Planning Under a Scottish Parliament: A Missed Opportunity?

Devolution has naturally led to expectations of legislative and policy divergence. Given its largely unitary nature across the UK such anticipation has also been a characteristic of planning debates. In Wales and Northern Ireland there is evidence of some progress in developing planning to better meet the needs of those areas. In Scotland, however, there have been far more modest achievements to date. Far from charting a new course for planning through legislative and policy change the trajectory for planning in Scotland post-devolution has been very similar to that south of the border. This article explores the changes to planning under the Scottish Parliament and discusses some of the reasons for the apparent lack of ambition and progress.     

Venture Investments in Israel—a Regional Perspective

This paper analyses the geographic distribution of venture investments in start-ups in Israel, using data for the period 1995–2004. The findings show that their location behaviour differs from that of high-tech activities: they show a pattern of “dispersed concentration” (as compared with a pattern of “concentrated concentration” of high-tech activity), with high levels of concentration in focal places, but at a commuting distance from the main metropolis. This is explained by the fact that venture investors also play the role of entrepreneurs and managers. The comparison between different types of venture investors shows that local venture capital funds lead to the heaviest concentration in the metropolis, in comparison with foreign venture investors. This heavy concentration of venture investments implies increasing regional gaps, with a minimal participation of peripheral regions, even those that enjoy some high-tech activity.     

Analysis of the Story of an Hour——From the Perspective of Feminism

The Story of an Hour is a short story written by Kate Chopin on April 19,1894,and originally published in Vogue on December 6,1894.By describing series of emotions that Louise Mallard endures after hearing of the death of her husband,it reveals the heroine——Mallard's pursuit of freedom and enlightenment of feminist thought.The Story of an Hour successfully created a female image of desiring for freedom,longing for a new life even at the expense of life in a patriarchal society.     

TIBETAN LANGUAGE AND ITS TERMINOLOGY STANDARDIZATION——Introducing a New Perspective on the Standardization of Tibetan New Words andTerminology

The Tibetan language spoken by the Tibetans belongs to the Tibetan-Burmese branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. It has about six million users who live mainly in the Tibet Autonomous Region （TAR） and four other Tibetan-inhabited provinces： Qinghai Province, Sichuan Province, Gansu Province and Yunnan Province. The standardization of Tibetan terminology is an essential part of China＇s national policy on nationality and national languages. A special column named ＂Tibetan Language and its Terminology Standardization＂ is included in this issue to describe the birth, use, and development of Tibetan language especially the standardization of its new terminology.     

Sustainable Communities? A Comparative Perspective on Urban Housing in the European Union

This paper examines the sustainability of urban housing in the European Union. It outlines a number of key criteria for assessing the sustainability of urban housing including mixed-use developments, higher residential densities, high-quality dwellings and neighbourhoods, affordability and food production. Utilizing the 2007 tranche of the European Quality of Life Survey, it finds significant variations between countries in the sustainability of urban housing and communities and highlights the leaders and laggards in this regard. The relative success of urban areas in Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Finland deserves some additional research, although there is scope for considerable improvement even in these “leader” countries. The paper highlights significant problems with housing and communities in some urban locations which must significantly retract from (a) the quality of life of residents in these locations and (b) the sustainability of their cities.     

Paouté and Aiaouez: A New Perspective on Late Seventeenth-Century Chiwere-Siouan Identity

A fine-grained spatial and temporal analysis of relevant seventeenth-century French documents reveals that from circa 1650 to 1685 the two terms principally associated with the Ioway, Aiaouez and Paouté, were consistently applied to geographically distinct branches of that tribe. The conflation of these two terms after circa 1700 is the product of both changes in the contact-period cultural landscape and the manner in which it was defined. This conclusion has importance for the use of these accounts as analogues for reconstructing Oneota tradition social organization and highlights the value in applying contemporary theoretical perspectives and analytical techniques to ethnohistoric data.     

A Niche Construction Perspective on the Middle–Upper Paleolithic Transition in Italy

This paper presents an overview of the Middle–Upper Paleolithic transition in Italy in light of recent research on the Uluzzian technocomplex and on the paleoecological context of the transition. Drawing on the realization that human niche construction can be documented in the pre-agricultural archaeological record, niche construction theory is used as a conceptual framework to tie together facets of the behavioral, biological, and ecological dimensions of the transition interval into formal models of their interaction over time and in diverse contexts. Ultimately, this effort shows how foragers of the transitional interval in the Italian peninsula were active agents in shaping their evolutionary history, with consequences of some adaptive systems being felt only much later and directing the forces responsible for the ultimate disappearance of the Mousterian and Uluzzian technocomplexes in favor of the proto-Aurignacian industry, the exact nature of which clearly appears to vary on a regional level.     

The Future of WAC: A Fringe or a Popular Professional-Social Network?

In response to Shepherd and Haber??s (Public Archaeology 10(2):96?C115, 2011) article ??What is up With WAC??? I argue that, on the one hand, it is possible to adopt the authors?? new definition of Indigenous with certain modifications that enable it to accept a diverse constellation of responses to dwelling-in-displacement and explain the origin of these inequalities. On the other hand, I argue that WAC is not a reactionary organization of colonial heritage but that it makes great efforts to respond to 21st century postcolonial archaeology.     

A Brief Analysis of Discrimination in Language Classroom——from the Perspective of Sociolinguistics

It is widely acknowledged that sociolinguistics is the study of language in certain context concerned with our society.Sociolinguistics and linguistics are intrinsically related to each other,but there has been difference as well.Linguistics research deals with language system itself,which belongs to the micro level on the one hand;many phenomena reflect discrimination in language classroom,these discrimination are caused by social factors to a certain degree.This paper makes a brief analysis of discrimination in language classroom from the perspective of sociolinguistics,which deals with many issues such as depiction of language discrimination、analysis of phenomenon and accordinglysolved measures.     

Local area farming Plans — a common reality for farmers and conservationists in the Scottish Highlands?

This paper supports the need for new policy developments to produce farm conservation plans specific to local areas. It explores attitudes to land management for conservation and economic goals, and presents views of fanners and local conservationists, who are directly involved in agri‐environmental and farm woodland schemes, in three regions of the Highlands of Scotland. It reviews the current state of Scottish agri‐environmental schemes, and presents results of on‐farm workshops conducted with farmers and conservationists and discusses common management plan approaches for environmental action. It concludes that farmers and conservationists are already considering the advantages of local area planning at a local area level and agree that there should be focus on addressing local site specific issues which take into account both the whole farm and its wider environment.     

Predicting the Past — Materiality of Nazi and Post-Nazi Camps: A Norwegian Perspective

Archaeological investigations at sites of genocides, oppressions, and imprisonment have, during the last few decades, become a growing field within studies of the contemporary past. This research includes surveys and excavations of Nazi camps, including the iconic sites of the Holocaust, concentration camps as well as POW camps and prisons of the Nazi regime in Germany and in occupied Europe. The present paper evaluates theoretical frameworks for approaches to materiality, social memories, and dissimilation aspects of such sites and relates diverse theoretical approaches to the results of archaeological investigations of Falstad Camp in central Norway.     

Evaluating the Impacts of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones on the Environment and Farmers’ Practices: A Scottish Case Study

Nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZs) have been established throughout Europe to tackle diffuse pollution. This research investigates the attitudes and practices of farmers in the River Eden catchment, within the Strathmore and Fife NVZ in eastern Scotland, and explores how these changed between 2002 and 2011. Attitudes were investigated using interviews; efficiency of nutrient use was evaluated using farm gate nutrient budgets (NBs). Most of the 16 farmers regard NVZ regulations as burdensome and costly; however, attitudes to NVZs became more positive during the period. NBs demonstrated that arable farms generate the least nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) surpluses, dairy the most. N efficiency improved on nine farms and declined on two; P efficiency improved on 12 farms and declined on two. Overall, the 16 farms were using 13% less N and 19% less P in 2011 compared with 2003. Water quality data demonstrate that Nitrate N in the catchment's main rivers dropped between 2004 and 2011 by a mean of 15.5%, whereas mean phosphate P declined very little. Legacy P and Inefficient sewerage treatment facilities may explain the latter finding. Results demonstrate that NVZ regulations, combined with economic pressures, have affected farmers’ attitudes and behaviour, resulting in significant improvements in surface water quality.     

Rock Art Between Preservation,Research and Sustainable Development—a Perspective from Southern Ethiopia

This paper focuses on southern Ethiopia, along the outer rim of the Rift Valley and not far from the Kenyan border, in an area forming part of a larger region known as a cradle of humankind. However, it also hosts a diverse Holocene rock art heritage, which is still underestimated and underdocumented. Paintings and engravings are widespread in the region, both in rock shelters and open-air sites, often located in remote areas currently inhabited by communities belonging to different ethnic groups. The aim of this paper is to present the first results of a new project in the area around Yabelo, within the broader framework of rock art research in East Africa, integrating archaeological research, preservation and heritage management with a relevant involvement of local communities. The outstanding cultural importance of these contexts offers new prospects for both scholarly research and sustainable development. The recording and study of the artworks is underway, using digital technologies that guarantee a high standard of accuracy of the documentation and non-invasive recording methods. This provides important insights for reconstructing cultural dynamics in the area between the final Pleistocene and onset of the Holocene. Moreover, the focus on rock art makes it possible to enhance local knowledge, increasing the awareness of local communities, with a significant impact on the preservation of this fragile heritage and the development of local, sustainable tourism projects. Differently from other archaeological features, rock art can have a more immediate attractiveness for contemporary observers, in terms of the apparent immediacy of the images and their emotional impact, raising awareness of cultural heritage and fostering major involvement in its preservation.