Towards lower carbon cities: urban morphology contribution in climate change adaptation strategies

Non-urbanized areas (NUAs) play an important role in reducing the effects of climate change by providing both carbon storage and sequestration. Urban areas are responsible for the emission of 60% of global greenhouse gas, 50% of which are produced by buildings. During the past decades, increasing urban growth and sprawl processes produced several urban layouts characterized by different morphological features and a common lack of sustainable energy and environmental solutions. Investigating the relationship between urban morphology, energy demand and carbon emission/sequestration represents a relevant topic for urban planning practices implemented to face urban climate change effects. This study proposes a method for a transformability assessment aimed at investigating the transformation suitability of different urban morphology types. The case study is the metropolitan area of Catania (Italy), characterized by an impressive urban growth since the 1960s. The proposed method identification of limits and options for increasing sustainability of urban areas considering the contribution of both NUAs and built-up areas. This approach allows to identify appropriate planning tools for new layouts of urban fabrics while increasing the objectivity of the decision process. In the framework of climate change mitigation and adaptation, the outcomes of this research may lead to innovative urban planning practices.     

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.     

Sugar Consumption,Dental Health and Foodways in Late Medieval Iin Hamina and Early Modern Oulu,Northern Finland

This article examines the modernization of northern Finnish food culture, especially in 17th- and 18th-century urban Oulu, by applying the methods of archaeology and history research. During the 17th century, the food culture was still quite conservative. Coffee, sugar, wheat flour, and fruit began entering the diet of affluent northern Finnish people from the 18th century onwards. The food culture of Oulu inhabitants is studied by comparing dental material retrieved from Oulu Cathedral graveyard to data obtained from historical document sources. A comparison point to the early modern bone material of Oulu is provided by late Middle Ages material from Ii, which lies north of Oulu on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. Carbohydrate consumption is related to many dental conditions, such as caries and calculus, which can be traced in archaeological human skeletal remains. The diets of males and females, as well as the diets of adults and children, are compared, in order to retrieve information on the emerging consumption of sugar in different groups, such as gender and age groups. The relationship between carbohydrate consumption and class identity in northern Finland is discussed.     

Historical works relating to the Qajar era published in Iran, 1996–2001

Historical Works Relating to the Qajar Era Published in Iran, 1996–2001

Mabani‐yi nazari‐yi hukūmat‐i mashrūtah va mashrū'ah, bih inzimam‐i rasa'il‐i ‘ulama‐yi muvafig va mukhalif‐i mashrūtah, Husayn Abadian. Tehran: Nashr‐i nay, 1374/1995, no ISBN.

Majlis va intikhabat az mashrūtah ta payan‐i Qajariyah, Mansoureh Ettehadieh, (Nezam Mafi). Tehran: Nashr‐i tarikh‐i Iran, 1375/1996. ISBN 964–6082–02–5.

Rūznameh‐i khatirat‐i Ghulam ‘Ati Khan ‘Aziz al‐Sultan, (Malijak), 4 vols., ed. Muhsin Mirza'i, Tehran: Intisharat‐i zaiyab, 1376/1997. ISBN 964–6339–04–2.

Isti'mar‐i Britaniya va mas'ala‐i Arvand Rūd, Firuz Mansuri. Tehran: Mu'assasa‐i mutali'at‐i tarikh‐i mu'asir‐i Iran, 1376/1997, no ISBN.

Asnad‐i ‘Abd al‐Mahhab Khan Asif al‐Dawla, 2 vols., ed. ‘Abd al‐Husayn Nava'i and Nilufar Kasri, Tehran: Mu'assasa‐i mutali'at‐i tarikh‐i mu'asir‐i Iran, 1377 /1998. ISBN 964–6357–13‐X.

Rūznameh'i khatirat‐i Sharaf al‐Dawla, Mirza Ebrahim Khan‐i kalantari‐yi Baghmisheh, ed. Yahya Zoka. Tehran: Intisharat‐i fikr‐i ruz, 1377/1998. ISBN 964–5838–80–0.

Inja Tihran ast: Majmū'a‐i maqalati dar‐bareh‐yi Tihran, 1269–1344 HQ (1852–1925), Mansoureh Ettehadieh (Nezam Mafi), Tehran: Nashr‐i tarikh‐i Iran, 1377/1998. ISBN 964–6082–07–6.

Az mashrūtah ta jumhūri: Nigahi bih advar‐i Majlis‐i qanūnguzari dar dawran‐i mashrūfiyat, Yunes Morvarid, 2 vols. Tehran: Nashr‐i ahadi, 1377/1998. ISBN 964–6376–08–8.

Hujūm‐i Rūs va iqdamat‐i ru'asa‐yi din bara‐yi hifz‐i Iran, Sayyid Hasan Nizam al‐Din, ed. Nasrallah Salihizadeh. Tehran: Shirazeh, 1377/1998. ISBN 964–6578–13‐X.

Asnad‐i Pūst va Telegraf va Telefun dar Dawra‐i Riza Shah, ed. Marziyeh Yazdani. Tehran: Sazman‐i asnad‐i milli, 1378/1999. ISBN 964–6189–27‐X.

Zindagani‐yi siyasi‐yi Nasir al‐Mulk, Ramin Yalfani. Tehran: Mu'assasa‐i mutala'at‐i tarikh‐i mu'asir‐i Iran, 1376/1998. ISBN 964–6357–02–4.

Nusrat al‐Dawla, Majmū'a‐i mukatabat, asnad, khatirat‐i Firūz Mirza Firūz, ed. Mansoureh Ettehadieh, (Nezam Mafi), and So'ad Pira. Tehran: Ketab‐i siyamak, Nashr‐i tarikh‐i Iran, 1378/1999. ISBN 964–6141–27–7.

Zindagani‐yi siyasi, sūrat‐i jalisat, mukatabat va murasalat, Riza Quli Khan Nizam al Saltana, ed. Mansoureh Ettehadieh, 3 vols. Tehran: Ketab‐i siyamak, Nashr‐i tarikh‐i Iran, 1379/2000. ISBN 964–6141–27–7(vol. 1), 964–6141–34‐X (vol. 2), 964–6141–35–8 (vol. 3).

Chalish‐i sunnat va moderniteh dar Iran, az mashrūtah ta 1320 S., Muhammad Salari Kasrai. Tehran: Nashr‐i markaz, 1379/ 2000. ISBN 964–305–543–4.

Nameh‐ha‐i az Tabriz az Siqat al‐Islam bih Mustashar al‐Dawla dar rūzegar‐i mashrūtiyat, ed. Iraj Afshar. Tehran: Nashr‐i pazhuhish‐i farzan‐i ruz, 1378/1999. ISBN 964–6138–47–0.

Asnadi az madaris‐i dukhtaran az mashrūtah ta Pahlavi, ed. Soheila Torabi Farsani. Tehran: Sazman‐i asnad‐i milli, 1378/1999. ISBN 964–6189–31–8.

Dar takapū‐yi taj va takht: Asnad‐i Abū'l‐Fath Mirza Salar al‐Dawla Qajar, ed. Riza Azari. Tehran: Sazman‐i asnad‐i milli, 1378/ 1999. ISBN 964–6189–34–2.

Tahavvulat‐i farhangi‐yi Iran dar dawra‐i Qajariya va madrasa‐i Dar al‐Funūn. Tehran: Mu'asassa‐i jughrafiya'i va kartugrafi'a‐yi Sahab, 1379/2000. ISBN 964–6556–29–9.

Mashahir‐i matbū'at‐i Iran: I'timad al‐Saltana, Sayyid Farid Qasimi, vol. 1. Tehran: Sazman‐i ‘hap va intisharat‐i Vizarat‐i Farhang va Irshad‐i Islami, 1379/2000. ISBN 964–422–195‐X.

Sūr‐i Israfil va ‘Ati Akbar‐i Dihkhuda: yak barrasi‐yi tarikhi va adabi, Kamyar ‘Abidi. Tehran: Kitab‐i nadir, 1379/ 2000. ISBN 964–92557–6–1.

Ravabit‐i siyasi‐i iqti?adi‐yi Iran va Alman bayn‐i dū jang, Fatemeh Pira, Tehran: Markaz‐i asnad‐i inqilab‐i Islami, 1379/2000. ISBN 964–6196–83–7.

Marja'iyat dar ‘arsah‐yi ijtima'i va siyasat: Asnad va guzarish‐ha'i az Ayat‐i A'zam Na'ini, Isfahani, Qumi, Ha'iri va Burūjirdi, 1292 S ‐1339 (1875–1920), ed. Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Manzur al‐Ajdad. Tehran: Shirazeh, 1379/2000. ISBN 964–6578–54–3

Yazd dar asnad‐i Amin al‐Zarb, ed. Dr Asghar Mahdavi and Iraj Afshar. Tehran: Farhang‐i Iran‐Zamin, 1380/ 2001. ISBN 964–5623–81–2.

Asnad‐i tijarat‐i Iran dar sal‐i 1287 gamari, ed. Asghar Mahdavi and Iraj Afshar. Tehran: Intisharat‐i ‘ilmi farhangi, 1380S/2001. ISBN 964–445–184–8.

Urumiyah dar muharaba‐i ‘alamsūz az muqaddima‐i Nisara ta Balva‐yi Isma'il Aqa, 1298–1300 Sh, Rahmatallah Mu'tamid al‐Vizara, ed. Kaveh Bayat. Tehran: Shirazeh, 1379S/ 2000. ISBN 964–6578–46–2.

Azarbayjan dar mawj khiz‐i tarikh: nigahi bih mabahis‐i milliyūn‐i Iran va jarayid‐i Bakū dar taghyir‐i nam‐i Aran bih Azarbayjan, 1296–1298 S, ed. Kaveh Bayat, Tehran: Shirazeh, 1379/2000. ISBN 964–6578–55–1.

Tarikh‐i rūznameh nigari‐yi Iranian va digar‐i parsi navisan, 2 vols. (Paydayish), (Buhran‐i azadi), Nasir al‐Din Parvin. Tehran: Markaz‐i nashr‐i danishgahi, 1377/1998, 1379/ 2000. ISBN 964–01–8156–0.

Nuzhat al‐akhbar: tarikh va jughrafiya‐yi Fars, Mirza Ja'far Khan Haqa'iq Nigar, ed. Sayyid ‘Ali Al‐i Davud. Tehran: Kitabkhaneh‐yi muzeh va markaz‐i asnad‐i Majlis‐i Shura‐yi Islami, 1380/ 2001. ISBN 964–422–218–0.

Khatirat va asnad‐i Muhammad ‘Ali Ghaffari: Tarikh‐i Ghaffari, volume 3, ed. Abbas Zare'i Mehrvarz. Tehran: Nashr‐i tarikh‐i Iran, 1380/ 2001. ISBN 964–6082–03–3.

Khatirat‐i Shaykh Ibrahim Zanjani: Sarguzasht‐i zindagani‐yi man, ed. Ghulam Husayn Mirza Salih. Tehran: Entesharat‐i kabir, 1380/ 2001. ISBN 964–6144–54–3.

Rūznameh‐yi khatirat‐i ‘Ayn al‐Saltana, Qahriman Mirza Salūr, ed. Mas'ud Salur and Iraj Afshar, 10 vols. Tehran: Asatir,1374–1380/ 1995–2001. ISBN 964–331–191–0.     

Phytolith-rich layers from the Late Bronze and Iron Ages at Tel Dor (Israel): mode of formation and archaeological significance

The presence of many phytolith-rich layers in late Bronze and Iron Age deposits at Tel Dor, Israel, are indicative of specific locations where plants were concentrated. Detailed studies of six of these phytolith-rich layers and associated sediments from Tel Dor show that the phytoliths were derived mainly from wild and domestic grasses. The most common domestic grass was the cereal Triticum aestivum (bread wheat). Three of these layers have a microlaminated microstructure, associated dung spherulites and phosphate nodules; characteristics that all point to the phytolith-rich layers having formed from dung in animal enclosures. In two of the layers, the microlaminated structure is absent while dung spherulites and phosphate nodules are present, suggesting that these too originate from dung that was not deposited in an enclosure. The sixth layer is microlaminated but does not contain spherulites. We thus cannot suggest a parsimonious explanation of its observed properties. Concentrations of burnt phytoliths are present in three locations, implying that dung was either burnt in situ or the ashes from burnt dung were redeposited. The transformation of dung accumulations into phytolith-rich layers involves a loss of organic material and hence a significant reduction in sediment volume, which is clearly apparent in the stratigraphy of some of the locations examined. The volume reduction can be observed in the macrostratigraphy and has important implications with regard to macrostratigraphic interpretation. The presence of abundant phytolith-rich layers on the tell has significant implications for the concept of ‘urbanism’ during these periods.     

Growth and Convergence Profiles in the Spanish Provinces (1965–1997)*

Abstract. Economic performance in Spanish provinces has led to a considerable improvement in standard of living of their populations. Intense capital accumulation since the 1950s played a key roll in this process. Provincial inequalities may increase or decrease as a result of this growth pattern. This study analyzes the evolution of the disparities by means of distribution dynamics techniques. It explicitly considers economic size of each province and whether spatial spillovers exist. Results indicate that the convergence process has been especially intense for labor productivity, total factor productivity, and capital intensity, while for per capita income the patterns of convergence are less marked. When we weight our analysis according to economic size of each province, our conclusions do not hold. However, when we take geographic location into account, we find support for our conclusions.     

甘肃陇东汉族丧葬仪式调查——以平凉市庄浪县丧葬个案为例

作为民俗之一的丧葬仪式因地而异,但其丧葬目的异曲同工：为了灵魂早日平安到达其归属地,灵魂在归属地能够平安舒适,表达亲属悲痛之情,保证死者不会引起任何灾难。本文通过对平凉市庄浪县徐城村丧葬个案的调查和分析,来阐释当地汉族民众的鬼魂崇拜观念。     

Lights and Shadows: The Inquisitorial Process Against the Jesuit Congregation of Nuestra Señora de la Luz on the Mariana Islands (1758–1776)

This article focuses on the controversy over the charges of sexual impropriety made against Father Franz Reittemberger within the context of worship of Nuestra Señora de la Luz (Our Lady of Light) in the mid‐eighteenth century Mariana Islands. As is well known, this cult began to spread around the Americas and the Philippines (via New Spain) starting in 1740, and it became a cohesive force in a multiethnic society perched on the outskirts of Spain's overseas empire. The Society of Jesus arrived in the Marianas' archipelago in 1668 to found a mission with the economic support of Queen Mariana de Austria, Philip IV's widow and regent of Spain. In 1758 Father Reittemberger founded the Marian devotion to Our Lady of Light. After the expulsion of the Jesuit order from the Spanish islands of the Pacific (1769), the Augustinian commissaries of the Holy Office accused the congregation's founder of the crime of sollicitatio ad turpia. In examining this Inquisition trial Jesuit and Augustinian rivalries come to the fore, revealing the larger anti‐Jesuit sentiments that drove public censure of the colonial church in the Spanish overseas possessions.