Fairs of West Bengal are often considered as a vibrant space, strongly reflecting the distinct cultural spectrum. However, not many studies have been conducted in this domain addressing contemporary issues. In the context of West Bengal, the pioneering data on the fairs were last compiled in the 1960s. Hence, present study attempts to uncover the present scenario of fair, its association with physical and cultural space, and to track its rhythm with seasonal variations, fair- attendees and fair committees. The study employed secondary data to explore the diversity and in fair categories and sub-categories and explores their conjugation with the influencing factors. Finding of the study reveals the composite typology of fairs for understanding the diversity of fairs. Again, the contribution of this paper lies in uncovering the interrelations among physiography, culture and fairs.
Studies of colonial Punjab have treated canal irrigation and wildlife control as separate histories. How the two were connected within one province, and what that connection contributed to the making of colonial authority, has received little attention. This article addresses that gap. Its objective is to explain how the regulation of water and of animals contributed to colonial-state formation in Punjab between 1885 and 1932. It asks three questions: through which administrative mechanisms were water, land and animals governed; how were irrigation and wildlife governance connected in practice; and how did cultivators, pastoralists, intermediaries and princely states experience and contest these arrangements? Using a qualitative historical method, the study rests on close reading and source criticism of twelve files and proceedings of the Government of India held at the National Archives of India, five of which are analysed as cases, together with published census and administration reports and the secondary literature. The findings show that both domains were governed through classification, codified rules and monetary charges or rewards, that canal administration worked through local intermediaries, and that the two domains met on the same ground: canal colonisation converted the scrub commons of the western doabs, which were at once pasture and wildlife habitat, into revenue-paying fields. The evidence establishes administrative priorities more firmly than ecological causation, and it comes largely from English-language official records. Within these limits, the article argues that environmental governance was one of the processes through which colonial authority in Punjab was built.
Despite the growing importance of student housing in higher education, validated instruments for assessing housing satisfaction among Chinese university students remain scarce. This study aimed to develop and validate a Chinese version of the Student Housing Assessment and Prediction Evaluator (SHAPE) for use among Mainland Chinese students studying in Hong Kong. SHAPE was translated from an existing instrument and supplemented with additional items, consisting of 22 items measuring housing satisfaction and graduation plans associated with residential characteristics, and 3 items providing an overall assessment of housing satisfaction. Data were collected through an online questionnaire survey involving 269 Chinese university students studying in Hong Kong. The responses were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability testing. The results supported a two-factor structure and demonstrated satisfactory construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity and internal consistency. Overall, the findings suggest that SHAPE is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing both student housing satisfaction and post-graduation plans among Chinese university students. The validated scale may facilitate future research on student housing and provide universities with a useful tool to examine how housing experiences and residential preferences may influence students’ post-graduation plans.
Mental well-being is essential for students’ life satisfaction and social progress. The paper analyzes mental well-being status among undergraduate students at Cambodia’s public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), focusing on the WHO-5 (subjective well-being index), depression, and factors contributing to students’ mental well-being. Drawing on a large sample size of 1,022 students across five public universities in Cambodia, three findings emerge. First, approximately half of the students reported below-threshold well-being with significant variance but no significant difference by gender. Second, a depression at 8.1
Regional areas across Europe continue to face persistent accessibility deficits and car dependence despite growing attention to sustainable mobility. Although there is a substantial body of literature on accessibility and equity in urban areas, less is known about regional areas and how these ideas are actually embedded in formal national and regional transport policy documents. In this research, we therefore examine regional transport policy in Wallonia (Belgium) and in the neighbouring Greek Regions of Central Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Our research employs qualitative policy document analysis of strategic transport and mobility plans in both countries, using seven analytical dimensions: accessibility, equity, territorial cohesion, policy integration, spatial and temporal framing, modal priorities and car dependence, and governance and institutional coordination. The analysis suggests that both policy regimes articulate ambitious accessibility and sustainability goals but only partially integrate transport equity in a substantive way. Greek documents deploy strong language around territorial cohesion and spatial equity yet remain dominated by road- and connectivity-oriented measures. Walloon documents embed clearer modal-shift and climate targets, with cycling and rail as central pillars, but tend to treat equity implicitly, with limited targeting of regional transport poverty. The comparison further indicates that governance and institutional organisation is a pivotal factor: taken cautiously, Belgium’s decentralised form may enhance more operational policy, whereas the more centralised Greek planning structure favours broader frameworks. The findings offer critical insights for aligning national and regional transport strategies with overarching EU cohesion and sustainability goals.
