Identity, threat and defiance: interpreting the “bulwark”, a 12th century lake building on Gotland, Sweden

“Bulverket” in Gotland has been one of Sweden’s longest standing archaeological mysteries since its purpose was first pondered by Oscar Montelius in 1868. For some, the enormous timber construction in the middle of the lake at Tingstäde was obviously military, but other suggestions spanned the entire social spectrum: a market place, a religious centre, a crusader barracks, a pirate base or even a prison. Whatever its function and meanings, the enterprise demanded a prodigious investment of labour and must represent someone or some group with considerable power and motivation. Yet soon after its construction it seems to have played out its role and been abandoned. The reasons are of course implicated in the fascinating structure itself but they also have to be sought in the wider context of contemporary Gotlandic society.     

A Structural Equation Approach to Models with Spatial Dependence

We introduce the class of structural equation models (SEMs) and corresponding estimation procedures into a spatial dependence framework. SEM allows both latent and observed variables within one and the same (causal) model. Compared with models with observed variables only, this feature makes it possible to obtain a closer correspondence between theory and empirics, to explicitly account for measurement errors, and to reduce multicollinearity. We extend the standard SEM maximum likelihood estimator to allow for spatial dependence and propose easily accessible SEM software like LISREL 8 and Mx. We present an illustration based on Anselin's Columbus, OH, crime data set. Furthermore, we combine the spatial lag model with the latent multiple-indicators–multiple-causes model and discuss estimation of this latent spatial lag model. We present an illustration based on the Anselin crime data set again.     

Developing Capabilities: An Analysis of Biotechnology in two Regions in Australia and Sweden

This article analyses whether regions develop capabilities in terms of scientific, technological and business activities within specific biotechnology areas. We take a broad definition of biotechnology, and identify four industry areas: (1) core biotechnology; (2) drugs; (3) medical technologies; (4) agriculture. Capabilities and specialization-diversification are analysed for the regions of Gothenburg in western Sweden, and Brisbane in Queensland, Australia, for the period 1997–2001. These regions are relatively ordinary, and not well-studied, biotech mega-centres. The results suggest there are positive feedback mechanisms that occur in co-located activities developing regional capabilities. Regional success within biotechnology, then, is related to the existence of all or most of the different value adding activities within a sector, as well as being reasonably diversified within related sectors. This is true for all measured industry areas, although regional capability development within core biotechnology shows signs of a relatively more disruptive pattern.     

Translocalising and Relocalising Antifascist Struggles: From #KämpaShowan to #KämpaMalmö

This article explores the translocal hybrid activism surrounding two demonstrations triggered by a violent altercation between antifascists and neo‐Nazis in Malmö in March 2014. It maps the appearance and spread of the hashtag that underpinned this activism: #KämpaShowan. It also considers how the hashtag was articulated, adopted and adapted by different activists in ways that led to the emergence of a new hashtag: #KämpaMalmö. It shows how the action frames foregrounded by #KämpaShowan stimulated its translocal diffusion but were also criticised by local activists who in turn tried to relocalise the energy behind the hashtag and shift its associated action frames. The article thus reveals how antifascist activists might respond to far‐right violence with social media tactics that attract broader publics and break the isolation often caused by more confrontational street politics. It also highlights how these tactics can stretch across geographical scales involving processes of relocalisation as much as translocalisation.     

Record linkage in the Cape of Good Hope Panel*

Abstract

In this article, we describe the record linkage procedure to create a panel from Cape Colony census returns, or opgaafrolle, for 1787–1828, a dataset of 42,354 household-level observations. Based on a subset of manually linked records, we first evaluate statistical models and deterministic algorithms to best identify and match households over time. By using household-level characteristics in the linking process and near-annual data, we are able to create high-quality links for 84% of the dataset. We compare basic analyses on the linked panel dataset to the original cross-sectional data, evaluate the feasibility of the strategy when linking to supplementary sources, and discuss the scalability of our approach to the full Cape panel.     

Mars (1564): the initial archaeological investigations of a great 16th‐century Swedish warship

Before the Swedish warship Mars exploded and sank in action against a combined Danish and Lübeckian fleet in 1564, it was one of the largest ships in the world. In 2011 the wreck was relocated off the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea. Thanks to the favourable conditions in the brackish water, about two thirds of the hull is preserved on the sea bottom, including the stern with the large sterncastle. The aim of this article is to present initial archaeological observations and results of work since 2011. We briefly describe the historical context and research perspectives regarding this wreck.     

Heritage under attack: motives for targeting cultural property during armed conflict

Although attacks on cultural property have caused international outcry, our understanding of this phenomenon is still limited. In particular, little research has been directed towards exploring the motivations for such attacks. Therefore, we ask: What are the motives for attacking sites, buildings or objects representing cultural heritage? By combining insights from peace and conflict research with findings from heritage studies we present a typology of motivations for attacking cultural property. We identify four, not mutually exclusive, broad groups of motives: (i) attacks related to conflict goals, in which cultural property is targeted because it is connected to the issue the warring parties are fighting over (ii), military-strategic attacks, in which the main motivation is to win tactical advantages in the conflict (iii), signalling attacks, in which cultural property is targeted as a low-risk target that signals the commitment of the aggressor, and (iv) economic incentives where cultural property provides funding for warring parties. Our typology offers a theoretical structure for research about why, when, and by whom, cultural property is targeted. This is not only likely to provide academic benefits, but also to contribute to the development of more effective tools for the protection of cultural property during armed conflict.     

Landscape and Gentrification: The Picturesque and Pastoral in 1980s New York Cinema

In this article I discuss 1980s New York cinema through the conceptual lens of landscape, drawing in particular on the interconnected but separate traditions of the pastoral and the picturesque. While the former mode of representing landscape is idealizing (the shepherd/nymph‐motif), the latter with its origins in the period of the enclosures of the English countryside tends to aestheticize poverty and dispossession. This distinction can productively be deployed in relation to tensions between glamorization and exploitation in 1980s New York cinema, which often dealt with the themes of rent, eviction, and unemployment in postindustrial settings. Focusing in particular on Downtown 81 (Edo Bertoglio, 1981/2000) and Desperately Seeking Susan (Susan Seidelman, 1985), I argue that the current nostalgia for a pre‐gentrified and less regulated New York in popular culture is dependent on these idealizing and aestheticizing tendencies insofar that they conceal or prettify some of the darker aspects of the period.