Search Results (438)

Indigenous languages in Southern Thailand are increasingly affected by modernization, digital communication, and language contact, yet the relationship between kinship terminology, social organization, and linguistic sustainability among Indigenous Austroasiatic-speaking communities remains insufficiently explored. This study addresses three research questions: (1) how Tan’ean and Jaahaai kinship systems differ in their semantic structures and classificatory patterns; (2) how kinship terms reflect cultural worldviews, social organization, and relational values of the Manni and Mueng’ra communities; and (3) what challenges influence the transmission and sustainability of kinship-related linguistic knowledge. This study aims to comparatively analyze consanguineal and affinal kinship terminology in the Tan’ean language of the Manni ethnic group and the Jaahaai language of the Mueng’ra ethnic group, focusing on how kinship systems encode cultural worldviews, social relations, and adaptive strategies under contemporary change. Guided by Componential Analysis and Ethnolinguistic Vitality Theory, this study employed a qualitative ethnolinguistic approach. Data were collected through genealogical elicitation, in-depth interviews, and participant observation with 40 key informants from Trang, Phatthalung, Satun, Songkhla, Yala, and Narathiwat provinces. The data were analyzed through semantic feature identification and comparative interpretation of kinship structures. The findings demonstrate that, despite shared Austroasiatic heritage, Tan’ean and Jaahaai exhibit distinct kinship systems reflecting different cultural logics. In response to the first research question, the findings reveal that the Manni system resembles the Hawaiian type, emphasizing egalitarian relations, generational categories, and inclusive incorporation of affinal relatives, whereas the Mueng’ra system shows Crow–Omaha characteristics, including generational skewing, gender-specific markers, hierarchical classification, and stronger influence from dominant regional languages. Regarding the second research question, the findings demonstrate that kinship terminology functions as a cultural mechanism for organizing social relationships, identity, and intergenerational obligations, reflecting different models of Indigenous social organization. For the third research question, the study identifies language contact, changing social conditions, and reduced intergenerational transmission as challenges affecting the continuity of Indigenous kinship knowledge. Therefore, the study recommends community-based orthographies, participatory digital learning platforms, and policies supporting Indigenous linguistic rights to strengthen language revitalization, cultural continuity, and Indigenous communities’ capacity to adapt to social transformation. Full article

As a vital component of cultural heritage, historic buildings carry multiple values, including historical continuity, construction techniques, and social memory. Their conservation and utilization are of significant importance for cultural transmission and economic development. However, existing research findings have long been dispersed across different themes, disciplines, and linguistic contexts, lacking a systematic integration and interpretive framework that links the entire conservation–utilization process, thereby constraining a comprehensive understanding of the field. Against this background, following the PRISMA guidelines, this study retrieved and screened 474 core journal articles published between 2005 and 2025 from the CNKI and the WOSCC. Using bibliometric and visualization analysis methods, and employing tools including CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Pajek, and Scimago Graphica, we analyzed publication trends, collaboration networks, disciplinary distributions, and knowledge structures, and conducted thematic mapping and cross-database comparison in conjunction with the management cycle articulated in international heritage conservation theory. The results show that publication volume in this field has generally exhibited a growth trend, and the research evolution has roughly undergone four stages: basic problem focus, emergence of digital technologies, digital transformation, and data-intensified assessment and intelligent applications. The research network presents a multi-centric pattern characterized by “fragmented distribution with localized clustering.” Cross-database comparison reveals that CNKI and WOS share common concerns in conservation, utilization, technology empowerment, and governance issues, but differ in thematic emphasis and methodological pathways. Based on the international heritage management cycle, this study maps out a systematic framework of “value recognition–risk assessment–conservation intervention–adaptive reuse–sustainable governance,” revealing the similarities and differences between the WOS and CNKI databases in thematic presentation and knowledge production pathways, and further identifies key issues including the insufficient independence of value research, inadequate methodological integration, weak post-utilization feedback, and the lack of a closed governance loop, thereby proposing future research directions. This study may serve as a reference for systematically understanding the overall knowledge and practical development in the field of historic building conservation and utilization. Full article

Medium-sized Mediterranean cities harbour extraordinary living heritage yet frequently lack the governance frameworks to sustain it equitably, a structural tension that scholarship has insufficiently addressed. This study investigates the governance gap in Kalamata, Greece (70,000 inhabitants), a paradigmatic case combining three millennia of heritage depth, an exceptional “belle époque” architectural and industrial deposit, and one of the densest voluntary cultural networks in the Greek urban system. Through an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, a stratified resident survey (n = 517), 49 stakeholder interviews, and systematic cultural cartography (Cultural Map v7, 2026), the study documents Institutional Resilience through Cultural Civil Society (IRCC): a co-evolutionary dynamic in which voluntary cultural activity expanded precisely as institutional capacity contracted during the 2010–2018 austerity crisis, producing a resilience that is admirable as a civic achievement yet structurally fragile as a governance model. Quantitative findings reveal significant geographic inequalities in cultural access (Centre M = 3.1 vs. Eastern zones M = 2.2, p < 0.001) traceable through archival data to the post-1922 refugee settlement geography, while the culture–urban development satisfaction nexus (Spearman ρ = 0.62, p < 0.001) is theoretically interpreted through civic attachment as a proposed common underlying construct; formal mediation was not statistically tested in the present study. CDIS triangulation identifies systemic weaknesses in cultural governance and spatial equity alongside strengths in civil-society participation. Seven evidence-based policy recommendations operationalise a transferable analytical framework for comparable medium-sized Mediterranean port cities, specifically those sharing comparable historical heritage density, civil-society cultural vitality, and governance capacity constraints, rather than a broadly generalisable model. Full article

This study develops a scale-aware and reproducible framework for examining the local clustering intensity of 612 recognized traditional villages in southern Zhejiang, China. Equal-weight Gaussian leave-one-out kernel density estimation (LOO-KDE; h = 21.01 km) excluded each focal village’s direct self-contribution, while explicitly acknowledging shared-neighbour dependence among the derived outcomes. Village-scale models used the same X1–X12 predictor set after correlation and variance-inflation screening; county socioeconomic indicators were analyzed separately for the 27 represented county-level units. A Random Forest selected from 144 prespecified candidates achieved an out-of-bag R2 of 0.353 and a county-grouped pooled R2 of 0.115. Repeated spatial holdouts yielded weak transferability: mean R2 was −0.081 for coordinate K-means and 0.082 for shifted 50 km grids without buffers, and became negative for both designs with one- or two-bandwidth buffers. SHAP ranked elevation, topographic relief, and village household count as the leading village-scale predictive contributors. OLS explained 30.5% of outcome variance, whereas SLM and SEM results depended strongly on whether structural/filtered fits or covariate-only predictions were evaluated. GWR and MGWR reached R2 = 0.9743 and 0.9984, and residual Moran’s I remained significant for all models except MGWR (I = 0.002, p = 0.429). At the county scale, rural disposable income and tertiary-industry output were negatively correlated with mean LOO-KDE, but multivariable HC3 estimates were imprecise and ecologically interpreted. The results identify associations with the clustering of recognized villages, not causes of individual-village heritage persistence. Full article

Vernacular settlements retain tangible fabric and intangible knowledge that can support climate-responsive conservation, adaptive reuse, and urban regeneration, yet these dimensions are often assessed separately. This study applies a values-based conservation framework to examine how heritage significance is expressed through settlement morphology, material systems, environmental performance, community knowledge, and continuing use in two historic settlements and one contemporary neighbourhood in Oman. Heritage significance is interpreted through six interconnected domains: historical-continuity, architectural-spatial, environmental, material-technical, social-cultural, and functional-economic value. A comparative mixed-method case-study design combined field observation, photographic documentation, urban and architectural morphological analysis, semi-structured interviews, and building-performance simulation. The findings show that the historic settlements achieved greater built intensity through attached buildings, shared walls, limited setbacks, shaded routes, mixed functions, and layered public–private organization. Interview evidence associated these characteristics with privacy, shared-resource management, traditional construction knowledge, social continuity, adaptive reuse, and continued occupation. Simulation results indicated substantially lower cooling-energy demand in the representative vernacular dwellings, whereas the contemporary villas achieved higher daylight levels and thermal conditions closer to neutrality under mechanical cooling. The study concludes that vernacular heritage should neither be conserved as static physical fabric nor reproduced literally. Interventions related to tourism, infrastructure, accessibility, privacy, commercial reuse, and residential continuity should be negotiated among stakeholders. Full article

Historical and cultural heritage parks are important spaces for heritage conservation, cultural transmission, and public recreation. However, conventional landscape perception research mainly relies on questionnaires and interviews, making it difficult to capture tourists’ visual preferences at scale. This study proposes a dual-task attention-enhanced ResNet framework based on social media user-generated content (UGC) images to investigate tourists’ landscape perception preferences in historical and cultural heritage parks. Using Yellow Crane Tower Park, Guqintai, and Guishan Scenic Area in Wuhan, China, as case studies, 6221 images were collected from Ctrip, Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and field surveys. The framework jointly performs landscape element detection and aesthetic attribute classification through shared feature representation and attention mechanisms. The proposed model achieved a composite Macro-F1 score of 0.7641, demonstrating robust classification performance. The results show that Buildings and Structures exhibited the highest average prediction probability (0.5824), while Spatial Legibility was the dominant aesthetic attribute (0.5322), indicating a perception pattern characterized by cultural-symbol prominence and enhanced spatial cognition. Vegetation and road networks were positively associated with spatial mystery, whereas excessive visual complexity reduced spatial legibility. These findings demonstrate the value of combining deep learning with social media image analytics for cultural landscape perception research and provide practical insights for landscape planning, heritage conservation, and tourism management. Full article

Historic buildings represent a substantial share of the European building stock. However, their energy retrofit is heavily restricted by conservation principles that often exclude conventional insulation systems. In this context, phase change materials (PCMs) incorporated into lime-based mortars have emerged as a potentially compatible solution, combining latent heat storage capacity with the compatibility traditionally associated with aerial lime, the binder of reference in conservation practice. In some cases, natural hydraulic lime and hydrated lime are also used in heritage conservation applications. The aim of this study, therefore, is to provide a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles published between 2010 and 2026 that illustrate the use of PCM-containing lime mortars applied in historic buildings. The analysis examines PCM types, incorporation methods, thermal and mechanical behavior, durability, and compatibility with conservation requirements. The reviewed studies demonstrate that the incorporation of PCM generally reduces internal thermal fluctuations in buildings along with capillary water absorption. Durability investigations indicate improved resistance to freeze–thaw cycles and salt crystallization of mortars containing such PCMs. However, durability was investigated in less than 20% of the studies reviewed. Lime mortars show a consistent reduction in compressive strength as the PCM content increases; on the other hand, hydrated lime mortars can also offer increases in strength. Although the reviewed studies focused on applications in historic buildings, the reversibility of the intervention and its compatibility with historic substrates was not assessed according to the standards required for the conservation of cultural heritage. This gap represents the main limitation of the research conducted. Full article

Machine learning (ML) is increasingly used in architectural cultural heritage conservation, but existing evidence remains fragmented across tasks, data types, and technical workflows. This systematic review synthesizes 33 studies on machine learning applications in architectural heritage conservation and identifies major application domains, methodological patterns, evidence gaps, and future research directions. Following a PRISMA-oriented review process, the literature was searched in Web of Science, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar up to 31 January 2026. Eligible studies were screened according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted using a structured coding form, and synthesized through qualitative thematic analysis. The included studies were grouped into three major domains: semantic understanding of heritage data, multi-scale damage detection and structural health monitoring, and system-level integration through heritage building information models (HBIM), multimodal data fusion, and digital twins. The evidence indicates a transition from isolated data-driven analysis toward predictive and decision-support systems, while persistent limitations remain in model generalization, benchmark datasets, semantic-to-HBIM transformation, multimodal fusion, and real-world deployment. Machine learning has substantial potential to support preventive, interpretable, and context-aware conservation, but future research requires more transparent reporting, shared datasets, external validation, and closer integration with conservation expertise. Full article

Huizhou architectural heritage images are important visual materials for regional heritage documentation, digital archiving, and conservation support. However, Huizhou architecture shares many visual cues with Jiangnan white-walled and grey-tiled buildings and other visually similar Classical Chinese architectural forms. In practical image archiving, the critical risk is therefore not only whether a model can achieve high four-class accuracy, but also whether visually similar Classical Chinese buildings are incorrectly archived as Huizhou architecture. To address this problem, this study constructs the HuizhouStyle-4C image recognition task and proposes a reliability-oriented evaluation workflow for Huizhou architectural heritage image archiving. The workflow combines group-aware leakage control, hard-boundary diagnosis, and an out-of-fold (OOF)-safe fixed decision rule. A structure-aware baseline classifier, SAB-ResNet, is further used to incorporate architectural boundary and facade-structure cues into the recognition process. The evaluation includes group-aware five-fold cross-validation, an independent holdout subset from the curated dataset, and a hard-boundary test focused on the distinction between Huizhou architecture and visually similar Classical Chinese samples. Under this within-dataset held-out evaluation setting, the OOF-safe balanced point achieved an Independent Holdout Macro-F1 of 0.9501 and a Hard Binary F1 of 0.8182. The results indicate that Huizhou architectural heritage image archiving benefits from not only conventional four-class recognition, but also explicit diagnosis of near-neighbour misclassification risks and fixed decision rules selected without test-set labels. Additional stronger backbone comparisons further show that competitive held-out four-class performance does not eliminate the need for hard-boundary diagnosis. Full article

This article examines the comparative method in environmental law through a systematic bilateral analysis of the foundational environmental protection laws adopted in Ukraine in 1991 and in Lithuania in 1992. The overarching aim is to contribute to the underexplored field of Ukraine-Lithuania comparative research by identifying similarities and differences and situating them within post-Soviet legal development and European integration processes. The study adopts a mixed methodological design combining a scoping-oriented literature review, consisting of a targeted narrative review using Google Scholar and a systematic review in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines using the Scopus database (n = 23), with a structured doctrinal comparison of the two legal acts. The literature review identifies four main rationales for comparing Ukraine and Lithuania in academic scholarship: shared Soviet historical heritage, post-socialist transition processes, cultural and societal similarities, and the identification of research gaps. The paper further demonstrates that comparative environmental law studies predominantly rely on broader post-Soviet or regional frameworks, with limited direct bilateral comparison between these two countries. The doctrinal analysis of environmental laws reveals both convergence and divergence. However, Lithuania exhibits a more dynamic and EU-integrated legislative trajectory characterised by continuous amendments and alignment with EU environmental acquis, whereas Ukraine demonstrates a more stable but less systematically EU-oriented legal evolution and comparatively gradual reform processes. The findings indicate that Europeanisation plays a key role in shaping divergent post-socialist environmental legal development. Lithuania represents a model of sustained EU-driven legal integration, while Ukraine reflects a more incremental adaptation path. The study contributes to the literature by providing a structured bilateral comparison of Ukraine and Lithuania in environmental law and by linking doctrinal differences to broader processes of post-Soviet transformation and Europeanisation. Full article

This paper explores the culinary and cultural significance of cooked leafy vegetables among Afro-descendant communities in French Guiana and Suriname, including French Guianese and Surinamese Creoles, Maroons, and Haitian migrants. While leafy greens play a major dietary role across sub-Saharan Africa, their consumption in the Americas remains understudied. This ethnobotanical study of edible leafy plants is based on surveys of local markets, gardens and residents. Drawing on 26 informal interviews conducted in four local languages (French, French Guianese Creole, Haitian Creole, and Nengee Tongo), we describe 36 species of edible leaves from 20 plant families consumed in the region. Our findings show that although the practice of eating leafy greens is widely shared, the species selected, their names, and their perceived properties vary noticeably across cultural groups. Some plants are eaten exclusively by Maroons (e.g., Cestrum latifolium, Capsicum spp.), others by Haitians (e.g., Corchorus olitorius, Rivina humilis), and some have fallen into disuse among younger generations. These differences are shaped by ecological availability, cultural memory, food-medicine beliefs, and interethnic influences. We suggest that the term callaloo (referring to both dishes and leafy vegetables), which circulates in multiple linguistic and culinary forms throughout the African diaspora, can serve as a metaphor for the interculturalization of foodways. More than ingredients, these leafy vegetables act as dynamic cultural markers—symbols of resilience, transmission, and transformation. In a context of rapid globalization, where unseen foods risk sinking further into obscurity, these plant-based traditions highlight both the adaptability and fragility of Afro-descendant culinary heritage in the Guiana Shield. Full article

Contemporary cultural heritage conservation is increasingly shifting from object-oriented preservation toward human-centered management, yet its philosophical basis and operational implications remain underdeveloped. This article reinterprets that shift through a selective Marxian framework while also foregrounding Authorized Heritage Discourse (AHD), collective memory, social memory, and community agency. On the basis of critical heritage studies, the article first conceptualizes cultural heritage as a historical product of human practice, a carrier of social relations, and a medium through which communities transmit memory. It then diagnoses three alienating effects produced by material-centered conservation: the ossification of practice, the reification of social relations, and the narrowing of human needs under technical rationality, authoritative discourse, and capital logic. In response, the article proposes a human-centered conservation framework organized around dynamic practice, ecological wholeness, integrated empowerment, and institutional safeguards. An in-depth case analysis of Xidi Village, China, further shows how festivals, ancestral hall rituals, adaptive reuse, knowledge sharing, and community governance can reconnect heritage with everyday life, collective identity, and social relation reproduction. The study contributes to heritage conservation theory by clarifying how material protection, community memory, and social relations can be integrated without reducing heritage to either static fabric or abstract theory. Full article

Climate change is expected to increase temperatures in agricultural producing regions, potentially affecting fruit development and quality. To date, the molecular responses of raspberry fruits to moderate warming under field conditions have not been explored. In this paper, raspberry plants (Rubus idaeus L. cv. Heritage) growing in two contrasting agroclimatic regions of Chile were exposed to a moderate increase in temperature during fruit development. Fruit phenotyping, histological analyses, and RNA sequencing were used to evaluate physiological and transcriptomic responses to warming. Elevated temperature increased fruit weight and fruit dimensions in both orchards and was associated with larger drupelet and cell areas, which was accompanied by reduced cell density. Moreover, transcriptomic analyses revealed marked differences in gene expression responses between raspberries fruits from different locations with only a small number of heat-responsive genes shared across locations. Nevertheless, the common enrichment of oxylipin-related processes was observed, suggesting a conserved response. In addition, a combined treatment model identified the enrichment of processes like ribosome biogenesis, RNA metabolism, cell cycle regulation, cytokinesis, and structural cellular remodeling. These transcriptional changes were consistent with the cellular phenotypes observed in heat-treated fruits. Overall, our results show that moderate warming promotes larger raspberry fruits through changes in cellular organization, while the underlying molecular responses are strongly influenced by agroclimatic context. Full article

Urban public spaces contribute to sustainable urban development by supporting social interaction, cultural identity, pedestrian experience, environmental comfort and commercial vitality. However, limited comparative evidence explains how user satisfaction differs between public spaces shaped by contrasting spatial identities. This study compares Melaka Jonker Street (MJS), a heritage-oriented commercial public space, and Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur (BBKL), a contemporary commercial public space, to examine how selected urban space attributes shape user satisfaction and sustainability interpretation. A quantitative comparative survey involving 542 respondents was analysed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, the Mann–Whitney U test, the Relative Importance Index (RII), comparative gap analysis, the User Satisfaction Balance Score (USBS) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The findings show that, within the shared attributes examined, MJS recorded stronger satisfaction patterns than BBKL, with the largest satisfaction gaps observed in accessibility, light sculpture, waterscape lighting and green elements. Satisfaction in MJS was mainly shaped by heritage identity, historical buildings, street art walls, water elements and accessibility, reflecting a cultural–environmental sustainability pattern. In contrast, satisfaction in BBKL was more closely associated with activity intensity, media architecture and contemporary visual experience, reflecting a socio-economic-commercial sustainability pattern. These results provide context-specific evidence that sustainable public space performance is shaped by the relationship between urban space attributes, spatial identity and everyday user experience. The findings contribute to urban design and public space research by integrating user satisfaction with sustainability interpretation and by providing context-sensitive planning and design implications for heritage-oriented and contemporary commercial public spaces in Malaysia. Full article

Urban tourism communities activate local resources through spaces shared by residents and tourists, yet the inherent spatial overlap and functional complexity of these areas often generate conflicts. Existing research has predominantly focused on traditional scenic areas, heritage sites, or cities affected by overtourism, with comparatively little attention to urban tourism communities. This study draws on three tourism communities in Chongqing, China, employing street-intercept interviews and spatial analysis to investigate the forms and spatial characteristics of resident–tourist conflict. The findings indicate that such conflicts manifest across four dimensions: management conflict, economic conflict, resource and environmental conflict, and socio-cultural conflict. Conflicts are more likely to occur in areas where tourist activities intersect with residents’ daily routines, and different conflict types exhibit distinct spatial patterns. Furthermore, residents are more sensitive to these conflicts than tourists. By adopting a dual resident–tourist perspective, this study advances understanding of the tensions in high-density, high-mobility urban tourism communities and provides empirical insights to inform their sustainable development. Full article