Prisons and incarceration in fourteenth-century Venetian Crete

Though the evolution of prisons and the prison system in medieval Europe is a well-developed field in the history of law, little attention has been paid to prisons and incarceration on the frontiers of Latin Christendom. The present study makes use of archival and literary sources in order to examine how prisons functioned in Venice's most important colony, the island of Crete. As there has been no previous study of prisons and incarceration in medieval Greece, the article's first aim is to establish some basic facts about the prisons of Crete, such as their locations, their organization and their system of administration. More importantly, however, the study investigates the role that incarceration played in the legal system of the Venetian colony and attempts to set this role within the context of the juridical developments of the Late Middle Ages. Of particular interest is the question of how closely the legal system of the Venetian colony followed the judicial practice of the metropolis and whether it was influenced by the pre-existing legal institutions of Byzantium. Finally, the study also examines how the jurisprudence of the colonial regime dealt with offenders of different ethnic background and legal status.     

Changes in Land-Use Preferences of Small-, Medium- and Large-Scale Industries Located in Metropolitan Areas (Case Study in Istanbul)

In metropolitan areas, the changing spatial land-use preferences of the industrial sector are the most important determinants in the forming of the macro-form. Metropolitan areas, especially in developing European and Asian countries, become troubled cities with agglomerations of population and investment as a result of failures to apply satisfactory macro-policies and plans throughout the country. Industrial investments on various scales and the land-use preferences of investors have changed over time. The land preferences of production and headquarters of the manufacturing sectors have become basic determinants in the formation of settlement systems due to the transformations that occur alongside technological, economic and social development. This article examines whether or not the basic land-use criterion of the manufacturing sector changes in small-, medium- and large-scale businesses according to their labour structure, defined through an examination of the sectoral structure and relations of scale. Taking the increasing rate of the Gross National Product of the industrial sector in metropolitan areas in every country into account, and examining the land-use preferences of various industrial sub-sectors and scales will serve as an important input when making new planning decisions. The industrial land-use criterion will be effective in the transformation, reorganization or directing of new focuses for the agglomerated industrial structure, especially in Istanbul, which features both Asian and European metropolitan area characteristics. This article will define the existing industrial structure of the Istanbul metropolitan area; and differences between the various scales of land-use preferences within industrial investments will be presented, based on the findings of two investigations carried out over a 5-year period. Several important criteria for industrial investors seeking to establish themselves in metropolitan areas will be determined in the article.     

Human Capital in Low-Tech Manufacturing: The Geography of the Knowledge Economy in Denmark

Abstract

An essential feature associated with the rise of the knowledge economy has been the increasing focus on the importance of human capital as a precondition for economic growth. Human capital has been found to have a positive impact on the economic growth of high-tech industries, however, the influence of human capital on the development of low-tech industries is yet to be analysed. This paper provides such an examination of low-tech industries based on an analysis of employment data within manufacturing industries in Denmark in the period 1993–2006. The findings highlight, first, that human capital appears to be equally important for economic development in low-tech industries and, second, that the divide between the large urban regions, especially Copenhagen, and the rest of the country plays the primary role in explaining the geography of human capital. These findings stress the relevance of a broad conception of the knowledge economy which goes beyond high-tech industries.     

ANALCIME CRYSTALLIZATION AND COMPOSITIONAL PROFILES—COMPARING APPROACHES TO DETECT POST‐DEPOSITIONAL ALTERATIONS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTTERY*

The approaches of comparative studies and profile measurements, often used in order to detect post‐depositional alterations of ceramics, have been applied simultaneously to two sets of Roman pottery, both of which include altered individuals. As analytical techniques, Neutron Activation Analysis and X‐Ray Diffraction have been used. Both approaches lead to substantially different results. This shows that they detect different levels of alteration and should complement each other rather than being used exclusively. For the special process of a glassy phase decomposition followed by a crystallization of the Na‐zeolite analcime, the results suggest that it changes high‐fired calcareous pottery rapidly, and so fundamentally that the results of various archaeometric techniques can be severely disturbed.     

THE PROVENANCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF NEAR EASTERN GLASS: OXYGEN ISOTOPES BY LASER FLUORINATION AS A COMPLEMENT TO STRONTIUM*

The ability to make rapid measurements on small samples using laser fluorination enhances the potential of oxygen isotopes in the investigation of early inorganic materials and technologies. δ¹⁸O and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values are presented for glass from two primary production sites, four secondary production sites and a consumer site in the Near East, dating from Late Antiquity to the medieval period. δ¹⁸O is in general slightly less effective than ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in discriminating between sources, as the spread of measured values from a single source is somewhat broader relative to the available range. However, while ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr is derived predominantly from either the lime‐bearing fraction of the glass‐making sand or the plant ash used as a source of alkali, δ¹⁸O derives mainly from the silica. Thus the two measurements can provide complementary information. A comparison of δ¹⁸O for late Roman – Islamic glasses made on the coast of Syria–Palestine with those of previously analysed glasses from Roman Europe suggests that the European glasses are relatively enriched in ¹⁸O. This appears to contradict the view that most Roman glass was made using Levantine sand and possible interpretations are discussed.