Austrian foreign cultural policy: Europeanization through the prism of national interests

ABSTRACT

In the second half of 2018, Austria for the third time has taken over the EU Council Presidency and is therefore particularly interested in promoting an image of itself as a reliable partner and a European country which accepts and protects European values. Foreign cultural policy is one of the suitable instruments for achieving this goal. The present paper analyses Austrian foreign cultural policy with the aim of finding out how European integration affects it. The paper uses qualitative research methods such as desk research, document research and expert interviews. The results of the analyses show that Austrian stakeholders traditionally consider Europeanization primarily as a tool to promote Austrian national interests on the international stage.     

Sub-national cultural policy--where the action is: Mapping state cultural policy in the United States

Abstract

This paper argues that cultural policy analysts should turn their analytical attention towards the cultural policies of sub-national levels of government. State level cultural policy has become an increasingly important locus of interest for those who are concerned with the health and stability of the arts, culture, and humanities in American life, and the same is undoubtedly true elsewhere. This rise in the importance of cultural policy at the state level has not been accompanied by a similarly evolving understanding of the cultural policy system that has developed at this sub-national level. Cultural policy at the level of an American state has been the sum total of the more or less independent, uncoordinated activities of a variety of state agencies and allied organizations and institutions. This paper lays out a number of hypotheses concerning what we might be likely to find in such an inquiry and reports some preliminary findings from a cultural policy mapping project in the State of Washington.     

The 4th-century B.C. shipwreck at Mazotos,Cyprus: New techniques and methodologies in the 3D mapping of shipwreck excavations

Abstract

Well preserved ancient shipwrecks are rare in the archaeological record, but when discovered, they can provide valuable information on a wide range of research issues if analyzed and documented properly. In this paper we discuss the significance, potential, and constraints of mapping methods applied during the underwater excavation of shipwreck sites with special emphasis on stratigraphy, documentation of finds, and reconstruction of site formation processes. As a case study, we present the digital photogrammetry and computer vision software programs used in the excavation of the 4th-century b.c. shipwreck at Mazotos, Cyprus. Our goal is to develop a targeted documentation and mapping method of ongoing shipwreck excavations so that others can address complex research questions concerning this unique discipline of archaeology.     

Electrical instruments in 19th century France,between makers and users

Abstract

Having quickly described new historiographical approaches to scientific instruments, this paper explores some characteristics of the evolution of the relationship between scientific instrument makers and French physicists in the 19th century. Artisans without a scientific culture at the dawn of the century, a certain number of instrument makers were integrated into the scientific community by its end, sharing their practices and their values. These builders served as mediators between different physicists, between physicists and members of other disciplines like physiology and, finally, between savants and the world of technology (telegraphy and then industrial electricity). Symmetrically, a significant number of French physicists left mathematical physics for a physics based on instruments and their development. The emergence, extension, and eventual disappearance of the different contexts of use of an instrument (amateurs, public performances, teaching, research, medicine, telegraphy, industry, etc) illustrate both the boundary crossings between these different domains and the major role that use played in successive reconfigurations of instruments.     

Cartography,geographic information,and public policy

Abstract

Cartography is as much a policy science as it is a graphic art and science. The inevitable demise of the paper map as the principal medium of geographic communication and the increasing concentration of mapping activities and geographic data base development in large public‐sector agencies argue in favour of replacing the current emphasis on map production with one involving policy. A focus on mapping policy will reverse the unfortunate split between cartography and geography.     

Mesospheric temperatures and the OH layer height as derived from ground-based lidar and OH1 spectrometry

Night-time mesospheric temperatures were simultaneously determined from the Doppler broadening of the D₂ resonance line of atmospheric sodium excited by a laser and from the rotational distribution of the P₁(1), P₁(3) and P₁(4) lines of the OH(3,1) band by an i.r. spectrometer. Both instruments were located at the Andøya Rocket Range (69°N, 16°E). The mesospheric temperature gradient permits determination of the altitude of the OH¹ emitting layer from a comparison of the equivalent layer temperatures calculated from the height-resolved Na Doppler temperatures with the observed OH¹ rotational temperatures. The altitude of the OH¹ layer maximum is determined with an accuracy of ±4 km. For 3 nights in January 1986 the OH¹ emission layer is found near an altitude of 86 km.     

A late Devensian Nunatak on the Knoydart peninsula,NW Scotland: Implications for ice‐sheet reconstruction

Geomorphological mapping and analysis of soil mineralogy indicates that all summits on the Knoydart Peninsula were over‐ridden by the last ice sheet apart from Ladhar Bheinn (1020 m), where the ice attained a maximum altitude of c. 950 m. This figure is consistent with evidence from adjacent areas and suggests that the last ice sheet descended westwards across Knoydart from c. 1000 m to c. 900 at the west coast, implying that most theoretically‐based ice‐sheet models are substantially in error in this area.     

Migration discipline hijacked: distances and interruptions of a research militancy

Abstract

In this paper we reflect on some instruments to interrupt the governmentalization of knowledge production at play in migration studies – mainstream, critical, and radical alike. We take knowledge production as the struggle-field where confronting, resisting, and interrupting the disciplining of migrations that arises from their academic and governmental incorporation as objects (of research and of policies). In contrast, we sketch a political epistemology of migrations, asking: which knowledge practices and interventions account for the contestedness migrations spark, and for the turbulence, excess, and upheavals migrants trigger? The paper discusses two of such paths. First, we sketch an approach to research that works ‘within and against’ the distances that perform and define migration field-sites and their pristine subject positions; second, we argue for the development and deployment of interruptions against those unquestioned chains of equivalences that are embedded in migration knowledge. Building on our engagement with Libyan war refugees in Tunisia and in Italy, we reflect on how these instruments somehow bring scholarly knowledge to its limits while working within its premises.     

3D imaging of Skoteino Cave,Crete, Greece: Successes and difficulties

Abstract

Interpreting cave use, especially from antiquity, requires the perception of subterranean space in all dimensions (floor to ceiling to lateral extent) including spatial variability resulting from geological factors. Subterranean conditions, coupled with variable atmospheric conditions, create a special environment not readily conveyed by conventional mapping techniques limited to two-dimensional floor plans. Skoteino Cave in north central Crete, Greece was used as a ritual and refuge site in the Bronze Age and later. Mapping of the cave attempted to depict and interpret prehistoric and historical use of this space by employing two mapping techniques: EDM total station mapping and terrestrial/point cloud laser scanning. Comparisons with earlier methods used to map cave show the advantages and disadvantages of various mapping schemes. To date, this was the first use of three-dimensional (3D) scanning to explore the complex shapes and space of a subterranean archaeological site on Crete (and the second such use in Greece), and this use demonstrates its own consequent successes and difficulties.     

The absent-present researcher: data analysis of pre-recorded parent-driven campaign videos

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of sophisticated, user-friendly and accessible instruments of video data collection (e.g. mobile/cell phones and tablets) which facilitate video-based research and analysis. This paper reports on the opportunities and challenges of undertaking video analysis by reporting on the qualitative video analysis of a subset of 30 purposively selected videos from #notanurse_but, a parent-driven video campaign initiated by WellChild, a UK charity. This paper provides insight into one way of conducting video analysis, appreciating that a variety of approaches exist and that methodological reflections on analytical work with video recordings are limited. The authors critically consider researcher subjectivity; the everydayness of video data; making assumptions; and the incomplete picture provided by video data. Despite notable limitations to the approach of video analysis as a standalone method, the authors conclude that video analysis is capable of eliciting data that may not otherwise be obtained.     

Protecting a ‘Homeric landscape’: The making of the Butrint National Park,Albania

Abstract

This paper will present research on the vulnerability mapping of coastal archaeological sites currently being undertaken in Northern Ireland. The ultimate aim of this research is improve current predictions of where archaeological sites and landscapes will be at risk in the future from coastal erosion. The initial stage of this approach uses a suite of oblique aerial photographs to construct a baseline of eroding locations and coastal geomorphology. The erosion baseline can then be integrated with existing historic environment records to obtain a coarse first-pass archaeological vulnerability assessment. Subsequent stages can then use this assessment to prioritize future mitigation such as field surveys or monitoring exercises, or conduct further refinements of vulnerability classifications by incorporating information on site type and positioning on a local scale.     

Historiographical layers in the relationship between science and technology

Abstract

This paper aims to examine historiographical layers in the historical narrative on the relationship between science and technology, a topic which has been exhaustively discussed without consensus by both historians of science and technology. I will first examine two extreme positions concerning this issue, and analyze the underlying historiographical standpoints behind them. I will then show that drawing implications for the relationship between science and technology from a few case studies is frequently misleading. After showing this, I .will move to the “macrohistory” of the relationship between science and technology, which reveals a long process in which the barriers between them gradually became porous. Here, I will examine the historical formation of three different kinds of “boundary objects” between science and technology, which facilitated their interactions by making their borders more permeable: instruments as a material boundary object; new institutions, laboratories, and departments as a spatial boundary or boundary space; and new mediators as a human hybrid.     

The Use of Historical Photography For Mapping Archaeological Sites

Abstract

Aerial photography has been employed by archaeologists since 1906. This study discusses the application of image processing of historical photographs as an aid to archaeological excavations at two California mission sites.

Research on the Mission Vieja de la Purisima site involved the mapping of the Old Mission complex, destroyed by an earthquake and mudslide in 1812. Optical means of multiple-image registration and scale change were employed. The second study involved the digital transformation of an historical photograph of Mission San Buenaventura from its oblique perspective into a “psuedo-vertical” format.

Information obtained in these studies is being used by archaeological researchers and has been found accurate and extremely useful. The preliminary mapping of the Mission Vieja de la Purisima has aided in the preservation of the area and played a major role in the mission's being designated as a California and National Historical site.     

Mobile Media as New Forms of Spatialization

Abstract

The physical space has historically served as an important support for human expression. However, the production of location-based information has been consciously used as means of social control by the hegemonic power, which decides what can be publicly displayed, and what should be hidden. With the development of mobile media, space has gained new dimensions, resulting in a sort of hybrid space where digital information overlays the physical space revealing what was previous unknown about a place. As mobile devices become increasingly present in our society, they should be understood as a social interface to our experience of space, serving not only as means to consume information, but also tools for communication. This paper discuss the current mobile media practices, such as mapping, urban electronic annotations, location-based mobile games, and smart mobs, which creates opportunities for new forms of human expression, reappropriations of space, and contestation of hegemonic power.     

The Títulos de Ebtún,Yucatan, Mexico: Mapping Maya Communal Identity in a Colonial Spanish Notarial Context

ABSTRACT

The main focus in this article is on four maps from colonial Yucatan, Mexico (c.1542?1821). The maps illustrate a two-volume set of Maya notarial documents called the Títulos de Ebtún and concern disputed communal rights to Tontzimin, one of the sparse water sources (cenotes) of this arid limestone region, and its surrounding arable land. Mention is also made of two maps of the province of Mani that were included in treaties agreed with the Spanish authorities as a final record of Maya claims to traditional agricultural rights. Although all these maps were produced by Spanish officials, they relate to broader colonial mapping traditions in Yucatan and embody a clear Maya influence. At the same time, they reveal the effect of Maya mapping practices on Spanish notarial and mapping traditions at the close of the colonial period.     

George Washington carver slept here: Racial identity and laboratory practice at Iowa state college

Racialist social agendas have helped determine who will and will not be admitted to the engineering programs of American universities, and bench‐level activities within university laboratories have both followed from, and encouraged these structures of occupational opportunity. The engineering division of Iowa State College between 1900 and 1960 was one site of such exclusionary activity. African‐American students were under‐represented in its programs throughout this period, even as other areas of the university diversified and as women gradually increased their presence in the engineering division. This paper proposes a study of ISC's engineering curricula, instruments, and facilities as a means of identifying and understanding this inequity.     

Archaeological Applications of the Electra-Level

Abstract

The Electra-Level is a leveling device with applications in field archaeology. It offers advantages over the line level and optical leveling instruments in situations where visibility, obstructions, or shortage of personnel are factors. Some specific applications in archaeological fieldwork by Boston's City Archaeology Program are described.     

Carto-fiction: narrativising maps through creative writing

Abstract

This study reacts to the recent call for a narrativisation of maps’ life in post-representational cartography, proposing ‘cartographic fictional writing’ as a means to move geography’s ‘creative (re)turn’ from a place-centred to a ‘carto-centred’ perspective, and as an epistemological tool to go on rethinking maps from post-representational perspectives. First, ‘carto-fiction’ is defined as a self-reflexive (autoethnographic), ethnofictional, creative carto-centred product/practice of research. Second, by including the entire short story entitled ‘Unfolding Berlin’ and an autoethnographic account on how it emerged, this study strives to both theorise and perform carto-fictional writing as an embodied and trans-subjective mapping experience. My goal is to propose ‘carto-fiction’ as a prolific tool to let emotional, subjective cartographies emerge and to narrativise maps as mapping practices. The article further strives to focus on the mapping power of creative writing, and carto-fictional writing and reading will be interpreted as mapping performances, in which subjects are bodily and emotionally engaged. The inclusion of original illustrations aims to involve readers in a visual experience and to further stimulate their spatial imagination: each reader is asked to reflect on his/her own mapping experiences to interpret the fictional story and, thus, the paper itself attempts to unfold unpredicted creative cartographic practices.     

TOM JONES (3HE40): GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AT A CADDO MOUND SITE IN SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS

Abstract

This article outlines a process that has facilitated discoveries of intrasite pattern, architecture, and diagnostic artifacts at the prehistoric Caddo mound site Tom Jones (3HE40) in southwestern Arkansas. A methodology of multisensor geophysical survey using electrical resistance, electromagnetic conductivity, gradiometry, magnetic susceptibility, high accuracy survey and mapping, and data georeferencing enabled by geographic information system technology has proven to be an efficient, effective, and essential component of an overall research plan. In addition to providing insights regarding the intrasite organization of an upland Caddo ceremonial mound center, this technologically integrated approach has established that Saratoga chalk geology and Blackland Prairie clays combine to form an advantageous medium for geophysical discovery.     

Electrical conductivity: a useful technique in teaching geomorphology

Abstract

The electrical conductivity of a water sample is proportional to its total dissolved solids content. Since conductivity can be measured easily and quickly by commercially available meters it is admirably suited to geomorphological field work on the dissolved solids content of natural waters. The technique lends itself to exercises involving work in the field, the classroom and the laboratory and it therefore allows integration of these three approaches to geomorphology teaching.

The conductivity of a given sample varies with temperature and is heavily influenced by hydrogen ions when the pH is below about 5.5. This paper describes the methods used to correct for these effects, and the procedure for constructing calibration curves of conductivity and total dissolved solids. It gives the characteristics of commonly available field instruments, and some guidelines for choosing an instrument. Some exercises involving conductivity are outlined.