Conservation charity land ownership in Scotland

Land ownership in Scotland has been the subject of increasing public debate. This paper traces the establishment of the conservation land ownership movement in Scotland from 1931. Charitable donations influence and affect the ability of voluntary bodies to acquire land. Voluntary ownership increased dramatically from the 1960s and the growth in outdoor recreation focused attention on the way mountain estates are managed by charities. Public bodies are instrumental in providing funding and influencing government support for land acquisition. The National Lottery, for example, affects greatly the ability of charities to acquire land. New charities have been formed with a specific focus on trees and wild land but conservation charities have been criticised for aspects of their land management. These charities continue to attract funding from people with a deep belief that their activities are for the benefit of the people of Scotland.     

Contesting land,creating community,in the Highlands and Islands,Scotland

This paper draws on research in four communities in the Highlands and Islands, Scotland, to explore how the notion of community and community identity are re‐worked in the political spaces created as communities claim collective rights to land. In the cases of the Assynt Crofters’ Trust, the Bhaltos Community Trust, and Laid, this has concerned land under crofting tenure; in the case of the claim of the North Sutherland Community Forestry Trust, the land on which the Naver Forests stand is the responsibility of the Scottish Ministers and is managed by Forest Enterprise. The four case studies differ with respect to membership and institutional practices and thus provide fertile ground on which to examine, comparatively, collective struggles for the land and the search for sustainable futures.     

Community and conservation land ownership in highland Scotland: A common focus in a changing context

Legislation on the topic of land reform will enter statute during the lifetime of the first administration of the Scottish Parliament. It is thus timely to review types of land ownership that have evolved in Scotland in the recent past. This paper briefly reviews the context of the current land reform debate. It considers the characteristics of community and conservation ownership, exemplified in case studies of the North Assynt Estate (owned and run by the Assynt Crofters Trust) and the Sandwood Estate (owned by the John Muir Trust). Positive and negative aspects of these two management structures are illustrated and a convergence in management approaches, towards a focus on community interest and involvement, is demonstrated. The emergence of a social sector in land ownership is considered.     

行走苏格兰

爱丁堡 从英国南部乘火车北上苏格兰,第一站自然是苏格兰的首府爱丁堡.世界上奇特的城市很多,但爱丁堡绝对是一个与众不同的城市,一个会让你过目不忘的城市.在苏格兰的历史上,爱丁堡就像一面旗帜,这面旗帜上留有无数的历史印迹,上面写满了光荣与梦想,也留下了悲伤与惆怅.在苏格兰和英格兰几百年的历史纷争中,爱丁堡就像一个勇敢的古代骑士,坚守着传统的苏格兰精神. 爱丁堡的城市分为旧城区和新城区.旧城区大部分的建筑都是建在山坡上,从著名的王子大街走向爱丁堡城堡恍如置身于中世纪.而要俯视整个老城则要到新城的卡尔顿山山顶.     

Modelling land use around an early Neolithic timber ‘hall’ in north east Scotland from high spatial resolution pollen analyses

A methodology is described by which spatial patterns of land use were reconstructed from pollen analyses on anthropogenic sediments at a recently excavated early Neolithic timber ‘hall’ in north east Scotland. The anthropogenic sediments were from a deep, small diameter pit within the building. They present numerous taphonomic and interpretative challenges to the analyst, but from this type of deposit, the power to estimate quantitatively the vegetation structure around the archaeological site makes such difficult deposits very significant. A rigorous methodology is firstly described, therefore, by which confidence in ecological interpretation can be established. Secondly, the source of pollen in the deposit is evaluated. Thirdly, the possible pollen source area and structure of the surrounding vegetation are estimated by quantitative simulation modelling. Finally, these analyses are compared with region-scale pollen analyses from nearby conventional wetland deposits with much larger pollen source areas. The pollen assemblages recovered probably reflect land uses adjacent to the ‘hall’ and up to 2.5 km around. Cereal cultivation was the most important land use immediately around the ‘hall’, possibly grown between stands of scrub Corylus (hazel) woodland. These intensive but local-scale land uses cannot be discerned in region-scale pollen analyses.     

苏格兰地区少数族裔创业与社会资本引入

论文通过调研华裔、印度裔、巴基斯坦裔等少数族裔在苏格兰的创业活动,分析了苏格兰华裔、印度裔、巴基斯坦裔等少数族裔移民的人口与经济活动及创业障碍。认为尽管少数族裔创业对促进少数族裔就业、改善少数族裔群体生活条件、促进地区社会稳定与经济增长作出了重要贡献,但少数族裔创业仍存在难以获得外部融资、可获得建议渠道有限、创业动机不太积极、行业过分集中导致竞争激烈以及创业者素质有待提高等局限性。主要原因可归结为少数族裔创业环境的"政策缺失"和"社会资本弱化"。这两点可通过"政府引导"与"社会资本引入"管理制度的创新进行改善和补偿。     

Readiness for modal shift in Scotland

This paper examines the readiness for modal shift in Scotland from car use to more sustainable modes of transport. National statistics show the scale of car ownership and the extent of car use in Scotland. Findings from a number of recent studies are used to place car use in the context of other transport mode use, to examine reasons for non‐use of the car or avoiding driving, to distinguish between those car users unable and those unwilling to reduce their car use, and to assess the likely impact on car users of policy measures to encourage modal shift. It is concluded that there is readiness for modal shift amongst substantial segments of car users in Scotland.