The Territorial Approach to Cultural Economy: New Opportunities for the Development of Small Towns

In recent years, there has been a notable development of research on the role of culture in regional and local development models and on the relevance of the so-called cultural economy. Despite the existence of several nuances, it is possible to identify two basic research approaches to the issue. The first is focused on analysing the industry of culture, showing the processes of concentration of cultural activities in some places and the links with other sectors of the local economy. The other approach, more oriented towards the territory, emphasizes the role that a system of cultural assets can play in the dynamics of economic and social development of a specific area. In contrast to the first, which concerns larger cities, the territorial approach privileges medium- and small-sized towns and rural areas. In adopting this perspective, we present the case study of Volterra, a small Italian town whose cultural heritage has been considered in recent years as the main local development driver. By means of a direct survey and interviews with opinion leaders, we have attempted to assess the perceptions and reactions of residents and visitors and to identify the connections between the local heritage, cultural activities and strategies of urban development.     

Reviews of Atlases and maps

EUROPE

An Atlas of Edinburgh. Prepared and published by the Geographical Association (Edinburgh Branch). 15 × 10. Pp. 39+5. 10s.

National Atlas of Disease Mortality in the United Kingdom. Prepared by G. M. Howe. 11 ¼ × 6 ¾. Pp. 111. 56 maps and associated commentaries, statistical appendix and administrative overtraces. London and Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1963. 35s.

Oxford Plastic Relief Maps; series 4: maps 8 (Devon), 9 (Cornwall), and 10 (Hampshire).

AFRICA

Nigeria Junior Atlas. Edited by E. E. Soladoye. Ghana Junior Atlas. Edited by E. A. Boateng. Both 11 × 8 ½. Pp. 33. London and Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd., 1965. Nigeria 5s.     

Constructions of rural childhood: challenging dominant perspectives

This article reviews research on the lives and experiences of children and young people living in rural Minority world environments. The literature reviewed has focused on constructions of rurality in relation to children's experiences, most notably the rural idyll. Alternative constructions of rural childhood, characterised by dullness, horror and deprivation, are also apparent, and associated with insufficient rural activities, resources and transport, marginalisation and social exclusion. The more recent inclusion of children's perspectives on rural living provides a deeper understanding of rural childhood and challenges the dominant perspectives.     

New trials in the consolidation of waterlogged archaeological wood with different acetone-carried products

Some acetone-carried consolidants for waterlogged archaeological wood were tested in order to evaluate treatments able to save time and energy. In details, colophony (rosin), two esterified colophonies (Rosin 100^® and Rosin 459^®), a mixture of colophony with PEG 3400 and a vinyl acetate - vinyl versate copolymer (Vinavil 8020S^®) were tested. The treatments were carried out at temperatures of 20 and 35 °C on waterlogged maritime pine, elm, oak and beech. The materials came from the archaeological site of the ancient ships of Pisa (Tuscany, Italy) and were dated back to VII cent. BC – II cent. AD. To evaluate the processes, equilibrium moisture content and dimensional stability of treated wood samples at different relative humidity, and retention of impregnating products were measured; moreover macroscopic and microscopic examination were also run to respectively assess the shape and appearance of treated wood and the way of deposition of consolidants. The results highlighted that natural and modified colophony treatments gave the most satisfactory results both in the maintenance of shape and dimensions of samples and in the stabilization with respect to RH variations. Moreover, the equilibrium moisture contents of samples treated with R100 and R459 were much reduced in comparison to the other consolidants and to untreated archaeological wood. This fact was related to the high retention values of those products that occluded most of the porosity including the microporosity of cell walls. Therefore, in terms of higroscopicity treated wood was more similar to impregnating substances rather than to decayed wood. This fact was considered helpful in contrasting the moisture-related negative effects in cases of eventual faults in the climate control during e.g. exhibition and in protecting treated wood from the risks of new fungal attacks.     

Establishing the Middle Sea: The Late Bronze Age of Mediterranean Europe (1700–900 BC)

Journal of Archaeological Research - The Late Bronze Age (1700–900 BC) represents an extremely dynamic period for Mediterranean Europe. Here, we provide a comparative survey of the...     

Integrating radar and laser-based remote sensing techniques for monitoring structural deformation of archaeological monuments

Ground-Based Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (GBInSAR) and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) were purposely integrated to obtain 3D interferometric radar point clouds to facilitate the spatial interpretation of displacements affecting archaeological monuments. The paper describes the procedure to implement this integrated approach in the real-world situations of surveillance of archaeological and built heritage. Targeted tests were carried out on the case study of the Domus Tiberiana sited along the northern side of the Palatino Hill in the central archaeological area of Rome, Italy, and displacements of the monument were monitored over almost one year of acquisition. The GBInSAR – TLS integration provided updated information about the condition of the archaeological structures in relation to their history of instability mechanisms, and did not highlighted a general worsening for the stability of the entire monument. Point-wise and prompt detection of displacement anomalies and/or sudden changes in displacement trends proved the suitability of the method to support early warning procedures, also to evaluate effects on the masonry due to human activities.     

‘My Journey to School …’: Foregrounding the Meaning of School Journeys and Children's Engagements and Interactions in their Everyday Localities

This paper gives prominence to children's own accounts of school journeys. The characteristics of school journeys in Fife, Scotland are outlined, and the nature of children's school journey experiences discussed. The focus is on children in the latter years of primary school, concentrating mainly on the experiences of those who walk without adult accompaniment on their school journeys. By drawing attention to the meaning of these journeys to children this paper brings to the fore children's active and imaginative engagements in and with their environments. This situates school journeys as an integral part of children's geographies indicative of the regulation of the child's realm and the active part which children play in redefining this.     

Detection of archaeological crop marks by using satellite QuickBird multispectral imagery

The capability of satellite QuickBird imagery for the identification of archaeological crop marks is herein presented and discussed for two test sites located in the South of Italy. The selected sites, dating back to Middle Ages, were buried under surfaces covered by herbaceous plants characterized by a different phenological status (dry/green) when the satellite data were acquired.     

Developing trainee teacher practice with geographical information systems (GIS)

There is general agreement that geographical information systems (GIS) have a place within the geography classroom; they offer the potential to support geographical learning, exploring real-world problems through student-centred learning, and developing spatial thinking. Despite this, teachers often avoid engaging with GIS and research suggests that the lack of GIS training in initial teacher education is partially to blame. In response to this, this article explores how 16 trainee geography teachers were supported to develop their use of GIS across a one-year, postgraduate teacher training course in England. The project, an interpretive case study underpinned by a constructivist epistemology, used questionnaires and interviews to elicit trainees’ understandings of the nature of GIS, and to explore their engagement with it across their training year. Results suggest a programme of embedded training developed in trainees a more nuanced understanding of the value of GIS for supporting geographical learning and, thereby, increased self-efficacy towards and engagement with it in their teaching practice. However, not all trainees embraced GIS as a pedagogical tool and the study raised several key issues for geography teacher education, including the knowledge culture within schools in the teacher training partnership, and the importance of trainee self-efficacy towards GIS.