The diffusion of the Cid cult: a survey and a little-known document

Tomb-cults (with which are to be associated family traditions, genealogical matters, and a variety of other aspects) of epic heroes are important for a number of reasons, among these being the fact they may tell us something about the origin and nature of the poems themselves. These questions have been well investigated for France but are still little studied in and for Spain. Both historical and pseudo-historical or legendary traditions are involved, the latter predominating both in quantity and interest. After an introductory discussion, a survey is undertaken of the cult of the Cid, protagonist of the Poema de mio Cid (1207?) and national hero of Spain. The aim is not to give a full account of all aspects, but to cover the less well-known of these in detail and to provide bibliographical indications about aspects that are already adequately explored. Genealogical matters are examined first, then the monasteries, churches and towns in which the cult was present. The ‘little-known document’ is the forged will of a Navarrese prince, which was a key text in the cult at the monastery of Santa Maria la Real de Nájera and at San Pedro de Cardeña.     

Response to Nowell and Horstwood (2009)

Here we respond to the comment by Nowell and Horstwood (2009) written in response to our 2008 paper where we presented the first results of the application of laser ablation strontium isotope analysis to a fossil hominin. Although we are pleased that the paper has attracted so much interest, including from researchers outside the field such as Nowell and Horstwood, we completely disagree with the two main arguments of their comment. Namely, we reject the notion that they can recalibrate our data using different methods and (non matrix-matched) standards determined in a different laboratory, and that is simply irresponsible to advocate the further development of this method for rare and important hominin samples through drilling rather than the almost non-destructive method of laser ablation that we presented in our paper.     

An underwater photomosaic technique using Adobe Photoshop™

A simple technique for taking systematic runs of vertical underwater photographs is described. Computer-based procedures for rectifying, matching, and assembling the photographs into mosaics using Adobe Photoshop™ software are then explained.     

Shell-gathering from mangroves and the seasonality of the Southeast Asian Monsoon using high-resolution stable isotopic analysis of the tropical estuarine bivalve (Geloina erosa) from the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak: methods and reconnaissance of molluscs of early Holocene and modern times

This paper describes a reconnaissance, high-resolution, study of stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) from modern shells of the estuarine bivalve Geloina erosa, and those dated to the early Holocene that were harvested by people from mangroves near the Great Cave of Niah on the north coast of Borneo. This reconnaissance study provides high-resolution palaeoclimatic-palaeohydrological information concerning early human activity in the region and the past character of the Southeast Asian Monsoon. Laser ablation continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LA-CF-IRMS) on modern shells of Geloina erosa revealed ‘saw-tooth’ stable isotopic profiles that bear a close resemblance to peaks and troughs of trends in recent local rainfall, including the 1998 El Niño drought, highlighting the potential of Geloina erosa for reconstructing seasonality of the Southeast Asian Palaeomonsoon. LA-CF-IRMS analysis of prehistoric shells of Geloina erosa held in the Harrisson Archives of the Sarawak Museum revealed cyclical shifts in δ¹⁸O with similar amplitudes of variation as found in modern shells of Geloina erosa. As at the present day, this probably reflects the changing seasonality of the monsoon rains with shifts to negative δ¹⁸O values during periods of high runoff. Lighter mean δ¹⁸O values of the prehistoric shells, however, may indicate a greater annual surplus of rainfall and possibly consistent with the early Holocene strengthening of the summer monsoon at that time. The similarity of the last growth increment δ¹⁸O of the prehistoric shells to their mean δ¹⁸O profile values suggests that gathering took place during times of moderate runoff.     

Book reviews

CHINA

CHIU‐YEE CHEUNG. Lu Xun: the Chinese “Gentle” Nietzsche. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2001. xviii, 197 pp. SFR 56.00, paper.

PAMELA KYLE CROSSLEY. The Manchus. Oxford and Maiden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 1997; 2002. xvi, 239 pp. 26 plates, 2 maps. £30.00, hardcover; £16.99, paper.

GLORIA DAVIES (ed). Voicing Concerns: contemporary Chinese Critical Inquiry. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2001. xii, 270 pp. US$75.00, hardcover; US$26.95, paper.

ANDREW F. JONES. Yellow Music—media Culture and Colonial Modernity in the Chinese Jazz Age. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2001. ix, 213 pp. Glossary, notes, bibliography, index. US$49.95 hardcover, $17.95 paper.

KAM LOUIE. Theorising Chinese Masculinity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 239 pp. Bibliography, index. A$80.00, hardcover.

LUNG‐KEE SUN. The Chinese National Character: from Nationhood to Individuality. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2002. xx, 299 pp. US$65.95, hardcover.

JAPAN, KOREA

MICHAEL LEWIS. Becoming Apart: national Power and Local Politics in Toyama, 1868–1945. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000. Harvard East Asian Monographs, no. 192. $US45.00, hardcover.

KATO SHUICHI. A Sheep's Song: a Writer's Reminiscences of Japan and the World. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. 470 pp. Translated and annotated by Chia‐ning Chang. Index. US$24.95, paper.

SUSAN FISHER (ed). Nostalgic Journeys: literary Pilgrimages between Japan and the West. Proceedings of a conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia, September 1999. Vancouver: University of British Columbia, Institute of Asian Research, 2001. 194 pp. Notes on contributors. No price given, paper.

MICHAEL MOLASKY and STEVE RABSON (eds). Southern Exposure: modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2000. 362 pp. Introduction, Notes on translators. US$27.95, paper.

RAJYASHREE PANDEY. Writing and Renunciation in Medieval Japan: the Works of the Poet‐Priest Kamo no Chōmei. Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies No. 21, Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1998. xi, 197 pp. US$32.95/£24.50, hardcover.

TAKAMIZAWA JUNKO. My Brother Hideo Kobayashi. Translated by James Wada, introduction by Leith Morton. Sydney: Wild Peony, 2001. x, 166 pp. Photographs. A$30.00, paper.

SOUTH, WEST & CENTRAL ASIA

I. QADEER, K. SEN and K. NAYAR. Public Health and the Poverty of Reform. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2001. Rs 700, hardcover.

JAVED AHMAD KHAN. India and West Asia: emerging Markets in the Liberalisation Era. New Delhi/Thousand Oaks/London: Sage Publications, 1999. 263 pp. Rs. 395, hardcover.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

PHILIP J. ELDRIDGE. The Politics of Human Rights in Southeast Asia. London: Routledge, 2001. 256 pp. £55.00, hardcover.

KASIAN TEJAPIRA. Commodifying Marxism. The Formation of Modern Thai Radical Culture, 1927–1958. (Kyoto Area Studies on Asia, Centre for Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Volume 3). Kyoto: Kyoto University Press; Melbourne: Trans Pacific Press, 2001. xiv, 390 pp. Index. No price given, paper.

NICHOLAS TARLING. A Sudden Rampage: the Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia, 1941–1945. London: C. Hurst & Company, 2001. xvi, 286 pp. £12.95, paper.     

Exploring the Use of Computer Vision Metrics for Spatial Pattern Comparison

Detection of changes in spatial processes has long been of interest to quantitative geographers seeking to test models, validate theories, and anticipate change. Given the current “data-rich” environment of today, it may be time to reconsider the methodological approaches used for quantifying change in spatial processes. New tools emerging from computer vision research may hold particular potential to make significant advances in quantifying changes in spatial processes. In this article, two comparative indices from computer vision, the structural similarity (SSIM) index, and the complex wavelet structural similarity (CWSSIM) index were examined for their utility in the comparison of real and simulated spatial data sets. Gaussian Markov random fields were simulated and compared with both metrics. A case study into comparison of snow water equivalent spatial patterns over northern Canada was used to explore the properties of these indices on real-world data. CWSSIM was found to be less sensitive than SSIM to changing window dimension. The CWSSIM appears to have significant potential in characterizing change and/or similarity; distinguishing between map pairs that possess subtle structural differences. Further research is required to explore the utility of these approaches for empirical comparison cases of different forms of landscape change and in comparison to human judgments of spatial pattern differences.     

Modelling tourism and hospitality employment clusters: a spatial econometric approach

ABSTRACT

Geographic clustering of industries for mutual economic benefit has long been recognised. The concept of ‘externalities’ introduced by Alfred Marshall early last century rely on agglomeration of specialised industry within a geographic area. However, only recently has cluster modelling been applied to the tourism and hospitality (T&H) industry. The aim of this paper, therefore, is twofold: first is to develop a cluster-based theoretical framework for delineating geographic boundaries of T&H clusters, and second is to identify the underlying factors that drive their form and shape.

Drawing on employment data as the basis for co-location of T&H firms, spatial econometrics techniques are applied to model the spatial clustering of T&H employment in Victoria, Australia. Results show that rural tourism regions have higher levels of employment in tourism operational services whereas employment in city-based regions is more concentrated in hospitality services. Our findings, when normalised as a percentage of total employment, show that rural and regional Victoria ranks most highly as employers in the T&H industry. Adopting a range of spatial metrics, we show that T&H clustering throughout Victoria is largely driven by six location-specific factors: (1) the availability of tourism attractions; (2) proximity to the coast; (3) the road density network; (4) accessibility to employment within the Melbourne CBD; (5) the scale of the regional economy; and, (6) the advantages and disadvantages associated with economic resources. We conclude that the cluster-led strategy pose a number of challenges for tourism planners to promote regional tourism. Nevertheless, results from this study indicate that T&H employment clustering creates a more cohesive spatial structure that could support economic development and better connectedness of tourism destinations. These clusters could act as service hubs to their wider catchment areas where visitors are encouraged to stay overnight and travel to specific sights during the day.