Centre for Urban Transitions

“Digital inclusion” is the ability to access, and benefit from, online opportunities. Decades of research on the digital divide has found that digital exclusion can result from lack of connectivity, as well as more complex factors including abilities, affordability and attitudes, or a combination of these (Helsper, 2008; Helsper, 2012; Van Deursen et al, 2017; Van Deursen & van Dijk, 2014; Van Dijk, 2005).

People living in remote regions have historically been more likely to face digital exclusion, due to a lack of internet access in these areas. The cost of building and maintaining telecommunications infrastructure for small populations based in isolated areas often rules out market-based solutions to this problem. In response, many governments have developed market design mechanisms that transfer some of the consumer surplus from one group into an implicit subsidy for another group, a practice known as Universal Service Provision (USP) or Universal Service Obligations (USO).

While the Malaysian government seems to have comprehensive USP policies and programs, some regions have partially or wholly missed out on communications infrastructure. New efforts by the State Government of Sarawak, in east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo, promise to address these gaps. In this report, we examine the prospects for digital inclusion in remote Sarawak, assessing both existing infrastructure needs and the potential social benefits of improved infrastructure.

The research presented in this report took place in 11 remote villages located along the Baram River (see Figure 1, page 5), a region characterised by a general lack of infrastructure and services, and with limited road, river, or air access. We found that internet adoption in this region is still very low: 64 per cent of people living in these communities were not accessing the internet, compared with 22 per cent of Malaysians overall (MCMC, 2016a). Given that connecting to the internet requires significant effort for people living in these villages (including, in some instances, travel to other locations), this result is unsurprising. However, even within this environment of scarce connectivity, many people were making the best of their circumstances, and using low-bandwidth applications to coordinate individual and group activities where possible.

Most of our study participants (82 per cent) owned a device such as a mobile phone or smartphone. People in villages without connectivity used their devices whenever they visited the city, or an area where access was possible. Many also used their device for offline activities when no internet was available. Younger participants, in particular, were able to creatively solve a range of challenges they experienced where internet connectivity was absent or unreliable; they were confident in their skills across a range of practices, and shared new practices with each other. Older participants struggled at times to use more sophisticated practices, but many emphasised the importance of ICTs for connecting with children and other family members. Participants identified a range of ways in which the presence and reliability of internet infrastructure would improve their lives, including economic and social development, as well as cultural maintenance.

Our research suggests the single most effective strategy for achieving digital inclusion in Sarawak is to provide remote villages with reliable, affordable, publicly accessible internet infrastructure.

The research underpinning this report involved a qualitative examination of the context of internet use in remote Sarawak, to better understand internet use in relation to other resources and capacities. Because the region where the research took place has not been included in national-level surveys, we also administered a face-to-face survey in 11 villages to generate basic data on internet access and use.

This research was conducted as part of the Cultural Enterprise Through Mobile Media Project, and took place between 2015 and 2017. The broader project aimed to ascertain whether the use of mobile media technologies and the internet can lead to sustainable cultural enterprise in remote villages in Sarawak. Because digital inclusion is a precondition of sustainable online enterprise, this report focuses primarily on how this inclusion might be achieved.

The photographic archive of the Sarawak Museum was established in the early 1950s in Sarawak, a Malaysian state under British colonial administration on the island of Borneo. Together with his staff, the curator Tom Harrisson documented the work of the museum through photographs taken in the various indigenous communities in the region. Over time, the archive developed into an extensive collection containing thousands of images. Before becoming the curator, Harrisson had been involved in a research project called Mass-Observation, which he and two other researchers launched in the late 1930s in order to investigate the views and habits of British citizens.
In this article, I draw parallels between Harrisson’s work at the Sarawak Museum and his previous projects. I explore the background of the photographs, including the ways in which the material differs from other contemporary collections, the theories and aims that informed its creation, the museum staff who created the images, and the communities they show. From 2010 to 2012, I circulated a number of photographs from the museum in these source communities, aiming to test if Harrisson’s methodological claims about potential uses of material he collected applied to the Sarawak Museum archive.

This article examines the role of embodied and performative knowledge in the museum environment, with a particular focus on ethnographic photographs. The study is based on the return of several hundred ethnographic photographs from the Sarawak Museum to Indigenous communities in rural Malaysia, where they had been taken by museum photographers from the early 1950s onwards. Aside from the oral narratives that emerged during the discussions and interviews, contextual knowledge was provided in embodied form. The return of the photographs to people in the source communities prompted the re-enactment of activities, re-telling of stories and production of cultural heritage to which the photographs referred. Such embodied knowledge, defined as knowledge preserved through performance and embodied activities, relates to the multi-vocal narratives about objects that museums are increasingly trying to include in their exhibitions. In this article I argue for a greater and more experimental use of sensory means to convey information about artifacts to museum audiences.

Oil palm plantations have radically altered the social, economic, and ecological environment of previously remote and forest-covered areas in Southeast Asia. The Baram and Tinjar river catchment in Sarawak, a state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo, is among the places affected by this process. The photos in this essay illustrate the disruption and upheaval caused by large-scale logging operations and conversion to oil palm, and document the material culture of the operations, the trucks, buildings and roads. Images of littered roadsides and transient settlements hint at the violence of dislocation obscured by the disconcerting atmosphere of control and order of the plantation landscape. At the same time, the images also show the resilience of the people and of the environment as well as the beauty and abundance of the region.

Our research suggests the single most effective strategy for achieving digital inclusion in Sarawak is to provide remote villages with reliable, affordable, publicly accessible internet infrastructure. The research underpinning this report involved a qualitative examination of the context of internet use in remote Sarawak, in order to better understand internet use in relation to other resources and capacities. Because the region where the research took place has not been included in national-level surveys, we also administered a face-to-face survey in 11 villages in order to generate basic data on internet access and use. This research was conducted as part of the Cultural Enterprise Through Mobile Media Project, and took place between 2015 and 2017. The broader project aimed to ascertain whether the use of mobile media technologies and the internet can lead to sustainable cultural enterprise in remote villages in Sarawak. Because digital inclusion is a precondition of sustainable ...

Initially figured as 'outside' the normal confines of fine art institutions, children's art has since been examined as a source of pure creativity and expression, free from the constraints of adult society. This chapter offers ways of analysing children's art that are attuned to the creative and complex ways child art is produced. Our analysis moves beyond developmental frameworks of childhood to argue that interpretations of children's art can provide insights into complex and emotionally charged experiences of children. Through analysing children's art created in the first year of the Interfaith Childhoods workshops, we argue that children construct detailed descriptions of the ways in which they see themselves and their environments, peers and community, making it possible to reconsider the agency we give to material expressions of the self made by children.

Initially figured as 'outside' the normal confines of fine art institutions, children's art has since been examined as a source of pure creativity and expression, free from the constraints of adult society. This chapter offers ways of analysing children's art that are attuned to the creative and complex ways child art is produced. Our analysis moves beyond developmental frameworks of childhood to argue that interpretations of children's art can provide insights into complex and emotionally charged experiences of children. Through analysing children's art created in the first year of the Interfaith Childhoods workshops, we argue that children construct detailed descriptions of the ways in which they see themselves and their environments, peers and community, making it possible to reconsider the agency we give to material expressions of the self made by children.

T he goal of this chapter is to assess and discuss research and knowledge concerning the significance of social and emotional learning (SEL) in educational practices. The chapter first discusses the nature of learning, which is inherently social, relational and affective. The concept and definitions of SEL are introduced to synthesize the debate around how social and emotional experiences interact with learning processes. Then the development of socio-emotional skills across the lifespan with regards to neurobiological, social, and cultural factors is discussed, highlighting the important role of assessment in bringing a disciplined focus to SEL in schools. Applied research that describes interventions, programmes and policies geared towards promoting SEL and that can inform educational practices is then presented. The chapter concludes by recommending that SEL practices and policies should be responsive to context and culture, be informed by neurobiological development, and take into account educators' social and emotional capacities. rebecca J. M. gotlieb

This article examines the role of embodied and performative knowledge in the museum environment, with a particular focus on ethnographic photographs. The study is based on the return of several hundred ethnographic photographs from the Sarawak Museum to Indigenous communities in rural Malaysia, where they had been taken by museum photographers from the early 1950s onwards. Aside from the oral narratives that emerged during the discussions and interviews, contextual knowledge was provided in embodied form. The return of the photographs to people in the source communities prompted the re-enactment of activities, re-telling of stories and production of cultural heritage to which the photographs referred. Such embodied knowledge, defined as knowledge preserved through performance and embodied activities, relates to the multi-vocal narratives about objects that museums are increasingly trying to include in their exhibitions. In this article I argue for a greater and more experimental use...

Digital devices and Information and Communications Technology or ICT play a prominent role in most people’s everyday lives, as the often unconscious, mostly unacknowledged entanglements between people, devices and infrastructure shape contemporary lives and co-determine activities and their outcomes. Communications technologies are particularly agentic for people who live in rural and remote parts of the world because they often lack easy access to goods and services that are ubiquitous in more urbanized areas. At the same time, access to ICTs in these areas is often tenuous because the maintenance of ICT infrastructure is not always economically viable. This paper examines emerging techno-lifeworlds in remote villages in Malaysia and their social, economic and political context through a new materialist lens.  I argue that the entanglements with digital technologies and the resulting diffractions can result in increased agency for those involved. At the same time as this new materi...

The sustainable tourism development agenda is widely criticised for being co-opted to serve continual economic growth, driving environmental devastation and social inequalities. In response, calls for a fundamental paradigm shift have become louder. Subsequently, a novel approach has emerged, regenerative tourism, which belongs to a long lineage of regenerative development approaches drawing from Western science and Indigenous perspectives, knowledge systems and practices. The paper develops a conceptual framework consisting of five design dimensions and seven practice principles based on practitioner consultations and an appraisal of the theoretical and practical dimensions of regenerative tourism. Consequently, the conceptual framework offers practical guidance for tourism stakeholders working towards regenerative futures. Arguably, this is the most comprehensive review of regenerative tourism to date and contributes to scholarship through its examination of the transformational potential of the regenerative tourism paradigm and related approaches.

Purpose – The “tourism living systems”(Tourism Living System – TLS) concept is underdeveloped, with limited relevant theoretical analysis to understand how it can support the transformations of tourism systems towards healthy communities and places. This paper aims to conceptualise TLSs and key stakeholder roles for enacting
regenerative tourism using a living systems perspective.

Design/methodology/approach – Knowledge synthesis and co-production were used to identify the conceptual framework and its applications. Knowledge synthesis was undertaken through a scoping review of
the regenerative tourism literature and supplemented by a consultation exercise with leading regenerative tourism practitioners. Co-production of knowledge involved case study research to assess the conceptual
framework’s practical applications and revise it with regenerative tourism practitioners.

Findings – The study revealed that regenerative tourism is informed by living systems’ thinking. The authors identify five diverse, interdependent and interconnected stakeholder roles from the case studies and scoping
review. All stakeholder roles are vital for constituting tourism systems that contribute to the healthy evolution of social-ecological systems.

Practical implications – Real-world case study applications of the TLS framework will guide tourism stakeholders who seek to adopt regenerative tourism approaches.

Originality/value – The study contributes to developing new frontiers in tourism stakeholder roles and paradigms with implications for regenerative tourism futures. The TLS framework challenges industrial
conceptions of tourism by proposing a shift in stakeholder roles from extraction to generating new life to survive, thrive and evolve.

PurposeThe “tourism living systems” (Tourism Living System – TLS) concept is underdeveloped, with limited relevant theoretical analysis to understand how it can support the transformations of tourism systems towards healthy communities and places. This paper aims to conceptualise TLSs and key stakeholder roles for enacting regenerative tourism using a living systems perspective.Design/methodology/approachKnowledge synthesis and co-production were used to identify the conceptual framework and its applications. Knowledge synthesis was undertaken through a scoping review of the regenerative tourism literature and supplemented by a consultation exercise with leading regenerative tourism practitioners. Co-production of knowledge involved case study research to assess the conceptual framework's practical applications and revise it with regenerative tourism practitioners.FindingsThe study revealed that regenerative tourism is informed by living systems' thinking. The authors identi...