Conner Smith - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Conner Smith
In order to support improvements in collective public health and reduce emissions and waste from ... more In order to support improvements in collective public health and reduce emissions and waste from the combustion of both traditional biomass and natural gas derivatives in the boiling of water, the government of Maharashtra and MEDA should incentivize the production and distribution of small-scale passive solar water purification technologies. As India's economy continues to gain momentum in the global arena, it is paramount that MEDA considers both basic and applied research on renewable energy alternatives to promote energy security.
Rife in today's media landscape are diatribes of the 'evils of Islam,' the encroaching tentacles ... more Rife in today's media landscape are diatribes of the 'evils of Islam,' the encroaching tentacles of terror, and the retaliatory war against this abstract enemy. Readers are steeped in an environment of fear, generalizations, and taken-for-granted assumptions about the essence of culture, spirituality, and identity. These assumptions are detained, displayed, and deployed to shape popular worldviews and fit like pegs into normalized understandings of difference. Mahmood Mamdani coins this practice " Culture Talk, " criticizing limited perspectives and the tendency to draw maps and distil geopolitical complexity down to a " clash of civilizations. " Analyzing the current conflict between Buddhist nationalists and the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar contests arguments casting certain spiritual systems as inherently prone to terrorism (i.e. Islam). This process reveals deeper linkages between secular and spiritual currents of a nation and the role of the state in promoting communal violence as a means of hegemony. Vice News' " Human Rights Abuses Rampant in Myanmar while Fair Elections Remain Elusive, " demonstrates the limitations of mainstream media representations where complex issues are simplified and tweaked to serve specific agendas and audiences. Linking partial perspectives, a critical interpretation of this representation of the Myanmar proxy-war (and wider discourses on 'Muslim threat') demonstrates how the state mobilizes terrorism and identity politics to build an exclusive national identity rooted in homogenous spiritual 'tradition.' It also begins the move away from the article's linear view of world history playing out within bounded spaces and towards a more flexible understanding of the interconnections between 'separate spheres.'
Approximately 748 million people around the world are without access to an “improved source” of w... more Approximately 748 million people around the world are without access to an “improved source” of water and there are millions more with vulnerable access (WWDR, 2015). Nicaragua, ranking as the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, suffers from limited access to water and sanitation where 800,000 people are without access to safe water, and 2 million without access to adequate sanitation (Water Aid, 2015). The people of the Autonomous Southern and Northern regions of the Caribbean Coast are more at risk than other parts of the country due to limited public infrastructure and high levels of contamination. It is estimated that only 18% and 20% of people have access to acceptable water and sanitation respectively (WaterAid, 2014). blueEnergy has been dedicated to working with communities to promote resilience and enact participatory approaches to sustainability since the early 2000s. Working at the nexus of climate change, renewable energy, and WASH, a large portion of this work is dedicated to facilitating the improvement of access to basic water and sanitation needs. Following the successful installations of almost 1,000 biosand water filters in dozens of communities, this report explores how this approach and the technological principles can be adapted to meet the needs at an institutional level.
Situated in the center of Mumbai, Dharavi is Asia’s second largest slum. It dates back to the 180... more Situated in the center of Mumbai, Dharavi is Asia’s second largest slum. It dates back to the 1800’s and is home to an estimated official population of 1 million people, but the actual population s estimated to be much higher. The area occupied by this settlement is 1.73 square kilometers, yielding a population density at least ten times higher than the Mumbai average. Dharavi is a legitimate city within a city and boasts an economic output of more than $650 million per year. The study consisted of distributing surveys to roughly 50 households (around 250 people) around Dharavi, interviewing several individuals from a variety of backgrounds, and speaking with small business owners about their patterns of consumption and needs. Based on the responses to 30 of these surveys and the information garnered from several rounds of interviews, estimations measuring power and water consumption were formulated and basic calculations were made to attempt to quantify some of the benefits of a project such as this. The goals can be summarized as seeking a nexus between CSR organizers, corporates, small companies, Dharavi residents, and government representatives to work together in bringing a sustainable solution to issues of water and power scarcity in several areas within and beyond Mumbai.
Considered a success story in transboundary water cooperation, the Mekong River Basin is a site o... more Considered a success story in transboundary water cooperation, the Mekong River Basin is a site of evolving and heterogeneous power relationships. The term “Integrated Water Resources Management” (IWRM) is often used in conjunction with themes of “sustainable development” to push a participatory approach river basin management. Inclusive and universal in theory, the practical applications of this approach require value judgments and trade-offs that are influenced by the asymmetrical developmental demands of riparian states. Differing colonial and developmental histories, methods of valuation, and institutional capacities are often overlooked in order to strengthening international cooperation. Lacking the legal capacity to enforce many of these cooperative “guidelines” (1), “integration” in the Mekong Basin often takes the shape of “soft cooperation.”
Drafts by Conner Smith
Arnold Harberger famously asserts that market forces “are like the wind and the tides. If you wan... more Arnold Harberger famously asserts that market forces “are like the wind and the tides. If you want to try to ignore them, you ignore them at your peril,” (Harberger, 2002). Since winds and tides require the forces of the sun and moon to regulate and drive them, markets too must be manipulated by external forces. Early economists caught glimpses of complex economic relationships and the forces that structure them. Selective readings of The Wealth of Nations expose contradictions between the natural and all-encompassing image of market constructed by the Chicago school and its simultaneous disregard for complex interrelationships between market, state, and society Smith recognizes (Rothschild, 1994). This analysis will explore these contradictions in neoclassical thought in relation to themes of U.S. hegemony, past and present, in practices of energy extraction and understandings climate change. It will trace emergent trends in Cuba as possible examples of ‘de-growth’ and evidence in favor of complexity theory as a more effective analytical framework for the economy and its role as part of a dynamic whole.
In order to support improvements in collective public health and reduce emissions and waste from ... more In order to support improvements in collective public health and reduce emissions and waste from the combustion of both traditional biomass and natural gas derivatives in the boiling of water, the government of Maharashtra and MEDA should incentivize the production and distribution of small-scale passive solar water purification technologies. As India's economy continues to gain momentum in the global arena, it is paramount that MEDA considers both basic and applied research on renewable energy alternatives to promote energy security.
Rife in today's media landscape are diatribes of the 'evils of Islam,' the encroaching tentacles ... more Rife in today's media landscape are diatribes of the 'evils of Islam,' the encroaching tentacles of terror, and the retaliatory war against this abstract enemy. Readers are steeped in an environment of fear, generalizations, and taken-for-granted assumptions about the essence of culture, spirituality, and identity. These assumptions are detained, displayed, and deployed to shape popular worldviews and fit like pegs into normalized understandings of difference. Mahmood Mamdani coins this practice " Culture Talk, " criticizing limited perspectives and the tendency to draw maps and distil geopolitical complexity down to a " clash of civilizations. " Analyzing the current conflict between Buddhist nationalists and the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar contests arguments casting certain spiritual systems as inherently prone to terrorism (i.e. Islam). This process reveals deeper linkages between secular and spiritual currents of a nation and the role of the state in promoting communal violence as a means of hegemony. Vice News' " Human Rights Abuses Rampant in Myanmar while Fair Elections Remain Elusive, " demonstrates the limitations of mainstream media representations where complex issues are simplified and tweaked to serve specific agendas and audiences. Linking partial perspectives, a critical interpretation of this representation of the Myanmar proxy-war (and wider discourses on 'Muslim threat') demonstrates how the state mobilizes terrorism and identity politics to build an exclusive national identity rooted in homogenous spiritual 'tradition.' It also begins the move away from the article's linear view of world history playing out within bounded spaces and towards a more flexible understanding of the interconnections between 'separate spheres.'
Approximately 748 million people around the world are without access to an “improved source” of w... more Approximately 748 million people around the world are without access to an “improved source” of water and there are millions more with vulnerable access (WWDR, 2015). Nicaragua, ranking as the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, suffers from limited access to water and sanitation where 800,000 people are without access to safe water, and 2 million without access to adequate sanitation (Water Aid, 2015). The people of the Autonomous Southern and Northern regions of the Caribbean Coast are more at risk than other parts of the country due to limited public infrastructure and high levels of contamination. It is estimated that only 18% and 20% of people have access to acceptable water and sanitation respectively (WaterAid, 2014). blueEnergy has been dedicated to working with communities to promote resilience and enact participatory approaches to sustainability since the early 2000s. Working at the nexus of climate change, renewable energy, and WASH, a large portion of this work is dedicated to facilitating the improvement of access to basic water and sanitation needs. Following the successful installations of almost 1,000 biosand water filters in dozens of communities, this report explores how this approach and the technological principles can be adapted to meet the needs at an institutional level.
Situated in the center of Mumbai, Dharavi is Asia’s second largest slum. It dates back to the 180... more Situated in the center of Mumbai, Dharavi is Asia’s second largest slum. It dates back to the 1800’s and is home to an estimated official population of 1 million people, but the actual population s estimated to be much higher. The area occupied by this settlement is 1.73 square kilometers, yielding a population density at least ten times higher than the Mumbai average. Dharavi is a legitimate city within a city and boasts an economic output of more than $650 million per year. The study consisted of distributing surveys to roughly 50 households (around 250 people) around Dharavi, interviewing several individuals from a variety of backgrounds, and speaking with small business owners about their patterns of consumption and needs. Based on the responses to 30 of these surveys and the information garnered from several rounds of interviews, estimations measuring power and water consumption were formulated and basic calculations were made to attempt to quantify some of the benefits of a project such as this. The goals can be summarized as seeking a nexus between CSR organizers, corporates, small companies, Dharavi residents, and government representatives to work together in bringing a sustainable solution to issues of water and power scarcity in several areas within and beyond Mumbai.
Considered a success story in transboundary water cooperation, the Mekong River Basin is a site o... more Considered a success story in transboundary water cooperation, the Mekong River Basin is a site of evolving and heterogeneous power relationships. The term “Integrated Water Resources Management” (IWRM) is often used in conjunction with themes of “sustainable development” to push a participatory approach river basin management. Inclusive and universal in theory, the practical applications of this approach require value judgments and trade-offs that are influenced by the asymmetrical developmental demands of riparian states. Differing colonial and developmental histories, methods of valuation, and institutional capacities are often overlooked in order to strengthening international cooperation. Lacking the legal capacity to enforce many of these cooperative “guidelines” (1), “integration” in the Mekong Basin often takes the shape of “soft cooperation.”
Arnold Harberger famously asserts that market forces “are like the wind and the tides. If you wan... more Arnold Harberger famously asserts that market forces “are like the wind and the tides. If you want to try to ignore them, you ignore them at your peril,” (Harberger, 2002). Since winds and tides require the forces of the sun and moon to regulate and drive them, markets too must be manipulated by external forces. Early economists caught glimpses of complex economic relationships and the forces that structure them. Selective readings of The Wealth of Nations expose contradictions between the natural and all-encompassing image of market constructed by the Chicago school and its simultaneous disregard for complex interrelationships between market, state, and society Smith recognizes (Rothschild, 1994). This analysis will explore these contradictions in neoclassical thought in relation to themes of U.S. hegemony, past and present, in practices of energy extraction and understandings climate change. It will trace emergent trends in Cuba as possible examples of ‘de-growth’ and evidence in favor of complexity theory as a more effective analytical framework for the economy and its role as part of a dynamic whole.