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Professors Krystyna Pietrych and Jacek Brzozowski talk to Professor Helena Karwacka about the Polish and library studies in Krakow, her cooperation with prominent figures of Polish history of literature, and the cultural life in the post-war Łódź.
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With the development of geoinformation technologies and geoinformation mapping the sphere of activity of professional geographers and cartographers has been enriched by a wide application of databases (DB). They enable geographical information to be put in order in a user-friendly system. The article considers the methodological aspects of the organizations and creation of such a system - the "Municipal settlements of Ukraine" databases. The basic stages and databases forming the principles which the author designated during the creation of this specific database are highlighted. The DB structure is revealed - the list of the data included in every table is given. The ways of DB applications are determined; they consist in using DB for the creation of various cartographic studies and reference books about the municipal settlements in Ukraine. The prospects of DB development and perfection are considered.
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Any researcher who works with local people in a small town soon finds a number of repeating topics, stories, symbols, characters, and attitudes. Together they create a generalized image that, to a greater or lesser degree, is shared by its inhabitants. In order to move beyond merely recording different forms of self-description and to use these data as instruments of explanation and comparative analysis, the author proposes a model for the genre analysis of such “local” narratives. This allows us to a) reveal links between the past (cultural memory), present (image), and future (expectations and scenarios) of a city; b) explain the cultural preconditions of observed collective and individual actions; and c) explain the specificity of the affective connection between citizens and their city. In the second part of the paper the author demonstrates some results of the application of this model, using two case studies: Myshkin (visited in 2013) and Kologriv (visited in 2010). The narratives of local inhabitants are structured according to the genres of ”progress” (development) and ”regress” (decay). The author is especially interested in how these genres constitute peculiar types of agency, as well as a repertoire of (im)possible actions.
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History of NIRD URBAN-INCERC: research in civil engineering, architecture and spatial planning.
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The Black Sea region has lately emerged as a region of main concern due to its increased geopolitical importance and the wide range of security issues it confronts with. As a result both regional and international actors have focused their attention in finding suitable solutions to secure the area. Finding solutions is not an easy issue as there is not regional identity and the regionalization process is nascent. Using information present in academic and government literature, this paper concludes that the process of NATO integration, regional cooperation and defense transformation has been the main drivers for Romania’s contribution in improving the security environment in the region. The paper also identifies international cooperation and standardization as tools for increasing the confidence and security in the Black Sea region.
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The profound social changes occuring under the late Ramessides and the early years of the Libyan rule have not remained without an effect on Egyptian material culture. One of the best indicators of this phenomenon is funerary art and, more specifically, the funerary artefacts retrieved from the tombs of the Theban necropolis. Although the material from regional cemeteries in Middle Egypt, the Delta and especially the royal necropolis at Tanis also provides valuable data to a better understanding of the characteristics of this change, it is only at Thebes that a vast sequence of tomb groups preserved by favorable climatic conditions can serve as a basis for more elaborate studies yielding a compass for the assessment of contemporary corpora throughout Egypt. The significance of the Theban material was already recognised by early scholars following the discovery of tomb groups in Deir el-Bahari, the Ramesseum and other sites at Thebes. More recent investigations have also convincingly shown that the period between the 11th and mid-7th c. BC is far from being homogeneous with regard to cultural patterns and paradigms expressed in material culture. Relying on typological studies of various genres of this material,2 the production of the 21st and early 22nd dynasties is now safely distinguishable from the preceding and successive Theban corpora. The present study offers a summary of the digging activities carried out in a mortuary complex that dates to the second part of the Third Intermediate Period, i.e., the late 22nd and 25th dynasties.
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The location and terrain of the Haimos Mountains (in modern terms, consisting primarily of the massifs of the Stara Planina and the Sredna Gora) were a natural barrier to travellers and troops intending to move from north to south, from south to north, or along the famous via militaris, passing through the eastern half of what is now designated as the Balkan Peninsula. The Stara Planina divides the Danubian Plain from the southern regions of Illyria and Thrace, while the Sredna Gora separates the latter two from each other. In the past, these mountains were difficult to cross because of bad weather conditions, including sudden thunderstorms, thermal inversions and mountain rivers overflowing with spring meltwaters. The thick snow cover, which extended to the lower parts of the massifs in winter, created a lot of difficulties even for locals, who knew the terrain very well, but considerably more so for outsiders, who were practically unable to traverse it at that time of the year. The Byzantines were evidently often discouraged from crossing, partly because the image of these mountains and their inhabitants, particularly among members of Byzantine elites, was formed by readings of classical literature and knowledge of past military losses suffered by the Empire in the region. Stories of brigands ravaging the area also played a part, diffused as they were among soldiers and the ordinary populace by oral tradition or devotional literature, such as saints’ lives. Analysis of geographical facts and historical sources demonstrates that the Haimos was a dominant geographical feature in the region during the Middle Ages. It was a natural dividing line and a reference for the location of individual territories. It is not surprising therefore that Byzantine military troops and travellers heading northwards wanted to avoid crossing that difficult area and risking ambush; instead, they readily used the sea route along the eastern coast of Thrace and Moesia or instigated various nomadic peoples to invade the Bulgarian-populated lands from the north.
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The Konopnica Commune, adjacent to the voivodeship capital Lublin, is of agricultural character. Due to transformations in the agricultural economy and inflow of population from the nearby city, the social sphere of life is gaining importance. One of the elements of its proper functioning is the developed network of non-governmental organisations and various forms of cooperation with the NGO environment. Many initiatives activating residents are implemented in the commune. The most interesting one is the international project “Promotion of land culture and preservation of historical heritage” conducted together with the Trembowla municipality in the Tarnopol oblast in Ukraine. The following associations are active in the area of the commune: Association Local Action Group for the Development of the Lublin Poviat “Kraina wokół Lublina”, 12 units of the Volunteer Fire Brigade, Association “Pracownia Twórczych Działań”, and Association “Skaut” with its seat in Lublin, implementing cultural-social workshops in the Konopnica Commune. Residents of the commune implement and develop passions in groups and artistic teams, including: singing group “Rola”, theatre group “Stacja Teatr”, ballet group “Arabeski”, group “Malarki z Konopnicy”, and a music band. Owing to the work of enthusiasts, cultural-social meetings are organised in the form of cyclical events and one-off actions. The cultural development is stimulated by cultural entities (“Dom Kultury” in Motycz, Commune Library and its branches, Ośrodek Działań Twórczych). The aforementioned advantages of the Konopnica Commune offer a chance for its development both in the socio-economic sphere and in terms of cultural-environmental heritage.
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If it were to my heart, I would begin this book with the words: It is untrue that Albania is a country full of robbers and dangers, ruled by an operetta king under the lictor's ax of the mighty Mediterranean, that it looks somehow like those Caucasian principalities that American film-kitsch wants to make us believe as the setting for the ever popular court intrigues. It is untrue that the Skipetarian population is divided into two classes, the urban proletariat of the intelligentsia, and all the rest of the rest, who scowl like astrologers in illustrated advertisements and handle the rifle with habitual determination. It is also untrue that forests and swamps are literally teeming with rare game, which European travel hunters, who are immortalized in the picture with their slain lions, could offer a welcome and easy change. So much is untrue that is being spread about this strange country and that is being used in Western ideas. TRUE IS MUCH MORE ... (this, the author is offering in his book)
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The chapter presents correlation analyses based on territorial indices according to the Europa 2020 Strategy targets: social and labor force area.
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Road signage is an important component of traffic safety and convenient driving. It is a substantial tool placed on roads which target multiple users and give awareness about traffic situation to prevent casualties. This research aims to analyze the road signage comprehensibility of drivers with twenty different signs in Lahore City, Pakistan. Five hypothesis are made to assess comprehensibility in relation to personal characteristics of drivers (gender, marital status, age, education and driving experience). Total 400 questionnaires were filled from active driving license holders of Lahore for comprehensibility analysis. The research also incorporates interviews from officials of public sector organizations involved in managing road signs in Lahore. The findings of the study shows that, there is a strong correlation of driver comprehensibility with age, education and driving experience. The analysis depict that 14% people had high comprehensibility, 68% on medium level and 18% drivers with low road signage comprehension for the selected signs. The research claims that road sign comprehensibility should be significantly improved in drivers for effective traffic management in the city. The recommendations in this regard includes, adding section of road signage in formulation of urban plans and considering it especially for new infrastructural developments, as an element of road safety. Intergovernmental cooperation should be enhanced and awareness raising workshops must be organized for both novice and regular drivers.
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Analyzing the Sprawl of Built-up Areas Using Landsat Data and the Normalized Difference Built-up Index
The sprawl of built-up areas is one of the most important anthropic changes which lead to the development of cities. This study analyses the sprawl of built-up areas around the city of Brașov, Romania, on the basis of two Landsat satellite images acquired in 1985 and 2019. The analysis was based on satellite images obtained through the difference between the NDBI and NDVI indices calculated for each satellite image. The results show that in the period 1985–2019 built-up areas around Brașov and its surroundings increased considerably (24.6%). Furthermore, it was noted that, although the reflectance of built-up areas varies very little from one season to the next, it can be influenced indirectly by the presence in the studied area of agricultural land and barren land whose reflectance is seasonal. This phenomenon led to confusion among built-up, agricultural land and barren land in mapping built-up areas.
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Although it is difficult to legitimize lately, in a way, who the supreme title holder is of the first circumnavigator among Magellan and Elcano, each one has his undeniable merits. Beyond the difficult route and the obstacles encountered, or the successes achieved on several levels (geographic, anthropological, economic, etc.), what stands above all is the significance of self-discovery and of the Other. In order to facilitate the encompassing of the significance of the discoveries, what interests most is the message, sometimes apparently codified from the point of view of writing, of a message of hope for the descendants, of a certain godliness to the divinity, and of the idea that such civilizing gestures could ever be repeated. The emblem of this testimony, but also of a kind of paradoxical happy testament of the supreme sailors, or of the several unknown illustrious people, is, of course, the fierce and powerful Antonio Pigafetta who, together with his masters in navigation and survival beyond human limits, completes the splendid earthly trinity of the explorers.
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The anthropogenetic structure of six island/peninsular populations - Brač, Hvar, Korčula, Pelješac, Silba and Olib - of the Eastern Adriatic, Croatia, is analyzed on the basis of the study of four different erythrocyte antigen systems/groups and two erythrocyte isoenzyme systems. Average sample size was 555 individuals. Allele frequencies and genetic distances values were computed. The obtained results point to the fact that all of the populations in question have preserved their separate characteristics in the course of their (micro) evolution to the present day, which is especially noticeable for the island populations of Korčula and Olib, as these populations distinguish themselves from the other studied populations with a greater degree of isolation.
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Archaeological and geophysical prospection of the site of Khirbat as-Sar (Sara) in Jordan, carried out by a team from the Polish Centre of the Mediterranean Archaeology (PCMA), University of Warsaw, has resulted in a comprehensive plan mapping all visible architectural remains. A Roman-period sacred compound appears to be a central feature of this site. Pottery collected from the surface has given a time range for the settlement from the late Iron Age through the Mamluk period. The electrical resistivity method using a probe array that allowed ground penetration to a maximum depth of approximately 1.50 m revealed meaningful information on the spatial organization of the site. Numerous high-resistance anomalies were interpreted as a reflection of building remains.
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This work, is part of a field survey of oral research, we have done with Candan Torun (in the center and in 48 villages) in Ardanuç and The Eastern Black Sea Region is one of the district of Artvin. When we look at the borders of our country, it is the most extreme settlement area and it is on Taranskafasia road. It is about 670 meters above sea level. The district is located in a basin formed by Aydın, Bulanık and Horhor of stream and the surrounding Kürdevan, Yalnızçam and Horasan mountains that flow to the Çoruh River. The town has a rugged structure. It is one of the most migrant districts in our country in the past and today. This is a part of the field study we did with Candan Torun in Ardanuç District and its villages. During the mentioned field study, more than 40 people who were never left the districts and villages were selected. The voice recorder was used and a compilation was made in the form of question and answer. The words related to the local dialects we compiled were given in alphabetical order and a general evaluation of Turkish was made in terms of vocabulary.
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Sport, tourism, and recreation, like many other areas of life, are influenced by environmental factors, including climate. Climate is one of the major factors determining the living conditions on our planet, which determine the functioning and behavior of all organisms. Therefore, this poses the question: Are global climate changes seen by ordinary people? If so, how are they seen and how do they affect the various domains of life, in particular, sport, tourism, and recreation? The aim of the pilot research was to determine the impact of global climate changes (observed in the public media as well as being in the public consciousness) in the area of western Norway (WN) on sport, tourism, and recreation. Pilot research was conducted in the summer and autumn of 2015 using a diagnostic survey on the internet. The research tool was a questionnaire survey. Respondents came from two groups: 61 employees and entrepreneurs in the industries of sport, tourism, and recreation in WN and 32 people either actively partaking in sport and recreational activities or visiting the region as tourists.
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Railway transport is a primary asset to trade, industry and commerce development of nations hat demand among others, a safe transit and optimal maintenance. Track performance remains an important index towards measuring track degradation. Thus, in this study the rail track geometry model was adopted to analyze the quality of Iddo – Mushin rail corridor towards safe rail transport system. Geometric parameters of interest include vertical irregularities, horizontal irregularities, cross-level, twist and track gauge. The parameters were calculated from a 3-dimensional data collected using Tachymetric Surveying approach covering Mushin, Yaba, Ebute-Meta and Iddo terminus. It should be noted that despite the high standard used as regards to the design and construction of the Iddo-Mushin rail track facilities, several derailments have occurred over time due to rail geometry deformation with high probability incidents along the Iddo – Ebute-Meta corridor. It was also discovered that the Iddo-Mushin axis can only permit average train speed of about 80 km/h, using the Polish Railway Synthetic Coefficient for safe rail transportation system. The synthetic assessment approach is simple and facilitate a continuous measurement of geometric parameters along railway track. Proper maintenance and upgrade of the rail track system mechanisms to support the incremental trasport demand and services as a result of socio-economic growth and development of Lagos mega city, is therefore suggested.
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The methodology of comparative assessment of the mortgage market is proposed. The study of the Ukrainian mortgage market was conducted in three areas: the preconditions for the development of the mortgage market, the current situation in the mortgage market, and the risks in the mortgage market. The integrated coefficient of the level of development of the mortgage market in Ukraine is calculated. It is substantiated that the level of the Ukrainian mortgage market is in an embryonic state in comparison with the corresponding EU market. The object of study is the mortgage market of Ukraine. The subject of the study is the methodological principles of mortgage market. The study of the mortgage market as a financial mechanism for implementing the strategy of technological development of the national economy contributes to the understanding of the areas of efforts to overcome socio-economic problems in the country. The purpose of this article is to carry out a comparative assessment of the mortgage market of Ukraine. To achieve this goal were used: system-parametric approach - to the scientific knowledge of the mortgage market, which allowed to integrate the preconditions of development, potential and risks of the mortgage market; a comparative analysis of the assessment of the Ukrainian mortgage market, which helped to determine the level of development of the national mortgage market in comparison with the EU. The practical significance of the results is that the proposed valuation method can be used to rank both banks and national mortgage markets of other countries. Conclusions. The assessment of the preconditions demonstrated the high responsibility of Ukrainian mortgage borrowers. The potential for mortgage capital in Ukraine exceeds the European one almost three times. The biggest risk of mortgage market for housing construction in Ukraine is the problem with unfinished projects. The development of mortgage market in Ukraine needs legislative support in the direction of changing the status of property rights, state support in guaranteeing loans and resolving issues of unfinished projects, finding alternative sources of financing.
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The paper deals with the attitudes and opinions of the displaced persons from the Croatian Danube basin regarding the Plan of Peaceful Reintegration in relation to their personal characteristics, intention to return, emotional attitude towards the place of displacement and 'its characteristics, and experience of war and displacement. The data were processed by the non-parametrical contingency analysis and expressed in relative frequencies. lt was determined that attitudes and opinions were, in a more or less varied degree, statistically significantly correlated to all variables-predictors. The highest correlation was observed between some personal characteristics (education, age and nationality) and criticism towards the Plan, and the lowest correlation was found between experience of war and displacement and general opinion of the Plan. The data confirm the Hocke's thesis that exclusively humanitarian approach to the problem of displacement without defining its political causes, proved to be inefficient.
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