Encouraging play in the natural environment: a child-focused case study of Forest School

There is concern that children are becoming disengaged from the natural environment and are not being afforded the opportunities to play in such environments. To examine children's perceptions, knowledge and experiences of play in the natural environment, 17 children from one school participated in small focus groups before and after a 12-week Forest School that took place within a school woodland area. Using two qualitative approaches, we found that Forest School had a positive influence on children's natural play and their knowledge of the natural world around them.     

Flights into the past: full-waveform airborne laser scanning data for archaeological investigation

Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a quite recent (mid-1990s) remote sensing technique used to measure terrain elevation. Recent studies have examined the possibility of using LiDAR in archaeological investigations to map and characterize earthworks, to capture features that may be indistinguishable on the ground and to aid the planning of archaeological excavation campaigns.     

Dome of the Basilica of Santa Maria Degli Angeli in Assisi: Static and Dynamic Assessment

This study presents the results of the static and dynamic assessment of the dome of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, designed by Galeazzo Alessi. The first section is devoted to an overview of the masonry domes designed by the Italian architect and focuses on the structural solutions adopted in the several cases described to better understand Alessi’s designing skills. In the second part, the drum-dome system is analyzed in order to attain a structural assessment. The static assessment is performed by means of limit analysis and finite element model approaches with non-linear mechanical behavior. The obtained results are consistent with the detected crack pattern and confirm the suitability of the reinforcement steel rings applied to the drum. The seismic assessment has been performed by response spectrum analysis. Due to the lack of specific information, a probabilistic approach for the material mechanical properties was used. The results obtained highlight an adequate seismic response of the structure that can be attributed to the dynamic properties of the slender drum-dome system. This finding justifies the good performance of the structure during the seismic events of 1832 and 1997.     

Pewter Funerary Chalices and Patens from York Minster

IT HAS BEEN accepted for many years that, unlike their silver counterparts, pewter chalices and patens found in priestly burials continued largely unchanged in form throughout the medieval period; this means that the presence of a pewter chalice or paten does not in itself currently offer any reliable dating of a related burial beyond a broad 13th–16th-century timeframe. Pewter chalices and patens recovered from 25 burials within York Minster between 1966 and 1973 are thought to represent the largest collection found within one church in England, and initial assessment of this collection and its related excavation data indicated that it offered the possibility of providing findspots for some of the vessels from recorded burials or dated archaeological sequences, and thus to provide more examples of tightly drawn dating. In the event, it has been possible to assign a single chalice and paten set to a recorded individual, and to provide others with periods within which, or after which, burial occurred. Scrutiny of the objects also resulted in the identification of two distinct forms of paten, one of which was shown in seven instances to bear incised motifs which had not been noted or commented upon previously.     

How an integrated diagnostic approach can help in a correct evaluation of the state of preservation of waterlogged archaeological wooden artefacts

Artefacts made of wood coming from archaeological excavations provide insights into human cultural behaviour of the past. They show how man utilised natural resources and how the development of woodworking techniques and artistic endeavour were developed. Within archaeological contexts, waterlogged anaerobic conditions generally preserve the appearance of artefacts, although wood is subject to severe decay processes. The said conditions can transform the original material into a new one, thus demonstrating specific differences from those of the “fresh” wood of the same species. In order to assess these new properties correctly, an integrated diagnostic approach is needed, one which includes a multidisciplinary (micromorphological, physical and chemical) evaluation of the state of preservation.     

'Stop la Violence': Responses to delinquency and urban violence in contemporary France

AGER, D. Francophonie in the 1990s: Problems and Opportunities Multilingual Matters, 1996 215 pp., £13.95, ISBN 1 85359 323 0

BLANCHOT, M. The Most High translated and with an introduction by Allan Stoekl University of Nebraska Press, 1996 254 pp., £32.95, ISBN 0 8032 1240 2

BLOCH‐LAINÉ, and GRUSON, C. Hauts fonctionnaires sous l'Occupation Odile Jacob, 1996 284 pp, 130 ff., ISBN 2 7381 0419 3

BORREL, M. Conflits du travail: changement social et politique en France depuis 1950 L'Harmattan, 1996 266 pp., 133 F., ISBN 2 7384 4429 5

BROERS, M. Europe after Napoleon MUP, 1996 £14.99, ISBN 0 7190 4723 4

BURCH, N. and SELLIER, G. La drôle de guerre des sexes du cinéma français (1930–1956) Nathan, 1996 400 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 209 190778 2

CAWS, M. A., GREEN, M. J., HIRSCH, M. and SCHARFMAN, R.(eds) Ecritures de femmes: nouvelles cartographies Yale University Press, 1996 413 pp., £20.00, ISBN 0 300 06412 8

CHARON, J.‐M. La presse quotidienne La Découverte, 1996 126 pp., 49 F., ISBN 2 7071 2535 0

CHATEAUVALLON Pour une utopie réaliste. Autour d'Edgar Morin Arléa, 1996 228 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 2 86959 319 8

CHOINEL, A. and ROUYER, G. Le Système bancaire français PUF, 1996 127 pp., 42 F., ISBN 2 13 047826 3

COMITÉ D'HISTOIRE DU MINISTÈRE DE LA CULTURE Les Affaires culturelles au temps d'André Malraux 1959–1969 La Documentation Française, 1996 508 pp., 140 F., ISBN 2 11003674 5

CORRÉARD, M.‐H. and GRUNDY, V. (eds) The Concise Oxford‐Hachette French Dictionary Oxford University Press/Hachette Livre, 1995 1447 pp., £15.99, ISBN 0 19 864329 2

DJIAN, J.‐M. La Politique culturelle Marabout/Le Monde Éditions, 1996 282 pp., 38 F., ISBN 2 501 02451 6

DOMPNIER, N. Vichy à travers chants Nathan, 1996 160 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 2 09 177833 8

FERRET, J. Paroles d'élus, le travail politique au quotidien Erès, 1996 243 pp., 100 F, ISBN 2 86586 409 X

FISHMAN, S. Femmes de prisonniers de guerre 1940–1945 L'Harmattan, 1996 280 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 2 7384 4051 7

FREREJEAN, A. and HAYMANN, E. Les Maîtres des forges: la saga d'une dynastie lyonnaise, 1736–1886 Albin Michel, 1996 363 pp., 130 F, ISBN 2 226 08478 9

GAILLARD, J‐M. L'ENA, miroir de l'Etat: de 1945 à nos jours Editions Complexe, 1995 239 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 2 87027 563 3

GORDON, C. The Business Culture in France Butterworth‐Heinemann, 1996 172 pp., No price indicated, ISBN 0 7506 1832 9

GUINNOT, C. (préface by Pierre Rosanvallon) L'Apprentissage de la politique moderne; les élections municipales sous la monarchie de juillet L'Harmattan, 1997 326 pp., 170 F., ISBN 2 7384 5151 9

HAWKINS, R. and TOWELL, R. French Grammar and Usage Arnold, 1996 425 pp., £17.99, ISBN 0 340 59142 0

HIGGINS, L. A. New Novel, New Wave, New Politics. Fiction and the Representation of History in Postwar France University of Nebraska Press, 1996 260 pp., £38, ISBN 0 8032 2377 3

IRIGARAY, L. (translated from the French by Alison Martin) I Love to You: Sketch of a Possible Felicity in History Routledge, 1996 150 pp., £10.99, IBSN 0 415 90733 0

JONES, M. A. Foundations of French Syntax Cambridge University Press, 1996 259 pp., £17.95, ISBN 0 521 388058

JUES, J.‐P. L'emploi des jeunes en France PUF, 1996 127 pp., 45 F., ISBN 2 1304 75876

KEENOY, L., LALUYAUX, L. and STAN‐TON, G. The Babel Guide to French Fiction in Translation Boulevard, 1996 252 pp., £9.95, ISBN 1 899460 10 1

KEIGER, J. F. V. Raymond Poincaré CUP, 1997 413 pp., £60, ISBN 0 521 57387 4

LEFEBVRE, D. L'Affaire de Suez Bruno Leprince, 1996 175 pp., 98 FF., ISBN 2 909634 13 2

MAYEUR, J.‐M. and CORBIN, A. (eds) Les Immortels du Sénat 1875–1918. Les cent seize inamovibles de la Troisième République (Publications de la Sorbonne, 1995) 512 pp., 150 F., ISBN 2 85944 273 1

MERMET, G. Tendances 1996. Le nouveau consommateur Larousse, 1996 286 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 2 03 504095 7

MORRIS, A. Patrick Modiano Berg, 1996 228 pp., £14.95, ISBN 1 859730 043

NOIRIEL, G. Sur la ‘crise’ de l'histoire Belin, 1996 343 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 2 7011 1799 2

OXENHANDLER, N. Looking for Heroes in Postwar France: Albert Camus, Max Jacob, Simone Weil University Press of New England, 1996 234 pp., $24.95, ISBN 0 87451 731 1

PAPAYANIS, N. Horse‐drawn cabs and omnibuses in Paris. The idea of circulation and the business of public transit Louisiana State University Press, 1996 218 pp., £47.50, ISBN 0 8071 2043 X

PFAFF, F. Conversations with Maryse Condé University of Nebraska Press, 1996 189 pp., £32.50 hbk, ISBN 0 8032 3713 8; £14 pbk, ISBN 0 8032 8743 7

PHILPOTT, W.J. Anglo‐French Relations and Strategy on the Western Front, 1914–18 Macmillan, 1996 227 pp., £40, ISBN 0 312 12944 0

PINOL, J.‐L. Atlas historique des villes de France Hachette, 1996 318 pp., 395 F., ISBN 2 0123 5192 1

REED‐DANAHAY, D. Education and Identity in Rural France: the Politics of Schooling CUP, 1996 237 pp., £37.50, ISBN 0 521 48312 3

SARTRE, J.‐P. and LÉVY, B. (translated by Adrian van den Hoven, with an Introduction by Ronald Aronson) Hope Now. The 1980 Interviews University of Chicago Press, 1996 141 pp., £15.95, ISBN 0 226 47630 8

SAY, J.‐B. Cours d'économie politique et autres essais Flammarion, 1996 450 pp., 60 F., No ISBN available

SHERZER, D (ed.) Cinema, Colonialism, Postcolonialism. Perspectives from the French and Francophone Worlds University of Texas Press, 1996 257 pp., $20, ISBN 0 292 77703 5

SINGLY, F. De Modern Marriage and its Cost to Women, a Sociological Look at Marriage in France University of Delaware Press, 1996 246 pp., £30, ISBN 0 87413 572 9

STARR, P. Logics of Failed Revolt: French Theory after May ‘68 Stanford University Press, 1995 268 pp., no price indicated, ISBN 0 8047 2445 8

TACKETT, T. Becoming a Revolutionary. The Deputies of the French National Assembly and the Emergence of a Revolutionary Culture (1789–1790) Princeton University Press, 1996 355 pp., £29.95, ISBN 0 691 04384 1

TURCEY, V. Le Prince et ses Juges—Vers un nouveau pouvoir judiciaire Editions Plon, 1997 243 pp., 125 F., ISBN 2 259 18676 9

URFALINO, P. L'Invention de la politique culturelle La Documentation Française, 1996 361 pp., 120 F., ISBN 2 11 003600 1

WIEVIORKA, M. Commenter la France Editions de l'Aube, 1997 190 pp., 130 F., ISBN 2 87678 320 7

WOLIKOW, SERGE Le Front populaire en France Editions Complexe, 1996 320 pp., 115 F., ISBN 2 87027 628 1     

Exploring and developing children's understandings of sustainable development with dialogic diaries

Dialogue is often promoted as a means with which to improve students' conceptual understanding within school, as well as to explore their experiences of the world. More often than not the assumption is that this dialogue is spoken. This article focuses on the use of written ‘dialogic diaries’ to explore and develop the subject-understanding of a class of 14- and 15-year-old geography students in England. I used diaries as a medium for discussion, holding a ‘conversation’ with students about their learning of sustainable development across the course of one academic year. The findings of this study suggest that dialogic diaries can be used to develop students' conceptual understandings within the classroom. Further, as a research method they enable the researcher to explore those subject-understandings, considering how (and why) these develop with time.