Silk and Propaganda — Two Ottoman Silk Flags and the Relief of Vienna, 1683

This article focuses on two Ottoman silk flags and discusses not only their original contexts of production but also traces their biographies until their reception as booty items and their further use after the Siege of Vienna in 1683. Banners and standards were symbolically charged signs used for military organisation. The higher the rank of a flag, the more coveted it was as booty. It was not so much their material value, which was in fact negligible, but rather their symbolic worth that made them so desirable. In their new context in the hands of the enemy they could be used for propaganda purposes, as indeed they were during and after the second siege of Vienna in 1683. This article investigates the trajectories of two flags captured at the siege and a year after its end and explores the intentions behind their use for propaganda purposes. It thus attempts to untangle the political rivalries, imperial vanities and cultural misunderstandings underlying their complex biographies.     

Multiple Allocation Hub Location Model with Fixed Arc Costs

This article formulates a model to analyze the role of fixed costs in the design of optimal transportation hub networks. The primary purpose of this article is to better model costs in hub networks, an issue that has attracted considerable attention. This article allows particular versions of hub networks to emerge from the cost structure, rather than by imposing a rigid predefined connectivity protocol. The article integrates modeling approaches from an environmental hub location model with the three‐index formulation of Ernst and Krishnamoorthy to produce a hub location model with fixed and variable costs for all arcs. Our goal is to demonstrate how the inclusion of a richer cost model in transportation hub location can generate a wide range of different network types, depending on the relative magnitudes of the cost elements. While the existence of special case network solutions is well known and has been exploited in optimization, the current research provides added insight to the cost of flow in a more, or less, connected hub network. Eight fundamental prototype networks are derived as special cases, and some additional unanticipated network types also emerge. The results are illustrated with a standard CAB25 data set.     

Explaining age differences in positive attitudes towards national commemorations: the role of what people commemorate

Commemorations of shared national history are important to the process of nation‐building. Support for such national commemorations is not, however, evenly distributed in societies. Because this could endanger the possible integrative function of commemorative ceremonies, it is important to understand the sources of structural differences in support. In this article, age differences in support for national commemorations in the Netherlands are examined. It is argued that because age cohorts grow up with different ideas on what should be commemorated they also differ in value attached to such commemorations. Data from the National Freedom Enquiry 2012 show that older persons more often associate national commemorations with the Second World War than younger persons do, and that this is the reason why they are more supportive of the annual celebration of Liberation Day. In the concluding section, it is argued that more (quantitative) studies should be conducted in order to truly understand the mechanisms behind support of national commemorations as this may help us to better comprehend the processes construing feelings of national belonging.     

Queering rurality: reading The Miseducation of Cameron Post geographically

This paper contributes to research on geographies of queer rural youth through an analysis of an award-winning young adult novel, The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Danforth (2012a. The Miseducation of Cameron Post. New York: Harper Collins). Three themes from the text are explored in this paper. The first is the well documented heterosexism of rural life. We note that the main protagonist, Cameron Post, experiences rural life on the margins, not only because of her queer identity but also because of her age and gender. A second theme in Danforth’s text is that rural spaces can be transgressively queer. In this respect the author subverts conflations of rurality and heterosexuality and urbanity and homosexuality as well as universalising notions of rurality as static, repressive and exclusive. The final theme emerging from a geographical reading of the text is that of placelessness. While highlighting the pervasiveness of this theme, we note that it elicits criticism from readers in relation to the book’s ending as it departs from the norms of familiar coming-out-narratives. In conclusion, we emphasise the efficacy of young adult literature as a source for furthering geographic knowledge about young people and sexuality.     

Review of Out-of-Plane Seismic Assessment Techniques Applied To Existing Masonry Buildings

ABSTRACT

Observations after strong earthquakes show that out-of-plane failure of unreinforced masonry elements probably constitutes the most serious life-safety hazard for this type of construction. Existing unreinforced masonry buildings tend to be more vulnerable than new buildings, not only because they have been designed to little or no seismic loading requirements, but also because connections among load-bearing walls and with horizontal structures are not always adequate. Consequently, several types of mechanisms can be activated due to separation from the rest of the construction. Even when connections are effective, out-of-plane failure can be induced by excessive vertical and/or horizontal slenderness of walls (length/thickness ratio). The awareness of such vulnerability has encouraged research in the field, which is summarized in this article. An outline of past research on force-based and displacement-based assessment is given and their translation into international codes is summarized. Strong and weak points of codified assessment procedures are presented through a comparison with parametric nonlinear dynamic analyses of three recurring out-of-plane mechanisms. The assessment strategies are marked by substantial scatter, which can be reduced through an energy-based assessment.     

PETROGLYPHS OF FOOTPRINTS IN THE BRAZILIAN STATE OF MATO GROSSO DO SUL: GENESIS AND STYLISTIC DIFFUSION

The article describes the occurrence of rock carvings in the shape of footprints in rock shelters and caves in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul placing this phenomenon within the archaeological context of the Brazilian Midwestern region as well as the entire continent of South America. Based on available archaeological data the paper reflects upon the possible areas of genesis and ways of diffusion of this distinct rock art style that is seemingly the most prevalent in Brazil.     

Putting the Spotlight on Small Metal Age Pottery Scatters in Northern Calabria (Italy)

This paper presents the results of an in-depth multidisciplinary restudy of small Metal Age surface scatters recorded in earlier fieldwalking surveys in northern Calabria (Italy). Guided by a stratified sampling approach based on site types and topographic positions, high-resolution surface collections at the selected sites were combined with geophysical surveys, test pits, and soil studies to investigate both archaeological deposits and the site formation processes that have an effect on their detectability. This approach is shown to result in a better definition of archaeological ‘sites’, and to help fill in details of regional exploitation and settlement dynamics at the landscape scale. At this broader scale we are also able to model post-depositional processes and slope dynamics affecting the preservation of the archaeological record. With regard to methodology, our study has enabled the evaluation of diverse archaeological detection methods and the fine-tuning of field strategies for the study of Metal Age remains.