Heart of darkness reinvented? A tale of ex‐soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

This article presents the contemporary case of two Norwegian ex‐soldiers sentenced to death for murder, espionage and mercenary activity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It analyses the wider context of the historical roots of Norwegian engagement in the Congo (now DRC) as well as the mass‐mediated discourses centring around the tropes of a Conradian ‘Heart of darkness’. Further, using the insights of Johannes Fabian's seminal work on exploration, ethnography and representation (2000), it argues that contemporary Norwegian discourses on the Congo are steeped in the tradition of travelogues. Secondly, also drawing on Fabian, it argues that by representing the DRC as a topos ‐ a space without a place ‐ these discourses uncritically reproduce notions of decontextualised radical alterity.     

Evaluating the Potential of Semi-Automated Image Analysis for Delimiting Soil and Sediment Layers

ABSTRACT

Established methods for delineating anthropogenic and natural strata during fieldwork are based on the visual and tactile perception of excavators. Modern image analysis techniques can help to ensure objectivity and reproducibility when documenting sections and plana. Within this study we examine the unsupervised classification of digital images as a technique for delimiting layers and identifying stratigraphic features. Assessing the potential of this approach, we exemplarily captured soil profiles with high-contrast stratigraphy, located in the area of a historical vineyard (Brandenburg, Germany). Reproducible analyses were carried out using open-source software, allowing for the future advancement of the methodology utilized and providing a basis for the analysis of more complex stratigraphic sequences. We compare clustering results of high-resolution RGB and hyperspectral images (470–830?nm, 37 bands). Multiple pre-processing and processing steps are carried out to evaluate their influence. Our results render the semi-automatic analysis of RGB images helpful for stratigraphic interpretation.     

Climate Testimonies and Climate-crisis Narratives. Inuit Delegated to Speak on Behalf of the Climate

Abstract

The empirical data analysed in this essay will focus on several Greenlanders who were invited to the COP15 parallel event Klimaforum09, held in Copenhagen in December 2009, as well as their experiences with the venue and the dilemmas they confronted as both local and global witnesses. This essay challenges the use of climate testimonies in the international climate-change debate. Specifically, what is drawn upon in these personal experiences with the environment, and how is it useful in a public, political, or scientific context? In the conclusion of this article, it is argued that dominant climate-crisis narratives have framed “the Greenlandic case” in a certain way, which consequently freezes arguments and possible agency. However, at the same time as there is a global framing of climate change and a specific position in this narrative for “local witnesses”, there is also room for an alternative empowerment and ways of engaging in and talking about global and local natures.     

Surroundings,Beginnings and Formation of a Journal – A Dialogue with NAR's Alpha Editor Bjørn Myhre

Bjørn Myhre played a key role in the establishment of Norwegian Archaeological Review. All in all, 17 volumes of NAR were produced under his editorial leadership (1968–1978 and 1985–1990). Bjørn Myhre was born in Stavanger in 1938. He did his degree at the University of Bergen (1964), and has since been engaged in research, editing, culture heritage management, excavations, teaching and administration – in Stavanger, Bergen and Oslo. He has produced important prehistoric overviews, cf. Magnus & Myhre 1976, Myhre 2002a, 2003, and 2004. The Iron Age society in south‐west Norway has been central in his research. Of several important excavations, the Iron Age farm site Ullandhaug (1967–68) is fundamental. He has explored different aspects of Iron Age farms – agrarian development, settlement history, house construction and structure (e.g. Myhre 1973, 1978). His studies include discussions on social and political development (Myhre 1985a, 1987, 1998, 2002b). Methodology and theory became a focal point during his time as professor at the University of Oslo from 1985, e.g. ‘Trends in Norwegian archaeology’ (1985b) and ‘Theory in Scandinavian archaeology since 1960 (1991). In 1993, he was appointed as Director of Museum of Archaeology in Stavanger. In 2008 he formally retired, but is still a very active debating and writing archaeologist.

Initially, Bjørn Myhre was invited to write an article about the establishment and first developments of NAR. Subsequently, this was changed to a dialogue text based on questions and answers communicated by email during the autumn of 2007. The basis for questions and replies is a selection of diagrams prepared for the Editorial in this issue which display trends covered in the 40 volumes of NAR.     

Layering,Administrative Change and National Paths to Europeanization: The Case of the Water Framework Directive

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) can be seen as a reform effort that intervenes in the member states' domestic administrative system by obliging “whole of government” measures across sectoral lines of authority and levels of government. This puts pressure on the sectoral authorities to coordinate their activities. In this article we ask the following questions: How do the state executives respond to the WFD? How can we understand their behaviour and action choices in the implementation of EU law? And third: What can our findings tell us about changes to the European administrative system? This article reveals that despite resistance and strong cognitive priors among the state executives, the WFD logic of ecosystem-based management is gaining a foothold as an administrative principle. Thus, in order to explain changes in the administrative system, we need to take the regional level into account. Our findings suggest that attention needs to be paid to the role of complex, multi-level structures, which includes the regional, river basin district level in the development of a European administrative order.     

Norwegian national day oratory: constructing and reconstructing a national we

National day speeches play an explicit part in defining national identities. In this article, we examine how mayors in Norwegian municipalities reflect on Norway's increased diversity in their 17 May speeches. National day speeches in Norway are supposed to focus on unity, not conflict. Yet, what have they become in the context of diversity? In applying theoretical perspectives on nations, rituals and language to data consisting of a selection of speeches, our analysis identifies themes that structure a typical 17 May speech. We explore the use of plural pronouns in the speeches and how they make Norwegian national identity more or less accessible for people with minority backgrounds. By including ethnic minorities in national day rhetoric, the speakers negotiate who belongs in the Norwegian community in a less directly political way than in everyday life. Yet, whilst the genre is celebratory, the national day speeches also echo different political attitudes towards diversity and integration.     

Rational Goals for the Urban Environment: A Swedish Example

In Sweden, the government's aim to create sustainable urban environments is expressed through the environmental quality objective “A good built environment”. The objective embraces seven sub-goals and is designed to guide central, regional and local authorities’ planning towards urban sustainability. However, for objectives concerning the urban environment, such as the Swedish objective “A good built environment”, to form a solid basis for decision-making, two types of rationality (functionality) conditions ought to be met. First, the objectives should guide and motivate those who are responsible for their implementation. This is applicable when the goals satisfy the criteria of precision, evaluability, approachability and motivity. Second, when the goals are parts of larger goal systems, the goal systems should be coherent. Using the objective “A good built environment” as an empirical basis, this article gives a few examples of how environmental goals can fail to guide and motivate action towards improved urban sustainability.