Reading Pottery: Literature and Transfer-Printed Pottery in the Early Nineteenth Century

The use of illustrations from literary sources, specifically fiction, on transfer-printed earthenwares in the early nineteenth century is addressed through an example of a household dump in Buckinghamshire, England. This paper examines such ceramics in terms of the nature of fiction and the reading public in Britain during this period and how the production and consumption of literary ceramics is connected to the changing perception of fiction and its accompanying illustrations. The paper argues that the use of literary scenes as patterns on transfer-printed vessels had to mediate both changing perceptions of fiction and ideals of the picturesque and suitable subjects for transfer print patterns.     

Creating safe atmospheres? Children’s experiences of grandparents’ affective and spatial responses to domestic violence

ABSTRACT

While grandparenting literature has primarily discussed intergenerational relations in families with ‘normal’ everyday problems, such as childcare, it has largely neglected more troublesome issues, such as domestic violence. Based on interviews with ten children and teens, this article explores grandchildren’s experiences of how their grandparents have responded when they were being exposed to violence in the intermediate generation. These responses have affective-spatial aspects as the grandparents contributed to what we call ‘safe atmospheres’. Grandparents’ homes often provided a sense of safety, and grandparents at times contributed to a safe atmosphere in their grandchildren’s homes and helped to create safety and comfort in non-domestic places. Some grandparents, however, could be unsupportive and fail to contribute to safe atmospheres. Although physical space is important to create safety, in order to create a safe atmosphere, it has to correspond to a relational movement where grandparents side with their grandchildren.     

Testing Transferability: Quantitative Evaluation of Labor Market Area Definition Methods in Three Contrasting Countries

Sub-national economic policies increasingly use labor market areas (LMAs) rather than administrative areas for analysis and implementation. How a set of LMAs was defined influences the results of such analyses, and so accurate policy delivery needs appropriately defined LMAs. Multinational bodies need comparable LMA definitions in many countries, calling for a definition method that is transferable across national boundaries. This article applies quantitative metrics to evaluate LMAs defined in three contrasting countries by three methods that represent the main methodological approaches. The deductive approach—based on a center and hinterland—is too inflexible to deal with differing geographical circumstances and cannot cope with statistical zones that are very small, or do not respect settlement structure. The alternative inductive methods tested define appropriate LMAs in each country, with the newer method performing slightly better in statistical terms. The article also exemplifies the usefulness of the metrics for comparisons of alternative regionalizations.