Peter Kozler and His Map of the Slovenian Land and Its Provinces (1849–1871)

Early modern regional maps of Europe usually indicated the area occupied by people who were beginning to refer to themselves as Slovenians under various names. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that the actual extent of the Slovenian language was depicted on a map and Slovenians were recognized as a nation within the Austrian Empire. Much of the credit for the systematic recording of the distribution of Slovenian speakers can be attributed to Peter Kozler, the Gottscheer German lawyer who compiled his pioneering The Map of the Slovenian Land and Its Provinces [Zemljovid slovenske de?ele in pokrajin] during the political upheavals associated with the ‘Spring of Nations’ and the 1848 Revolution in the Habsburg Monarchy. Although Kozler’s map was completed in 1852 and first printed in 1853, the authorities repeatedly delayed its publication until 1861. This article uncovers the history of the map’s production and eventual publication.     

FISHERS OF THE CORDED WARE CULTURE IN THE EASTERN BALTIC

Between 2800 and 2400 cal BC pastoralists from Central Europe migrated into the eastern Baltic paving the way for the Corded Ware Culture (CWC), and a new type of economy, animal husbandry. Traditionally the CWC people were viewed as highly mobile due to the lack of substantial traces of dwellings and material culture at settlement sites; they were reliant on an economy based on animal husbandry as demonstrated by zooarchaeological and stable isotopic evidence. However, this paradigm is beginning to shift. Here, we present new AMS radiocarbon (¹⁴C) measurements, pollen and macrobotanical data from sediment samples and a portable fish screen, as well as technological, molecular and isotopic data obtained from ceramic vessels from three CWC sites in the eastern Baltic. Overall, our results indicate a de-Neolithisation process undergone by some CWC groups, particularly in lacustrine and coastal ecotones, and a shift to hunting, gathering and fishing.     

The impacts of spatial planning on the sustainable territorial development of the Rhine-Danube Trans-European Transport Corridor through Serbia

The Danube River is both the international waterway E-80 and the Rhine-Danube Core Network Corridor of nine European corridors in the trans-European transport network, and it is the core area of the most significant Danubian development axis in the Republic of Serbia. The present research focus of this paper is the integrated impact of spatial planning on achieving the sustainable territorial development of the Rhine-Danube Corridor through Serbia and its potential transboundary impact. Integrated assessment (environmental and social), based on the combined application of the standard strategic environmental assessment (SEA) method and the newly presented adapted strategic environmental assessment (ASEA) method, has made it possible to predict the effects of future activities on the sustainable territorial development of the waterway corridor, not only in Serbia, but also in other Danubian countries. The applied combination of the SEA and ASEA methods is presented in the form of key planning solutions in three selected sectors: international inland waterway, water management infrastructure and tourism. The results indicate that the negative impacts of potential conflicts between the planning solutions are far greater than the negative impacts of individual planning solutions, and that it is more difficult to control and mitigate or neutralize them.     

Is Europe 2020 Set to Fail? The Cultural Political Economy of the EU Grand Strategies

The European Union (EU) has been continuously rethinking its global position amidst emerging economic and geopolitical challenges and attempting to formulate strategies to increase its competitiveness. However, its long-standing policy implementation deficit is also recognized for its grand strategies, including the initially ambitious Lisbon Strategy. Is Europe 2020 set to fail as well? In this paper, we are arguing that strategic steering is essentially a discursive practice influenced by both semiotic and extra-semiotic factors. Hence, success or failure of a strategy essentially depends on ability to steer the discourse. Niklas Luhmann's social systems theory offers a theoretical framework against which limitations and potentials of strategic steering at the EU level can be analysed. While high levels of rationality and reflection capacities can improve strategic steering, it is limited by the increasing complexity. Recognizing limitations of direct and centralized interventions, we look for analytical and strategic solutions in sophisticated mechanisms of contextual steering: variation, selection and retention of strategic discourses. These mechanisms are integral to the “cultural political economy” approach. In the final part of the paper, we show how cultural political economy can explain the implementation shortcomings of the EU strategies.     

Radiocarbon and dendrochronological dating of Sub-fossil oaks from Smarhoń riverine sediments

Sub-fossil oaks from Smarhoń in Belarus have been investigated and tree-ring chronologies were assembled. According to radiocarbon dating, the oldest oak grew from 5782–5612 cal BC and the youngest from 1575–1747 cal AD. Radiocarbon and dendrochronological dating of 97 samples, four single series, 10 mean curves (containing 2–9 series) and three chronologies (10–25 series) were constructed. The longest chronology (No. 16), covering 549 years, was absolutely dated against various oak chronologies of Polish/Baltic origin to AD 778–1326. Germination and dying-off phases were assessed from the three best replicated chronologies. A spectral analysis of the chronologies provided cycles of variable length, on average of 25 years.     

Evaluating similarity of radial increments around tree stem circumference of European beech and Norway spruce from Central Europe

Extracting cores from a tree using an increment borer has been standard practice in dendrochronological studies for a long time. Although empirical rules exist regarding how many samples to take and which methodology to apply, comparatively few studies provide quantification of the similarity of relative tree-ring-widths (TRW) around the stem circumference. The aim of this study was therefore to precisely measure the similarity of standardised TRWs around the stem circumference and to provide objective suggestions for optimal core sampling of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst. [L.]) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) growing in Central European temperate forests. A large sample of cross-sectional discs was used from Norway spruce and European beech trees growing on various slopes, at different altitudes and biogeographic regions across the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The similarity of TRWs measured in different coring directions was analysed by testing the relativized TRW around the trunk (rTRW). Comparison of rTRWs revealed no significant differences between coring directions, indicating that the relative increment was the same around the radius. The results also showed the high similarity between the rTRWs to be independent of both slope inclination and altitude. Moreover, the reconstruction of proportional tree diameters and basal areas backward in time from one core sample and one measurement of tree diameter (basal area) at the time of sample extraction is possible with reasonable precision.