Testing settlement models in the early Roman colonial landscapes of Venusia (291 B.C.), Cosa (273 B.C.) and Aesernia (263 B.C.)

This paper examines settlement density and settlement patterns in the Roman colonial territories of Venusia, Cosa and Aesernia, located in three different landscapes of central southern Italy (modern Basilicata, Tuscany and Molise). Using a series of GIS tools, we conducted a comparative analysis of the density and spatial distribution of sites dating to the Hellenistic period (ca. 350–50 b.c.). We used the legacy settlement data collected by previous large-scale, intensive, site-oriented field surveys to test the validity of two competing rural settlement models of early Roman colonization: the conventional model of neatly organized settlements regularly dispersed across the landscape and the recently proposed theory that colonists adopted a polynuclear settlement strategy. After calculating the extent to which the archaeological datasets conform to the regular or polynuclear model, we conclude that only a very small portion of the colonized areas actually meets traditional expectations regarding the organization of early colonial settlements. Our analyses show that the legacy survey data is more consistent with the polynuclear settlement theory, but the data also reveals some completely unexpected patterns, suggesting that early Roman colonial landscapes were more diverse than previously thought.     

Policy Networks in Complex Governance Subsystems: Observing and Comparing Hyperlink,Media, and Partnership Networks

Methods for observing policy networks have not kept up with the development of new network analytic techniques required to understand governance in complex settings. We compare three unobtrusive methods for observing policy networks based on hyperlinks between policy actor web sites, on media reports, and on public policy partnerships. Observations of one complex local water policy arena with all three methods provide a comparison of the general as well as actor‐specific network characteristics in the three observed networks. The core network of actors observed by all methods has similar network level statistics, highly correlated relationships measured by Quadratic Assignment Procedures models, and the same significant network microstructures as measured by Exponential Random Graph Models. The full networks including actors observed by any method also exhibit similar actor‐level characteristics, although the correlations across networks are stronger for bridging capital measures than for bonding capital measures, and each method has different apparent biases. Once biases are accounted for, similarities suggest that these methods may provide useful proxies for each other and for other relationships that are more difficult or impossible to measure, particularly when combined to offset each method's biases. If so, they can extend the range of policy networks observable with limited resources across space and time.     

“Broken Hearted” and “Crushed in Spirit”: Metaphors and Emotions in Psalm 34,19

In the Old Testament, the book of psalms stands out because of its vast and rich imagery and vivid metaphorical language. Deep human experiences and a wide range of human emotions in its heights and depths can be discovered there. The metaphorical language in the Old Testament, particularly in the psalms, is often linked with emotions. This paper centres on emotions within the metaphor discourse and aims to contribute to two fields of research: firstly, the field of metaphor analysis in the psalms and secondly, the area of the Studies of Emotions by using Ps 34,19 as an example. After presenting some core theoretical concepts regarding the study of metaphors and emotions, the analysis of the form and content of Ps 34 as well as the “broken hearted” and “crushed in spirit” in Ps 34,19 will be carried out. The results of the analysis shed new light on the well-known verbal images of the “broken hearted” and “crushed in spirit.”     

A methodology to identify a network of industrial parks in the Ave valley,Portugal

In recent decades in Europe, municipalities have promoted many poorly qualified and widespread industrial parks. These policies have caused various problems such as oversupply of industrial land, obsolescence and high vacancy rates. The future of these sites is uncertain and has become a key issue in planning. Nowadays, policies are focused on upgrading these sites and on implementing regional coordinated practices. This paper describes a methodological approach to identifying a subregional network of industrial parks in the Ave valley, Portugal. The network is based on the parks’ attractiveness and has the purpose of supporting planning policies in terms of upgrading and providing new sites. The approach was based on a multi-criteria analysis whereby the parks were ranked according to their attractiveness considering their coverage in terms of infrastructures, services and accessibility. Results show that the majority of the existing and planned parks, even if upgraded, will not be very attractive and will be limited to a municipal scale due to structural problems related to their location and poor coverage. Moreover, the paper also discusses the challenges in implementing this planning approach at a subregional level. Despite the specificities of the case study, this methodology could be adopted in similar studies.     

Seismic vulnerability assessment and fragility analysis of stone masonry monastic temples in Sikkim Himalayas

Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim Himalayas constitute important religious and architectural heritage. These random rubble (RR) stone masonry structures located in high seismically active regions of the Himalayas have suffered varied degrees of damages in the past earthquakes. The study presents seismic vulnerability assessment of four archetypal monastic temples using finite element (FE) analyses. Linear and nonlinear analyses of these structures were conducted in Abaqus FE environment. These analyses identified the damage prone areas of the structures and provided load-deformation behavior under lateral loads. Fragility analyses indicate a high probability of collapse for the specified design level earthquake of the region. The study shows that performance of the structure can be enhanced by improving the strength and stiffness of the stone masonry walls.     

Crowdsourcing Model Research for the Identification of Post-Earthquake Rescue Objects

The quick and accurate identification of post-earthquake rescue objects can minimize the casualties and property loss caused by earthquakes. With the rapid development of remote sensing technology, rescue objects can be identified through high-resolution remote sensing images. There are two main categories of approaches to identify rescue object through high-resolution images: automatic extraction by a computer and visual judgment by professionals. Although results can be obtained quickly by using automatic extraction, the accuracy of the results is unacceptably low. For visual judgment, the large demands for time and professionals restrict its wide practical application. In this study, we introduce crowdsourcing into the identification of post-earthquake rescue objects. First, we integrate the advantages of the computer and crowdsourcing, which means that the computer takes advantage of the speed of information processing, while crowdsourcing makes full use of human recognition capabilities. Second, we take visual judgment tasks out of the hands of professionals and entrust the tasks to workers in a crowdsourcing platform. Not only are the human resources infinite, but we can also improve the efficiency of identifying rescue objects. Third, we propose a crowdsourcing model that improves the quality of the results and saves human resources. Finally, experimental results demonstrate that our solution is feasible.     

Tourist motivations in relation to a battlefield: a case study of Kinmen

ABSTRACT

To assess tourist motivations at the battlefield site on Kinmen Island of Taiwan, an empirical investigation was conducted. From a convenience sample, we collected 437 effective responses of respondents including domestic and international tourists with different cultural background in Kinmen. The structure of motivation was first examined via factor analysis. Then ANOVA analysis was applied to address the influence from demographic aspects such as gender, age, and nationality. Our results show that personal, spiritual, experience, physical, and emotional perspectives are five major sources of motivations. More importantly, age and nationality are confirmed to be two major dimensions to segment tourists in the context of battlefield tourism. Tourists with older age have higher motivations toward the battlefield site in comparison with young tourists. In addition, tourists with different cultural background based on different nationalities are significantly motivated by various motivational factors. The example of Kinmen contributes theoretically to a better understanding of the motivational attributes in a battlefield site, and how they represent a basis for increasing tourist perceptions. The motivational mechanisms and factors explored in this case can be incorporated into marketing strategies. Additionally, our results also provide a viable basis for the tourism authorities concerned to reevaluate the essence of its tourism industry in the context of battlefield resources and attractions.     

Spatial variation in cervical cancer screening participation and outcomes among Indigenous and non‐Indigenous Australians in Queensland

Indigenous women continue to experience a disproportionately higher burden of cervical cancer than non‐Indigenous women in Australia. The National Indigenous Cervical Screening Project used probabilistic record linkage to combine population‐based administrative databases and identify Indigenous women on Pap Smear Registers. This study aimed to quantify the spatial variation by local government areas (LGAs) for Indigenous and non‐Indigenous women in Queensland in cervical screening participation rates and related outcomes. Empirical Bayes local geostatistical smoothing was performed to reduce the likelihood of spurious variation between small areas. The cohort included 1,091,260 women (2 per cent Indigenous) aged 20 to 69 with 2,393,708 Pap smears between 2006 and 2011. Indigenous women had smoothed LGA‐specific 5‐year participation rates (interquartile range (IQR) 38.9–53.3 per 100 eligible women) consistently lower than non‐Indigenous women (IQR 80.7–85.3). The non‐overlapping confidence intervals of these rates suggest that the Indigenous differential was significant. Compared with Indigenous women, non‐Indigenous women had consistently lower and more stable prevalence rates of histologically confirmed high grade abnormalities (IQR 8.0–10.1 versus 15.0–21.3 per 1,000 screened women). Although the LGA‐specific rates also suggest that a higher proportion of non‐Indigenous women were followed‐up within two months of an abnormal screening result, the wide confidence intervals for these estimates limit our ability to draw definitive conclusions about spatial patterns for this outcome. These findings highlight the importance of continued monitoring and ongoing efforts to identify drivers of these patterns and develop effective strategies to improve participation and potentially reduce the cervical cancer burden among Indigenous women.     

玉门花海毕家滩棺板《晋律注》的保护修复研究

玉门花海毕家滩出土的《晋律注》是裱糊在棺板外侧的纸本文书,因埋藏环境复杂及年代久远等各种原因,文物整体保存状况极为不佳。棺板存在残缺、断裂等多种病害,而外侧的纸本文书降解更为严重,已达到触之即粉的状态。为了使文物的完整性得以体现及能够得达到展陈的基本要求,在对棺板木材进行种属鉴定及特征分析的基础上,在文物保护基本原则与理念的指导下,对棺板进行了病害调查、清洗、粘接及加固,对外侧文书进行了内容识读、原料种类鉴定。经过保护处理使得棺板的整体性得到了体现,达到了展陈的基本要求。原料分析结果显示外侧的纸本文书为皮浆纤维,因此该文书是目前为止出土为数不多的魏晋时期以皮浆为原料的纸质实物,这对甘肃河西地区造纸原料发展的研究提供了珍贵的资料。     

al‐Khafaji reinterpreted: New insights on Umm an‐Nar monuments and settlement from Bat,Oman

Al‐Khafaji is a central and well‐known point on the early third millennium BC map of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bat, in the Sultanate of Oman. For years, Kasr al‐Khafaji (“Tower 1146”) has been understood as an Umm an‐Nar (ca. 2800–2000 BCE) monument standing amid a contemporary village. However, recent excavations by the Bat Archaeological Project (BAP) reveal that the entirety of the known site—monument(s) and settlement—is situated on an anthropogenic clay mound that elevated it meters above the surrounding landscape. This paper presents the results of BAP's recent excavations, emphasising the social spaces created by architecture of various functions and scales. It also considers the implications that this new interpretation of al‐Khafaji may have for how the relationship between Umm an‐Nar towers and settlement should be understood. The paper closes with a discussion of Umm an‐Nar tower function and social meaning, concluding that the Khafaji monument(s) likely served a symbolic and possibly performative role in Umm an‐Nar society that was perceived as separate from Umm an‐Nar settlement.