Community sustainability and resilience: similarities,differences and indicators

Sustainability has been a core conceptual framework for community development since the approach was popularized in 1987, although in its essence it reflects a long history of environmental conservation reactions to industrialization. Resilience, as a framework for understanding and approaching community development, emerged more gradually out of ecological studies in the 1980s, but has only recently, since the mid-2000s, emerged as a focus of public interest as a way of responding and adapting to the planet's growing anthropogenic changes. For many, sustainability and resilience are slightly nuanced perspectives on the same phenomenon. For others, however, there are distinct differences between them, with sustainability's conservation goals being in opposition to the adaptation goals of resilience. Two major reasons for these confusions are (1) both concepts are defined and used in many different ways to achieve a variety of political goals that may not reflect their core definitions, and (2) both concepts share similar goals and some common approaches, such as a focus on climate change and seeking a balance between humans and nature. Returning to the core definitions of conservation and adaptation helps to clarify their similarities and differences, as well as to articulate indicators for understanding how each applies to community tourism development. Indicators from research in rural Taiwan tourism communities were therefore based on responses to the questions: What does the community want to conserve and how do they want to do it (sustainability)? What do they want to change and how do they want to do it (resilience)? Preliminary results suggest that the new ideal community is the one that is both sustainable and resilient.     

The Influence of Indoor Climate Control on Risk for Damages in Naturally Ventilated Historic Churches in Cold Climate

This article analyzes the indoor climate that creates risk of damages in naturally ventilated churches in the cold climate of Estonia. Indoor temperature and humidity were measured over a one-year period and the results were analyzed on the basis of damage functions: mold growth, risk of cracking and fracturing of wooden objects, and delamination of the gesso layer of panel paintings.

In unheated churches, one of the most dominant problems was very high relative humidity throughout the year, creating a high risk for mold and algae growth. Churches may need background heating to avoid freezing during a long cold winter that causes low surface temperatures of massive walls during the spring–summer period. It was found that mold risk was significantly lower in heated churches than in unheated or intermittently heated churches. The risk of mold growth was not decreased by the use of intermittent heating.

In heated churches, overheating (room temperature >+10ºC) causes a RH below 50% during cold periods, and the favorable period for irreversible response of panel paintings was significantly longer, so there is a higher risk that the gesso may crack or delaminate. From the point of view of the cracking and fracturing of wood, indoor climate conditions are in the safe range for most of the year.     

Much Ado About "Sweet Bugger All": Getting to the Bottom of a Puzzle in British Folk Speech

One of the lexical items differentiating British English from American English is the word bugger. Popular in England as attested by numerous idioms and its frequent occurrence in limericks, it is rarely used in the United States and if it is, it is without reference to its original sense of sodomy. It is suggested that this marked contrast in usage may possibly be related to different attitudes towards homosexuality existing in England and the United States.     

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Abstract

The existence of sacred places is a widespread phenomenon throughout Palestine, one which is reflected in various types of local sites, such as water sources, graves, caves, trees and constructed shrines (maqams). In Islamic Palestine, the construction of maqams originated with the Fatimid (a Shiite group), in order to memorialise and 'greet' distinguished figures descended from the family of the prophet Muhammad. Thereafter, the Sunni faith actively adopted this concept and dedicated more than 2,500 sites to prophets, holy people, the righteous and martyrs. The sacred place of Sheikh Shihab ed-Din, like several hundred other Islamic maqams throughout Mandate Palestine, is located on top of a natural hill commanding a panoramic view. This place has held religious importance during the Byzantine and Ayyubid-Mamluk periods, right through to the present day. This paper studies the construction of the maqam as well as its related archaeological remains. It is based on a field study, a survey of the literature, and archaeological explorations conducted during a brief excavation season.     

The role of canids in ritual and domestic contexts: new ancient DNA insights from complex hunter–gatherer sites in prehistoric Central California

This study explores the interrelationship between the genus Canis and hunter–gatherers through a case study of prehistoric Native Americans in the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento Delta area. A distinctive aspect of the region's prehistoric record is the interment of canids, variously classified as coyotes, dogs, and wolves. Since these species are difficult to distinguish based solely on morphology, ancient DNA analysis was employed to distinguish species. The DNA study results, the first on canids from archaeological sites in California, are entirely represented by domesticated dogs (including both interments and disarticulated samples from midden deposits). These results, buttressed by stable isotope analyses, provide new insight into the complex interrelationship between humans and canids in both ritual and prosaic contexts, and reveal a more prominent role for dogs than previously envisioned.