The impacts of spatial planning on the sustainable territorial development of the Rhine-Danube Trans-European Transport Corridor through Serbia

The Danube River is both the international waterway E-80 and the Rhine-Danube Core Network Corridor of nine European corridors in the trans-European transport network, and it is the core area of the most significant Danubian development axis in the Republic of Serbia. The present research focus of this paper is the integrated impact of spatial planning on achieving the sustainable territorial development of the Rhine-Danube Corridor through Serbia and its potential transboundary impact. Integrated assessment (environmental and social), based on the combined application of the standard strategic environmental assessment (SEA) method and the newly presented adapted strategic environmental assessment (ASEA) method, has made it possible to predict the effects of future activities on the sustainable territorial development of the waterway corridor, not only in Serbia, but also in other Danubian countries. The applied combination of the SEA and ASEA methods is presented in the form of key planning solutions in three selected sectors: international inland waterway, water management infrastructure and tourism. The results indicate that the negative impacts of potential conflicts between the planning solutions are far greater than the negative impacts of individual planning solutions, and that it is more difficult to control and mitigate or neutralize them.     

Physical activity and social status in Early Bronze Age society: The Mokrin necropolis

This paper investigates the social structure of an Early Bronze Age society whose members were buried at the necropolis of Mokrin (Serbia, Southeastern Europe), by comparative analysis of musculo-skeletal markers (MSM) of activity and social status as induced on the basis of grave contents. The main objective of the analysis is to determine whether quantitative and qualitative differences in activity are related to social status. Besides using an overall measure of activity, we attempted to isolate different qualitative aspects (facets) of activity through factor analysis of MSM scores. No correlation between social status and overall labor intensity was found. However, there are clues that social status and a single facet of activity are related. Positive correlation between vertical status and the intensity of use of upper arm and shoulder muscles was found among male individuals, while negative correlation between the aforementioned variables was found among the females. The general conclusion based on the results of this study is that there is no simple correlation between the overall labor intensity and social status.     

Archaeometric study of medieval pottery excavated at Stari (Old) Ras,Serbia

A combined study of a series of polychromatic and monochromatic glazed medieval pottery shards excavated from the archaeological area of Stari (Old) Ras in southern Serbia, including petrographic and chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, allowed us to clearly distinguish between two groups of ceramics. Ras pottery, made of fine-grained well-cleaned clay and characterised by a rich mineral assemblage, was produced by firing in a temperature range between 800 and 900 °C. Reljina Gradina ceramics were produced at similar temperatures from materials which, with regard to mineralogical and chemical composition, show clear similarity with local clay, suggesting that these samples are of local origin and production. This work is the first systematic archaeometric study of medieval pottery excavated on the territory of Serbia.     

Exploring Roman Ritual Behaviours Through Plant Remains from Pannonia Inferior

The recovery of new plant remains from eastern Croatia are discussed here in order to determine their ritual significance and how this evidence may fit into chronological and regional observations on ritual plant offerings in the Roman world. Samples collected from inhumations, cremations and an altar dedicated to Silvanus Domesticus, dating from the 2nd to 4th centuries AD, are presented and show that a range of more ‘common’ plant remains, such as cereals and pulses, were an important part of ritual life. These results are also compared to the growing archaeobotanical data collected from shrine and cremation burials across Europe. Although the archaeobotanical data from the Croatian sites are limited, the increasing evidence of ritual plant use allows observations regarding the wider context of Roman social and religious change.     

Ratko Mladić: Relativism,myth and reality (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

This editorial explores the context of the arrest and subsequent extradition to the ICTY at the Hague of Ratko Mladi?, former Bosnian Serb Army Commander. As Mladi? acquired an almost mythical status among the Serbs, the issue of dealing with the recent past is important, especially when relativized in relation to recent events. This offers an excellent opportunity for the anthropology of violence and reconciliation processes, as well to re‐examine some of the old debates of the relationship between universalism and relativism when it comes to human rights. Since some of these issues have been present there for a number of years, Serbia offers a unique opportunity to further our understanding of some of these processes.     

A mindful shift: an opportunity for mindfulness-driven tourism in a post-pandemic world

Abstract

Many see the COVID-19 pandemic as a turning point for tourism, a chance to reflect on the pressing environmental and socio-economic concerns of the industry, and an opportunity to pinpoint a more desirable direction. However, for tourism to revive as a less impactful and more meaningful industry, more mindful consumers are needed to take factual benefits from the gravity of the current situation. Mindfulness as a practice of bringing a certain quality of attention to moment-by-moment experiences has become an important asset for individuals to cope with the problems of modern life. It is even seen as a significant driver of lifestyle change in Western societies, resulting in an increasing number of more conscious consumers and mindfulness-driven products and services. The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call and opportunity for the tourism industry to embrace the mindfulness movement, trusting in its capacity to reflect on the current problems and to pave a new way forward towards more compassionate and meaningful tourism for both hosts and guests.