The meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of Klang River, Malaysia

This paper is based on a PhD research, which investigates values, beliefs and practices associated with two polluted rivers in urban settings – the Klang River in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Torrens River, South Australia. However, this paper focuses on the findings from the Klang River ethnogra...

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Main Author: Tajuddin, Nor Azlin
Format: Proceeding Paper
Language:English
English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/4/ISA_World_.pptx_%5BAutosaved%5D.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/5/ISA_Book_of_Abstract.pdf
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author Tajuddin, Nor Azlin
author_facet Tajuddin, Nor Azlin
author_sort Tajuddin, Nor Azlin
building IIUM Repository
collection Online Access
description This paper is based on a PhD research, which investigates values, beliefs and practices associated with two polluted rivers in urban settings – the Klang River in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Torrens River, South Australia. However, this paper focuses on the findings from the Klang River ethnographic data. Theoretically, the concept of place is central to this paper. Findings suggest that in the urban setting where rivers have increasingly been polluted and modified, and as a consequence whose water is not suitable for direct contact, the visual faculty plays a prominent role in determining the state of the river. From the perspective of everyday users, what constitutes pollution depends significantly on what can and what cannot be seen with naked eyes. In particular, the colour and texture of water, the decline or abundance of aquatic species in the river are some of the common visual experiences described by the locals indicative of pollution. In conclusion, the concept of place is a useful means to understand and analyse the manner in which people comprehend environmental degradation and more specifically river pollution.
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spelling iium-386912018-06-19T06:21:34Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/ The meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of Klang River, Malaysia Tajuddin, Nor Azlin GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography GN Anthropology HM1 Sociology (General and theoretical) This paper is based on a PhD research, which investigates values, beliefs and practices associated with two polluted rivers in urban settings – the Klang River in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Torrens River, South Australia. However, this paper focuses on the findings from the Klang River ethnographic data. Theoretically, the concept of place is central to this paper. Findings suggest that in the urban setting where rivers have increasingly been polluted and modified, and as a consequence whose water is not suitable for direct contact, the visual faculty plays a prominent role in determining the state of the river. From the perspective of everyday users, what constitutes pollution depends significantly on what can and what cannot be seen with naked eyes. In particular, the colour and texture of water, the decline or abundance of aquatic species in the river are some of the common visual experiences described by the locals indicative of pollution. In conclusion, the concept of place is a useful means to understand and analyse the manner in which people comprehend environmental degradation and more specifically river pollution. 2014-07-13 Proceeding Paper NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/4/ISA_World_.pptx_%5BAutosaved%5D.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/5/ISA_Book_of_Abstract.pdf Tajuddin, Nor Azlin (2014) The meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of Klang River, Malaysia. In: XVIII ISA World Congress of Sociology, 13-19 July, Pcifico Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan. https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2014/webprogram/start.html
spellingShingle GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography
GN Anthropology
HM1 Sociology (General and theoretical)
Tajuddin, Nor Azlin
The meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of Klang River, Malaysia
title The meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of Klang River, Malaysia
title_full The meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of Klang River, Malaysia
title_fullStr The meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of Klang River, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed The meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of Klang River, Malaysia
title_short The meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of Klang River, Malaysia
title_sort meaning of urban river pollution and sense of place: an ethnographic study of klang river, malaysia
topic GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography
GN Anthropology
HM1 Sociology (General and theoretical)
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/4/ISA_World_.pptx_%5BAutosaved%5D.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/38691/5/ISA_Book_of_Abstract.pdf