‘It is where blokes can be blokes’: making places in a New Zealand rugby club

Using the case study of a New Zealand rugby club, in this article, we highlight the role of gender and performance in place attachment. We discuss various performances that contribute to achieving a sense of attachment of club members to the (imagined) community of the rugby club and the different physical spaces of its home ground. Even though performances are played out and read against the backdrop of a popular discourse of New Zealand rugby masculinity, we did not observe characteristics of stereotypical ‘rugby masculinity’ in all rugby places, nor were performances the same throughout one day. Instead, variations were found depending on whether performance was ‘front stage’ or ‘backstage’.     

Fighting the red peril in the Congo. Paradoxes and perspectives on an equivocal challenge to Belgium and the West (1947–1960)

A study of the Belgian fight against communism in the Congo can uncover the deeper workings of Belgian colonial ‘foreign’ policy. The principles guiding Belgium and its Western partners in their war against the ‘red threat’ give us vital clues to understanding how Belgian governance worked, and shed new light on the Congolese crisis of 1960–61. This article also gives examples of strategies and influences at play during the Cold War, and significant both for the countries developing them and for those which suffered the consequences.     

The royal Scottish geographical society 1884–1959: Early days of the society

The Royal Scottish Geographical Society was formed at a public meeting in Edinburgh in October, 1884, and in October, 1959 completed seventy‐five years activity. To mark the occasion a Reception was held in the Music Hall, George Street, Edinburgh, on October 22nd, with H.R.H. Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark as the principal guest. The Council invited the Honorary Secretary, Mr Donald G. Moir, F.R.S.G.S. to recall the events which led to the founding of the Society, and its early activities ; it was also resolved to publish with this article a list of the Society's Office Bearers since 1884.     

Inter‐artifactual Technology Transfer: Road Building Technology in the Netherlands and the Competition Between Bricks,Macadam, Asphalt and Concrete

How did asphalt become dominant in pavement technology? This analysis argues that the victory of asphalt, as of many other technologies that compete with alternatives, is not so much the result of substitution at the level of the artifact or of the technology, but rather is the result of competition at the level of (technical) properties and (user) functions. The case of pavement technology shows that that technology becomes dominant which appears to be able to integrate as many functions as possible, and notably those originally provided by rival technologies, into its own system. This analysis concludes that in the history of technology the artifact does not always seem to be the most fruitful unit of analysis. Seen from the perspective of the user, artifacts are carriers of function sets. From the perspective of the designer or producer, the technology or artifact that contains the set of properties which best enables the preferred function set has a better chance of becoming dominant.     

The role of territorial licenses and public support schemes in financing European films

ABSTRACT

This paper studies the complexities of film financing in Europe, and the role of territorial licences and public support schemes therein. It sets out a typology of support mechanisms and provides information on Member States’ and EU models of film financing.