counterclaims, which reflect the popular notions of patronage and clientelism, have serious implications for envisioning the alternative configuration of ‘the social’.     

SPACE,TRUST, AND COMMUNAL ACTION: RESULTS FROM FIELD EXPERIMENTS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA*

ABSTRACT This paper examines the spatial dimensions of trust in two Southeast Asian cities using data from both household surveys and field experiments conducted in low‐income communities. The results suggest that space and location are important to understanding communal action and trust in developing countries. Not surprisingly, space matters in different ways depending on culture, history and the political‐economy of a particular country or city.     

Reconnaissance Report on Damage of Bridges in 2008 Wenchuan,China, Earthquake

This is a reconnaissance report on the damage to bridges during the 2008 Wenchuan, China, earthquake. Site investigation was conducted by the authors on August 10–14, 2008. Presented is a detailed discussion of the damage to 12 bridges as well as possible damage mechanisms. Characteristics of two near-field ground accelerations and Chinese seismic bridge design practices are also presented. An investigation of the damage finds insufficient intensity of seismic design force, inadequate structural detailing for enhancing the ductility capacity, and an absence of unseating prevention devices.     

The aging of international migrants and strategic transnational practice in later life: Exploring Portuguese seniors in Toronto,Canada

The Portuguese community in Toronto is the largest in North America; however, its immigrant population is now aging. This paper addresses senior immigrants who had a transnational “later life” and discusses this practice in the transatlantic context, using a lifecycle model of transnational migration. Later life is a life stage that is highly feasible for transnational migration, as seniors are mostly disentangled from various obligations, such as work, child rearing, and caregiving for parents. Transnational senior migrants in Europe and North America can be categorized into four groups: Intra-Europe Rich, Intra-Europe Immigrant, North American Snowbird, and Trans-Atlantic Immigrant. Trans-Atlantic Immigrant seniors, the target group of this paper, differ from the other groups on several points, including seasonal preference for transnational migration, motivations, and legal regulations. The paper considers the questions of why senior Portuguese immigrants choose to stay in Portugal for an extended period each year, while mainly living in Canada, and how their later life is structured between the two countries. Transnational later life is a strategic practice of senior Portuguese immigrants in Canada in the last stage of their lifecycle, allowing them to maximize government pension payments while simultaneously enjoying the highest quality of life possible in both countries.