A Narrative Approach to Europe’s Identity Crisis

Alongside the institutionally constructed European identity, research shows that insights into citizens’ sense of belonging are valuable as well in assessing questions of identity. The tendency to conflate European identity with EU identity has spurred debates about the components that underlie European identification. The online subsidiarity adopted by the EU through e-platforms has allowed for a new form of citizenship where e-citizens (de)legitimate the issues under debate. This article examines the contents of European and national identities in the e-debaters’ comments posted on the Debating Europe platform. Drawing on narrative and discursive approaches, we propose a framework to operationalize the (de)legitimation and identification categories used by e-debaters within their discursive construction of European identity. The qualitative empirical research shows three main (de)legitimation clusters: the “EU as a loss,” “inclusive gain,” and “exclusive gain.” We discuss these findings within the broader context of Europeanization, identity multiplicity, and the conditions of the EU enlargement policy.     

The business case for a free trade agreement between the European Union and Australia

ABSTRACT

The free trade agreement (FTA) between Australia and the European Union holds the promise of strengthened political collaboration and increasing economic integration. Both Australia and the European Union note increasing bilateral trade and investment. Oftentimes, data does not take current trends in global-value-chain participation for intermediary goods and services movements into account. Behind this sit the cross-border strategies and activities of business entities, whether multinationals or large, small or medium-sized enterprises. This article provides an in-depth investigation of the premise stemming from an FTA for Australian business. What advantages can politics hope to support through a business perspective? What is the global-value-chain part of the story, and what are the business challenges ahead? How can economic policy help shape this FTA to foster a productive bilateral business environment in a geopolitical and geoeconomic context in which regionalisation has taken on new momentum? Specific focus is given to the analysis of the higher education sector and to agriculture. These are two of the leading sectors in this FTA debate. Generating business value means setting negotiation agendas to target tariff and non-tariff barriers to counterbalance ambiguity in the conditions that shape the global business environment.     

Knowledge bases and regional development: collaborations between higher education and cultural creative industries

This paper builds on the assumption that cooperation between higher education institutions (HEIs) and creative and cultural industries (CCIs) stimulates innovation and economic growth at the regional level. It further assumes that HEIs and CCIs hold different perspectives on their intention to cooperate with external actors and, thus, there is a need for joint arenas to develop and integrate knowledge and practices among stakeholders across academia and industry. With this rationale in mind, the paper’s main objective is to discuss how universities’ roles in the establishment and development of locally embedded CCIs change or evolve over time. Taking a process economics perspective and building on a case study from the South of Norway, two questions are addressed: (1) What are the barriers – structural and cognitive-cultural – hindering cooperation between HEIs and CCIs in Southern Norway? and (2) How can long-term win-win cooperative arrangements between HEIs and CCIs be enhanced? Different knowledge bases, combined with lack of knowledge and understanding of the other sector’s expertise or knowledge content, and thus the lack of common language, were found to be the biggest barriers that must be overcome to stimulate strategic cooperation between HEIs and CCIs in Southern Norway. The findings support the need for a diverse and flexible policy where target initiatives are adjusted to CCIs’ needs and academic departments’ fields of knowledge to decrease barriers to cooperation, with the ultimate aim of moving from a situation of ‘lock-in’ towards the creation of new innovative and valuable relationships.     

Peace negotiations in the political marketplace: the implications of women's exclusion in the Sudan-South Sudan peace process

This article investigates the implications of women’s exclusion for the nature and durability of peace processes, and whether factors that undermine peace consolidation post-settlement might be prevented through more inclusive peacemaking. It examines the Sudan-South Sudan peace process that produced the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the roles women played in peacemaking and their exclusion from official negotiations, and the sources of insecurity post-CPA. South Sudan’s peace process shows that the exclusion of women can be understood as a canary in a coal mine: a highly visible marker of the broader exclusivity of such processes, and the complex dynamics of elite capture in war and peace processes. Women’s exclusion was the product of the region’s political marketplace, in which power and authority is secured by elites through violence and bargaining, to the exclusion of other groups. By understanding exclusion as a deliberate strategic tactic that extends from war into peacetime, I argue that the exclusion of women is not the reason why peace processes fail in and of itself, but rather the product of elite ownership of peace processes and the structure of many peace processes that facilitates and rewards such ownership, with serious consequences for the sustainability of peace post-settlement.     

Middle power,status-seeking and role conceptions: the cases of Indonesia and South Korea

This article examines how role theory can enhance the middle-power literature in understanding the role preferences of middle powers. Rather than treating it as merely a function of material capability or good international citizenship, this article resituates middle power as a concept of international status that states aim to pursue through the enactment of role conceptions. Thus, it reinstates a conceptual distinction between ‘middle-power status’ and ‘middle-power roles’. The article suggests that the notion of role conceptions can analytically connect the status-seeking behaviour of middle powers with their foreign policy agenda. In so doing, it provides a more nuanced explanation of middle-power behaviour, which might differ between one middle power and another. Using Indonesia and South Korea as case studies of middle power, this article contends that foreign policymakers have strategically conceptualised and enacted several main roles that aim to capture historical experience, as well as ego and alter expectations, in order to pursue middle-power status. These role conceptions determine the foreign policy agenda of states in articulating their middle-power status.     

A Bayesian approach to rapid seismic vulnerability assessment at urban scale

The seismic vulnerability of city centers is commonly assessed by extending the study methods applied to single buildings to urban aggregations. This approach is not always applicable at territorial scale, as it is uneconomical in terms of time and costs. An innovative method provides reasonable large-scale a priori estimation of parameters not directly evaluable from the exterior of buildings by elaborating values which can be measured from the outside. Those parameters are treated as continuous variables, by assigning them a suitable probability density function. The Bayesian approach is adopted, which allows the update of initial hypotheses by using new data gathered during on-site surveys. In this regard, a rapid survey form for the on-site data collection is proposed. An example of its application to a façade of a building structural unit in Santo Stefano di Sessanio in L’Aquila province (Italy) is proposed, showing promising preliminary results for buildings belonging to Italian historical centers.     

Breadfruit Fermentation in Pohnpei,Micronesia: Site Formation,Archaeological Visibility,and Interpretive Strategies

Fermentation is a common method of processing and preserving breadfruit throughout the Pacific Islands. While these pits are often reported in the archaeological record, they can pose some interpretive challenges. This paper presents an analysis of probable archaeological breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg) fermentation pits on Temwen Island, Pohnpei, Micronesia. Using the existing ethnographic record as a guide, I present archaeological and paleoethnobotanical criteria for identifying fermentation features. Architectural and stratigraphic analyses from four excavated pits match ethnographic expectations. Phytolith analysis shows some concurrence in terms of taxonomic data, but is more useful for indicating disturbance specific to building activities. Based on the distribution and size of pits present in the survey area, I suggest that breadfruit fermentation took place as primarily a household level (rather than community level) activity during the late prehistoric and early historic period in Pohnpei.     

The colors of the Fontana di Trevi: an analytical approach

During the last restoration of the Fontana di Trevi -Rome (2014–2015), it has been performed a diagnostic investigation to characterize the materials used to build and obtain the colors of the surfaces of some architectural elements of this fountain. According to the restoration teamwork needs, we focussed our efforts on the dome over the central statue of Oceanus, on the bas-relieves on the sides of the dome, and on the cliff where the water flows. Several samples were collected from these elements and therefore, they were subjected to an analytical approach including infrared spectroscopy, optical and scanning electron microscopy. The achieved results indicated the use of red earth pigments on the dome. The same pigment has been revealed on the bas-relieves, although their colors have an additional contribution due to degraded layers. Samples taken from the cliff showed a complex stratigraphy, although a white scialbo has been identified as original layer, testifying the intentions of the authors in term of color rendering. This information was essential for the restores in order to choose the proper intervention procedure for each investigated surface. The research testified the importance of an integrated diagnostic analysis to preserve the original colours of monuments and building.     

Thrust network analysis of masonry helical staircases

We exploit a recent generalization of the Thrust Network Analysis (TNA) to analyse masonry structures of extremely complicated and audacious geometry such as helicoidal staircases. Actually, differently from available methods, based on ad-hoc solutions holding for each particular structure, the TNA allows for studying the equilibrium of structures of arbitrary shape by invoking the principles of limit analysis of masonry structures dictated by Heyman. Four paradigmatic monumental staircases, with increased degree of complexity, have been selected as case studies in order to show the versatility and accuracy of the proposed approach. The results entailed from the generalized TNA are also successfully compared, for the first time in the literature, with those related to the adoption of available analytical methods for the analysis of no-tension membranes.     

Evaluation of Structural Intervention in the Quartel das Esquadras,Almeida (Portugal)

ABSTRACT

The “Quartel das Esquadras” is an 18th century infantry barrack located within the limits of the bulwarked fortress of Almeida, in Portugal. An ongoing adaptive reuse project of the building aims to recover its full capacity and also its importance, by implementing a variety of new uses. The architectural intervention results in the need of the structure to withstand new and diverse imposed loads. As the current configuration of the structure will be altered, the main objective of this article is to evaluate the suitability of some of the proposed structural interventions. The current condition has been characterized following a multidisciplinary approach comprising historical research, visual inspection, non-destructive testing, and structural analysis to identify the possible sources of major structural problems. A portion of the building particularly affected by the alterations has been selected to carry out structural analysis. A comparative safety assessment of the selected area in both current and altered condition has been done through finite element modelling and nonlinear static analysis, resulting in an identification of the weaker points against the new implemented loads and alterations. Finally, proposals for the implementation of the studied intervention, as well as recommendations for future research and analyses, have been given.