Village restoration in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The recent political changes in the Czech Republic have led to a major re‐evaluation of the role of the countryside. An extensive Village Restoration Programme is now underway, which is here described, with a detailed example from south Moravia. The holistic nature of the programme is notable.     

Fl?chenmonitoring in der Regional- und Bauleitplanung Neue M?glichkeiten durch die Analyse von Satellitenbildern

Deutschland hat ein umfassendes und in der Praxis bew?hrtes Planungssystem einschlie?lich integrierter Umweltprüfung, das auch für zus?tzliche bzw. erweiterte Prüfinstrumente günstige Voraussetzungen bietet. Das Fl?chenmonitoring in der Regionalplanung, aber auch für die St?dte und Gemeinden in der vorbereitenden Bauleitplanung kann mit Hilfe einer gezielten Ver?nderungsanalyse der Landbedeckung als ein Baustein eines umfassenden Monitoringsystems und zur Unterstützung des Nachhaltigkeitsprinzips verstanden werden. Da jedoch insbesondere für einen l?ngeren Beobachtungszeitraum kaum bzw. keine (digitalen) Informationen über die Landbedeckung existieren, stellt die Auswertung von Satellitendaten einen L?sungsansatz dar. Inwiefern sich die semiautomatische Analyse von Satellitenbildern als ein geeignetes Instrument zur Bewertung und Ver?nderung der Nutzung eines Landkreises eignet bzw. worin Analyseprobleme sowie M?glichkeiten und Grenzen der Anwendung in der Regionalplanung existieren, soll im folgenden Beitrag am Beispiel des Landkreises Osnabrück thematisiert werden.     

Enhancing spatial learning and mobility training of visually impaired people—a technical paper on the Internet-based tactile and audio-tactile mapping

Thanks to advances in technology such as Internet-based mapping and the development of special inks, papers and global positioning systems, map making for vision impaired people can provide a range of products (e.g., tactile, haptic and audio-tactile maps) that can improve their independence, self-confidence and everyday life. The applications of tactile maps include learning spatial concepts and geography; audio-tactile maps combined with access to geospatial information can enhance mobility and independence. In 1998, the Mapping Services Branch (MSB) of the Earth Sciences Sector of Natural Resources Canada initiated a tactile mapping program. Now referred to as the Government on Line—Mapping for the Visually Impaired Project (Natural Resources Canada 2003a), it aims to serve the community with special needs, with emphasis on those who are blind or visually impaired, their teachers and mobility instructors. This technical paper discusses the various types of tactile and audio-tactile maps of Canada developed by the MSB in cooperation with its partners and describe the current research and development activities carried out within the project. It also leads the reader to further information on audio-tactile maps and touch- and sound-based computer interfaces.     

Catherine Clémentin-Ojha,Le trident sur le palais: Une cabale anti-vishnouite dans un royaume hindou à l'époque coloniale

Indo-Iranian Journal -     

‘Me at the Centre’: perspectives of children with disabilities on community-based services in Serbia

This paper presents results of the research into perspectives of children with disabilities on the space within community-based services in Serbia. The concept of children's agency and participation is considered in the context of inclusion of children with disabilities in the evaluation of services. Using specially developed ‘Me at the Centre’ evaluation method, 20 children aged between 7 and 17 years receiving the home care, day-care centre and respite care services were interviewed in order to understand their perspectives on the services and the ways to improve them from the child perspective. The research results show that children with disabilities can make a significant contribution to the review and enhancement of community services designed for them.     

The international transfer of creative industries as a policy idea

This article examines the transfer of creative industries as a policy idea to Lithuania. Tracing the stages of the transfer and analysing its consequences in the local cultural policy field, this paper argues for the importance of studying cultural policy process. The findings reveal that the process of the international transfer of creative industries mattered, because it generated wider transformations in cultural policy field by having ambiguous effects on local power relations. The policy idea of creative industries opened the cultural policy field to new actors. As a result, competition for scarce state funding increased, but cultural organisations gained access to the European Union structural funds. In all, creative industries as a policy idea significantly transformed Lithuanian state cultural policy, in that it led to a reassessment of both the practices and identities of cultural organisations.     

Soils and Earthen Building Materials Used for the Buddhist Temple Complex

This article presents a comprehensive study of the local soils and historic earthen building materials used in Nako temple complex in Western Himalayas. On-site and laboratory investigations followed a holistic approach to characterize materials and identify historic manufacturing formulas. The interdisciplinary and novel methodology used for analysis of the earthen building materials combine geological, chemical, mineralogical, geotechnical, and mechanical approach. The results presented in this article enable a better understanding of material culture and advance the study of damage and decay processes found in the temple buildings. In addition, a suitable conservation and preservation strategy is presented.