Justifying exclusion: The politics of public space and the dispute over access to McIvers ladies' baths,Sydney

McIvers Baths is an ocean pool in the Sydney beach of Coogee which is open to women and children only. In December 1992, a male resident of Coogee lodged a formal legal complaint of 'discrimination on the grounds of sex' with the Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales. Over the next three years, a coalition of activists and institutions campaigned successfully to oppose this complaint and maintain the exclusion of men from McIvers. In this article, the author considers some of the implications of this dispute for contemporary debates over the meaning of urban public space. Drawing on recent re-theorisations of urban public space and the political public sphere, the author suggests that the problematisation of exclusion in critical urban analysis should not necessarily take the form of opposition to exclusion per se. Rather, exclusions should be interrogated with respect to processes through which they are politically justified, thus enabling critical theorists to distinguish between different kinds of exclusion. The article offers some reflections on the dispute over McIvers as a way of thinking through some of the conditions in which certain forms of exclusion might be compatible with a democratic 'right to the city'.     

Enhancing the mobility of collections and access to cultural heritage: immunity of cultural objects from seizure in Poland

This paper analyses, from the perspective of cultural policy considerations, the legal regime established by the recent Polish law on the immunity from seizure of cultural property on loan (2015). It deals with current trends of international museum exchange and explains the benefits and risks involved in cross-border loans of cultural material. This analysis is carried out by focusing on the actual practice and experiences of Polish museums, national and international regulations in force, and human rights considerations. The authors attempt to situate the Polish model for the protection of foreign cultural property on loan within the broader comparative context of the domestic legislation on museum exchange adopted in selected national jurisdictions. The article also offers a more general cultural policy discussion in the context of international museum exchanges of cultural material. Laws and policies facilitating such exchanges are weighed against other rights and interests encompassed in the protection of cultural heritage and the realisation of all human rights, including cultural rights.     

On the Linkage Between the Demographic Processes and Economy of a Region: (with particular reference to Pskov Oblast)

A low rate of natural increase, deriving from a disrupted age-sex structure, and net out-migration combine to account for a steady depopulation of Pskov Oblast. The introduction of industries providing additional male employment is recommended in the two principal cities—Pskov and Velikiye Luki—to correct the present predominance of women in industrial towns. Several measures (modernization of the countryside, promotion of truck-produce farming around the major urban centers) are suggested to keep more young people in rural areas and thus correct the lop-sided age structure there. Economic decision-making is viewed as a key factor in improving the demographic situation of a region.     

Archaeology,conservation and the late twentieth-century village landscape: With particular reference to Westmorland and North Lancashire in northwest England

Abstract

This paper argues that the present landscape and village is of archaeological significance and is needed both to understand and to preserve a representative sample of the past. It explores the relationship between archaeological data and monument types, and landscape character. Landscape assessment, including attribute analysis, is advocated as an essential archaeological method separate from the process of value judgement and selectivity. It concludes that function and process are as important as period in determining conservation strategies, and the potential role of sustainable development is discussed. The importance of village plan forms, vernacular architecture, field and landholding patterns is stressed, together with the need to recognize the historical importance of industrial villages.     

Challenging Hegemonies through Connecting Places,People and Ideas: Jan Monk's contribution to international gender geography (with particular reference to Spain)

The main goal of the paper is to study Jan Monk's contribution to the development of international gender geography, in particular in Spain. Our aim is also to explain the experiences and numerous connections among places, people and ideas that she has been weaving to foster international scholarship and, in this way, how she has challenged hegemonic approaches in feminist geography. Jan Monk comes originally from the Southern hemisphere and therefore she is well aware of the extent to which ‘Northern’ (or Anglo-American) ways of seeing the world define concepts, theories and ideas in geography (and also in feminist geography). Being an ‘insider’ and an ‘outsider’ as well as her sensibility to the important of place has permeated Jan's contribution to international gender geography.     

Contamination of archaeological deposits by seeds of modern origin with particular reference to the use of flotation machines

Modern contamination would seem to be of widespread occurrence on archaeological sites in Britain. It is particularly noticeable when recovery is increased by the use of a flotation machine. Sources of contamination and methods of distinguishing modern and ancient seeds are discussed. It should often be possible largely to discount the recent component providing that a certain amount of consideration is given to the problem in relation to a particular site, although there are still some areas requiring further research.