Search Results (132)

The critically endangered fan mussel Pinna nobilis is under strict protection in the Mediterranean waters and exhibited a documented fishing history in Greece dating back to 19th and early of 20th centuries. The present study examined historical documentary evidence from Greek archives, technical reports, and oral testimonies to reconstruct traditional fishing methods and their ecological implications. Historical records revealed the widespread use of specialized fishing tools called “pinologos”, a Y-shaped iron attached to a wooden poles, deployed primarily in shallow waters (2–7 m depth) across various Greek coastal regions in the Ionian and Aegean Seas. Two types of fishing gear existed, a simple Y-shaped tong and a scissor-type gear, both designed to encircle and extract individual fan mussels, through quarter-turn rotation. Fishers selectively targeted only large, established individuals of fan mussel, as small specimens with thin shells were unsuitable for this method. Historical fishing pressure on the species was spatially and size-limited, unlike current basin-wide mortality events. These findings demonstrate that structured populations persisted even under traditional exploitation, suggesting potential for recovery if contemporary threats are mitigated. Management strategies should reference historical population structures as restoration targets. Full article

This study develops a conceptual framework for reimagining Sustainable Development Goal 17 (SDG 17) in Africa through a reinterpretation of the Marshall Plan’s governance logic. The primary focus is to address persistent failures in development partnerships—namely, fragmentation, weak coordination, power asymmetries, and limited institutional capacity—by proposing a structured model of partnership governance. Using a theory-building methodology grounded in historical analysis and documentary evidence, the study applies a systematic adaptation logic in which core governance mechanisms from the Marshall Plan are re-specified to reflect African institutional realities. These mechanisms—coordination, mutual accountability, collective action, state capacity, and trust—are translated into eight operational pillars: co-development, institutional strengthening, structural transformation, regional integration, blended finance, digital public infrastructure, knowledge co-production, and resilience. The framework conceptualizes SDG 17 as a meta-governance system that aligns actors, institutions, and resources across sectors. By moving from historical abstraction to context-sensitive application, the study contributes a coherent, Africa-centered governance model that enhances partnership effectiveness and informs post-2030 development policy. Full article

Urban soundscape management is a central challenge to the livability and sustainability of cities and requires approaches that complement level indicators with frameworks capable of integrating context, use and experience. In this framework, the present work applies a multilayer methodology to the Old Town of Bilbao, understood as a useful case study to explore the applicability of soundscape reading in historic centers with intense coexistence of commercial, hospitality and catering uses, pedestrian, logistical and cultural uses. The methodology is organized into two phases. The first focuses on the recording and documentation of control points and routes through sound fieldwork, perceptual descriptions and homogeneous systematization of information. From this corpus, a qualified sound map and a first visual characterization of the sound identity are elaborated. The second phase presented in this article, consists of the interpretative synthesis of the corpus through five analytical dimensions and the preparation of fragments and sound sequences conceived for future application through reactivated listening. The results are presented at three levels: (1) a traceable documentary corpus of records, files and synthetic representations; (2) a comparative reading by dimensions that identifies spatial contrasts between interior, exterior and perimeter, as well as relationships between urban form, uses, persistence, masking and salience; and (3) a set of operational audio materials prepared for subsequent comparison with inhabitants and users. In a transversal way, type–token reading distinguishes between the diversity of sounds and dominance by repetition. The article does not yet carry out participatory validation of these materials; its contribution consists of proposing and applying a traceable analytical protocol as a basis for future phases of social contrast and applied discussion. Full article

Released in 2012, Svetlana Baskova’s Za Marksa… (For Marx…) poses the question of the abolition of capitalism through workers’ struggle—that is, the question of revolution in decidedly non-revolutionary times. A follow-up to her activist documentary Odno reshenie—soprotivlenie (The Only Solution Is Resistance, 2011), For Marx… can be read as a post-Soviet return to Sergei Eisenstein’s Stachka (Strike, 1925), one that confronts the historical afterlife of the revolutionary proletariat following the rapid decomposition of the industrial working class once positioned at the center of the socialist imaginary. Borrowing its title from Louis Althusser and situating itself within an international genealogy of left debates on form and revolution—running from the Soviet avant-garde through Brechtian estrangement, militant cinema of 1968, and the collapse of “actually existing socialism”—the film mobilizes inherited models of committed art only to expose their historical limits. I argue that For Marx… does not revive earlier oppositional forms but stages their failure under contemporary capitalism. Montage, estrangement, and documentary realism appear as sedimented forms that no longer cohere into an operative revolutionary praxis. By foregrounding the exhaustion of political form, For Marx… reframes abolition—not only of the police or the carceral state but of capitalism itself—as a horizon that persists precisely where inherited aesthetic strategies break down. The film’s success lies in its refusal to offer closure, keeping the question of political transformation open. Full article

This study critically engages the ongoing national conversation and policy discourse on land expropriation without compensation in South Africa, offering both analytical insight and a principled position. It presents a qualitative, normative-analytical inquiry grounded primarily in critical documentary analysis of legislation, jurisprudence, and land reform scholarship. The study situates the contemporary debate within South Africa’s broader historical and structural context, where patterns of land dispossession continue to shape persistent spatial inequality and exclusion. The analysis proceeds from the premise that meaningful urban spatial transformation cannot be realised without addressing the structural constraints embedded within existing land governance and spatial planning systems. In this regard, debates around land expropriation are not simply questions of property law or economic policy but are fundamentally connected to broader concerns of spatial justice, economic inclusion, and social equity. These concerns are particularly salient when considering emerging imaginaries of African urban futures, including the notion of the Pan-African City—an urban formation envisioned as spatially integrated, socially inclusive, and reflective of shared continental aspirations for equitable development. The central argument advanced in this study is that unless South Africa gives serious and programmatic attention to land expropriation—moving beyond token or partial policy measures—the structural conditions necessary for such inclusive urban futures will remain unattainable. In this sense, any vision of a Pan-African City within South Africa’s borders risks remaining short-lived, if not altogether specious. To fully engage this debate, the paper unpacks and interrelates the concepts of land expropriation, compensation, expropriation without compensation, economic inclusivity, social equity, spatial justice, and the Pan-African City. These concepts cannot be adequately understood independent of the distinctly South African context—a context shaped by a history of racialised dispossession, deeply entrenched spatial inequalities, and the limitations of both first-generation (restitution, redistribution, tenure reform) and second-generation (e.g., the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act) land reform initiatives. The point advanced is unequivocal: without resolving the land question, sustainable housing and human settlement solutions in South Africa will not materialise. Anything less risks entrenching a democratic façade atop an unresolved colonial, segregationist, and apartheid foundation. Full article

This article examines the Americanization of television news in post-communist media systems through an in-depth case study of bTV, Bulgaria’s first national commercial television broadcaster, launched by News Corporation in 2000. Drawing on original in-depth qualitative interviews with founding executives, journalists, regulators, and consultants, alongside archival materials and documentary analysis, the study traces how U.S. journalistic norms were introduced, negotiated, and ultimately hybridized within a fragile post-socialist media environment. Building on Gabriel Tarde’s theory of imitation, the article proposes a three-stage analytical model—transmission, transnationalization, and appropriation—to capture the dynamics of media transformation beyond simple adoption or rejection. The findings show that Americanization initially operated as a professionalizing force, reshaping visual storytelling, newsroom routines, and narrative structures, while also functioning as a symbolic and structural shield against overt political interference. Foreign ownership, particularly American ownership, was widely perceived by media actors as a buffer separating newsrooms from local power networks and enabling a degree of editorial autonomy. At the appropriation stage, however, the analysis reveals a more ambivalent outcome. While American formats and aesthetics were rapidly internalized at the surface level, deeper journalistic identities and democratic functions (most notably the Fourth Estate ideal) were only partially and unevenly appropriated. The result was a hybrid media model characterized by format mixing, depoliticization, and selective adaptation to local cultural and institutional legacies. The article conceptualizes this outcome as a Copycat Fourth Estate: a media system that appears American in form yet remains shaped by post-communist legacies of control, accommodation, and limited civic engagement. By offering a historically grounded, outlet-level analysis, the study contributes to debates on media Americanization, hybridization, and media capture, and advances understanding of how imported journalistic models are reshaped in transitional democracies. Full article

This study presents a systematic review of Social Network Analysis (SNA) applications in Egyptology, examining methodological developments, current achievements, and future research directions. Despite Egypt’s exceptional documentary legacy spanning three millennia—administrative papyri, diplomatic correspondence, and prosopographical inscriptions—Egyptology has adopted network analytical methods more slowly than other archaeological disciplines. The review evaluates existing research across major historical periods, assessing methodological approaches and contributions to understanding Egyptian administrative structures, elite strategies, and social organization. Critical gaps identified include limited coverage of the Late Period, insufficient attention to economic and religious networks, minimal focus on gender and household-level analysis, and geographic concentration in Upper Egypt. The review also identifies methodological challenges specific to Egyptian sources: temporal depth, hierarchical social structures, preservation biases, and integration of diverse evidence types. Priority areas for development include large-scale collaborative projects, computational relationship extraction from digitised sources, and temporal network analysis capitalising on Egypt’s exceptional chronological span. The field stands at a critical juncture where coordinated development could transform understanding of ancient Egyptian society while contributing to broader archaeological network science. Full article

Underwater cultural heritage represents a fragile and largely unexplored component of historical landscapes, particularly in dynamic fluvial and coastal environments. Despite increasing international attention to its protection, the spatial identification of submerged heritage remains methodologically challenging. This study proposes a geo-historical approach that integrates historical cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify areas of high archaeological potential in underwater contexts. Focusing on the Douro River in Porto (Portugal), a UNESCO World Heritage city with a long maritime and fluvial history, the research analyses a set of key historical maps from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, complemented by documentary and archaeological sources. These cartographic materials were georeferenced and critically assessed in QGIS, enabling the digitisation of features associated with land–water interaction, navigation hazards, port infrastructures, and military defences. The resulting spatial dataset was used to generate an interpretative map and a kernel density model highlighting potential underwater heritage hotspots along the riverbed and riverbanks. The findings identify several priority zones, including the river mouth, historic quays, former shipbuilding areas, and sectors linked to nineteenth-century defensive structures. While the study does not include in situ verification, it demonstrates the value of historical maps as predictive tools for guiding targeted underwater surveys and proposes a transferable, cost-effective framework for heritage prospection and management in historically active fluvial–estuarine settings. Full article

This study analyses the educational and social impact of a series of innovative teaching projects developed at the Museum of the History of Pharmacy of the University of Seville. The initiatives—including historical video documentaries, the “student guides” programme, and the digital outreach project “Voices that Empower”—explore the pedagogical potential of scientific heritage as a learning tool and as a medium for public communication. Through experiential and service-learning methodologies, these projects have enhanced students’ communication skills, critical thinking, and awareness of cultural and gender dimensions within pharmaceutical studies. The results demonstrate that the integration of audiovisual production, museum-based learning, and digital storytelling fosters meaningful engagement between the university and society, while also revitalising the historical and humanistic dimensions of pharmacy. Furthermore, the inclusion of a gender perspective in the “Voices that Empower” initiative contributes to the visibility of women in STEM and highlights the museum as a space for empowerment and social transformation. This work concludes that university museums can act as strategic platforms for innovation in higher education, combining heritage preservation, teaching excellence, and civic outreach to promote a more inclusive and sustainable scientific culture. Full article

This article examines the critical role of archival exploration in decoding the painting practice of a modern Singaporean artist Liu Kang (1911–2004). Given Liu Kang’s undocumented artistic process and the absence of preserved paint tubes or technical notes, the research methodology combined a wide range of primary and secondary archival records with previous analytical investigations of his paintings. By examining works from the National Gallery Singapore and the Liu family collections created between 1927 and 1999, the research deduced the brands and types of materials he used. Hence, this article highlights the crucial and complementary role of diverse archival sources in technical art research. Consequently, primary archival sources, such as interviews with the artist, studio photographs and a TV documentary, provided evidence of his tools and methods. These were cross-referenced with secondary sources, including colourmen printed advertisements, trade directories and colourmen catalogues, which established the availability of art supplies in Shanghai, Paris, and Singapore throughout his career. Ultimately, these diverse archival sources enriched our understanding of Liu Kang’s painting practice. They connected the historical context of his artistic activities with the technical data, allowing the research to piece together narratives that might otherwise have remained obscured. Full article

The Galician Rias represent a unique and distinctive geographical entity within the context of the Iberian territory. Characterised by their estuarine geomorphology, resulting from the submersion of ancient fluvial valleys, they hold significant ecological and cultural value. Currently perceived as natural heritage, their utilisation for productive purposes has been a key driver of structured human settlement and economic development in the surrounding region. This article aims to systematise the main historical transformations of the Galician Rias through an interdisciplinary methodology, combining the overlaying of historical and contemporary cartographic sources with the documentary analysis of primary and secondary records. This approach enables the reconstruction and interpretation of landscape transformations, producing a narrative of the evolutionary processes that have shaped these areas. The research seeks to contribute to the formulation, extension, and diversification of protective measures for Galicia’s riparian zones, while simultaneously raising awareness of the importance of safeguarding archaeological remains from classical, medieval, and pre-industrial periods. These vestiges are increasingly under threat from profound alterations to their natural and anthropogenic contexts. Additionally, the study highlights the value of preserving this heritage to foster public awareness of the need to protect these fragile landscapes. Full article

Scholars in family therapy are increasingly calling for family-centered interventions for trauma-affected refugees, as many trauma-informed therapies favor individual models of treatment. Research contributes to the study and implementation of family-centered care models. However, for methodological reasons, research on family therapy with displaced populations is limited. In response to scholars’ call, this paper argues for the use of documentary film as qualitative research data in refugee family therapy research. Documentary films have historically been used in the social sciences to examine people’s lived experiences and to address data gaps in hard-to-reach populations. This paper outlines key methodological considerations inherent in research with refugee populations, including challenges related to recruitment and retention, language and cultural barriers, insecure and unstable living conditions affecting participants, research design constraints, and ethical complexities. It then discusses how the use of documentary film can help mitigate these challenges through careful epistemological positioning, research design, data selection and analysis strategies, and attention to ethical and research trustworthiness considerations. By doing so, the paper contributes to the development of qualitative research skills necessary for studying refugee family well-being and supporting the growth of family-centered therapeutic approaches. Full article

The Inter Faith Network for the United Kingdom was founded on 9 March 1987. Until the closure of its office on 30 April 2024, followed by its formal dissolution on 21 January 2025, it was a significant part of the religion and belief and inter-religious relations landscape of the United Kingdom (UK). This essay aims, as soon as possible following the Network’s closure, but also in a scholarly way, to document some key aspects of its origins and development, and thus to make an initial contribution to the likely later creation of a more comprehensive and definitive historical record of the Network’s origins, development, achievements, challenges and closure on the basis of which future work in relevant scholarly fields such inter-faith studies, the sociology of religion, and political science will be able to build. For now, building on the documentary record which this essay sets out, an early preliminary identification and contextual evaluation is offered of some of the Network’s key achievements and challenges. And finally, the article aims to make an informed and contextually evaluated contribution to such practitioner and policy-related discussions that have emerged and are still emerging around the gaps that have been identified as having been left by the closure of the Network, and the desirability and viability of how aspects of its inheritance might or might not be taken forward into the future in addressing those gaps. Full article

The conservation of architectural heritage poses significant challenges in buildings characterised by complex construction sequences, cumulative transformations and fragmented documentation, where traditional methods are insufficient to coherently integrate geometry, historical information and stratigraphic analysis. This study proposes and applies a multitemporal Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) workflow aimed at reconstructing and managing the historical evolution of architecture, using the Church of La Sang in Llíria (València, Spain) as a case study characterised by the superposition of Islamic, Gothic and contemporary phases. The methodology combines documentary and archaeological analysis, in situ stratigraphic observation and high-resolution terrestrial laser scanning as the geometric basis of the HBIM model. Historical phases are integrated as structural components of the information model, with explicit documentation of interpretative hypotheses and associated levels of reliability. The results show that the proposed approach enables the identification and reinterpretation of spatial and constructive relationships not previously described, the critical assessment of existing historical hypotheses, and the generation of coherent three-dimensional reconstructions even in contexts with incomplete information. The resulting documentary archive facilitates diachronic comparison of phases, ensures traceability of constructive elements and supports the production of reliable graphic and analytical documentation, establishing itself as a valuable tool for historical research, heritage management and the planning of future conservation interventions. Full article

Quito, recognized as the first UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, holds a vast documentary legacy at constant risk of deterioration due to environmental, biological, and aging factors. Preserving these historical documents demands sustainable and non-invasive approaches. This study presents the first documented investigation in Ecuador on the use of ionizing radiation for the conservation of historical paper materials. Fifteen fragments, naturally detached from deteriorated documents housed in two major heritage repositories, the Biblioteca Nacional Eugenio Espejo and the Biblioteca Fray Ignacio de Quezada, were selected for analysis. Samples were irradiated with a Co-60 gamma source at doses of 4, 6, and 8 kGy at the “Francisco Salgado T.” Irradiation Center. To evaluate potential alterations, pre- and post-irradiation analyses were conducted using surface pH measurements, colorimetry (ΔE from CIELAB coordinates), and FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. The results showed no statistically significant changes in the analyzed parameters, suggesting that gamma irradiation at these doses does not compromise the structural or visual integrity of the paper. This work represents a pioneering step in Ecuador toward integrating scientific methods into cultural heritage preservation, supporting the safe application of ionizing radiation in the conservation of historical documents. Full article