Open Access Books

Géographes et sociologues s’intéressent à la redéfinition du maillage paroissial par les institutions ecclésiastiques afin de proposer, à partir d’antiques territoires, des constructions territoriales adaptées aux nécessités du monde actuel. Ces analyses recoupent les renouvellements en cours de l’historiographie de la paroisse. Si celle-ci est bien une construction médiévale, il semble se confirmer qu’elle a mis plusieurs siècles à prendre forme selon des modalités diverses. Dans cette perspective, le modèle tridentin de territorialisation paroissiale qui s’est imposé à l’époque moderne apparaît plutôt comme une parenthèse entre deux perceptions plus communautaires que territoriales de la paroisse. Archéologues, géographes sociaux, historiens, juristes, sociologues ont entrepris d’inscrire leurs contributions dans une démarche interdisciplinaire. Ils explorent ainsi l’hypothèse selon laquelle les facteurs qui interviennent aujourd’hui dans le démontage de ce système spatial pourraient contribuer à éclairer les conditions de son montage (et réciproquement ?).

The book "Communicating Culture: Institutions, Strategies, Audiences" is an outcome of the research project “The Development of Communicative Competence of Cultural Institutions in the Context of Knowledge and Creative Society” conducted between 2012 and 2015 by researchers of Vytautas Magnus University. The data were collected from cultural organisations, project participants, in Kaunas, Šiauliai and Klaipėda between 2008 and 2013. The project had encompassed theoretical studies and their critical development, case studies and qualitative and qualitative data analysis. Central in the project was estimating to what extent the organisations were perceptive to the influences of creative and cultural industries (CCI) communication processes. The monograph aims to discuss processes, concepts, ideas and reasons why the above-mentioned traditional Lithuanian cultural institutions only partly implement CCI experiences and competences. A related goal is to consider how the efficacy of such institutions can be increased by adopting best practices pulled from CCI experiences in Lithuania and abroad and by implementing possibilities provided by new media. In the book, the essays revolve around the objective to show theoretical links between communicative action and CCI and to reveal their incongruities and points of tension. This is discussed in view of the data obtained within the framework of the above-mentioned research project. The data serve as a background for critical assessment of the dynamics of communicative competences in the researched cultural institutions over the past five years. The latter aspect is an integral part of the objective to discuss the relationship between communicative action, communicative reason and communicative space in regards to modern CCI developments. In this connection, the book also discusses contradictions arising in the formation of the creative class and examines how these contradictions stand in relation to organisational communication. Another objective of research presented in the book is to analyse and to compare communication among cultural institutions and structures related with these institutions. In particular, applied meanings and signs employed in communication are analysed from political and institutional perspectives. To this end, the study provides analysis and critical assessment of the specificity of communication in CCI organisations; probes into its functions and forms; looks at the existing and the necessary competences from the communicative point of view; describes and polemicises whether virtual space and new media are effectively used in communicative practices of cultural institutions.

Animal sacrifices are commonly practised in Himachal Pradesh on various occasions, including public festivals at the district level. Over recent years criticism of the practice has increased and some cases have been brought before the court. This chapter focuses on three court cases that were jointly decided in 2014 by the Himachal Pradesh High Court, where the judge ruled a total ban on animal sacrifice in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The case is still pending at the Supreme Court which means that it may potentially have an impact at national level. I first consider the context of this controversy, and the official and unofficial discourses of those involved in the case. Based on the court file, newspapers and ethnographic data, I then analyse the judicial handling of the case, which refers to legal, ritual, or reformist arguments or to animal welfare. The last section draws a comparison with a case concerning animal sacrifice in the Santeria religion, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, in order to bring out differences in the legal approaches in the two cases despite being both grounded in common law. It shows how, contrary to the legal handling of this issue in the Santeria case where the main concern is to protect religious freedom, in the Himachal Pradesh case the judge explicitly and repeatedly appealed to the role of the court in defining religion (as opposed to superstition), and to the court’s responsibility in favouring ‘moral progress’ and promoting religious reforms.

From fox-hunting to farming, the vigour with which rural activities and living are defended overturns received notions of a sleepy and complacent countryside. Alongside these developments, the rise of the organic food movement has helped to revitalize an already politicized rural population. Over the years 'rural life' has been defined, redefined and eventually fallen out of fashion as a sociological concept - in contrast to urban studies, which has flourished. This much-needed reappraisal calls for its reinterpretation in light of the profound changes affecting the countryside. First providing an overview of rural sociology, Hillyard goes on to offer contemporary case studies that clearly demonstrate the need for a reinvigorated rural sociology. Tackling a range of contentious issues, this book offers a new model for rural sociology and reassesses its role in contemporary society.Providing an overview of rural sociology, this title calls for the reinterpretation of rural life in light of the profound changes affecting the countryside. It offers case studies that demonstrate the need for a reinvigorated rural sociology. Tackling contentious issues, it presents a model for rural sociology and assesses its role in society.Sam Hillyard is Lecturer in Sociology, School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University.

The Miracle of Saint Mina is one of the core texts in the small corpus of texts written in Old Nubian, a Nilo-Saharan language spoken between the third and fourth cataract of the Nile river until about the fifteenth century, and written in an adaptation of the Coptic script. It is one of the oldest written indigenous African languages. The Miracle of Saint Mina, most probably written around 1000 A.D., is a classical miracle story featuring one of the most well-known Egyptian saints. This publication features a translation of the text into one of the remaining modern Nubian languages, Dongolawi-Andaandi, by El-Shafie El-Guzuuli, thus establishing for the first time a link between the Old Nubian literary heritage and the contemporary colloquial language. The Old Nubian is also accompanied by a revised translation to English and a grammatical analysis.

The right to housing, although internationally recognized since 1948, has been widely neglected. United Nations data indicates that one in every 60 people on the planet has nowhere to live, and approximately one-fifth of the world’s population lives in precarious conditions. These alarming figures highlight the important role of construction professionals in addressing the needs of this vast portion of the global population—whether through the development of new housing or the improvement of existing living spaces. In this context, Edunila’s new collection, Habitar a América Latina (Inhabiting Latin America), rises to the urgency of bringing together discussions on housing and housing policies across the continent, where around 32% of the population lives in informal settlements. This reality is the result of a history of colonial domination, deeply tied to land concentration and slavery-based regimes aimed at sustaining economic elites. The book Social Housing in Colombia, which launches the collection, responds to this pressing issue by presenting the results of work carried out in popular neighborhoods of Bogotá. Without overlooking the armed conflict and its implications for Colombian cities, the authors acknowledge the region’s habitability problems and develop a methodology to assess the minimum quality of a home. This includes factors such as safety, legality, habitability, and structural design. Finally, it is important to highlight the cover illustration, created by Nicaraguan artist and architecture and urbanism faculty member at UNILA, Claudia Ochoa, who won first place in the 2023 contest organized by the publisher. This initiative helped establish Edunila as a space for creative and academic development within the institution. With a bold and thoughtful graphic design, we invite everyone to engage in the debate on the minimum conditions for habitability, as proposed by Camilo Torres, Yelinca Saldeño, Juan Castiblanco, and Noé Villegas.

Longtemps considérée en Europe comme la forme naturelle de gouvernement, la royauté a su évoluer dans la durée, comme le montrent les études réunies dans ce livre. Le roi n’exerçait un pouvoir légitime qu’après des rites de passage. Le sacre tirait sa force de ses racines bibliques (soulignant l’élection divine) et d’une conception eschatologique appelant le roi à conduire son peuple vers un royaume qui n’est pas de ce monde. Il a été longtemps une cérémonie mystique, dans le chœur clos d’une cathédrale, avant d’être « médiatisé » et de se prêter à la mise en scène fastueuse et festive. Si l’élection du roi n’a jamais totalement disparu, la succession héréditaire s’est imposée, et la reine a été associée très tôt aux rites de l’onction et du couronnement. L’idée selon laquelle le roi tenait de ses sujets l’autorité qu’il avait sur eux, et non plus de Dieu, a été le grand retournement de la Révolution. Les monarchies constitutionnelles du xixe siècle ont ainsi adopté des rites de substitution : serment devant les chambres représentatives, discours du trône. L’ouvrage fait ainsi l’histoire d’une monarchie sans cesse réinventée.

Clarence "Cap" Cornish was an Indiana pilot whose life spanned all but five years of the Century of Flight. Born in Canada in 1898, Cornish grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He began flying at the age of nineteen, piloting a "Jenny" aircraft during World War I, and continued to fly for the next seventy-eight years. In 1995, at the age of ninety-seven, he was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest actively flying pilot. The mid-1920s to the mid-1950s were Cornish's most active years in aviation. During that period, sod runways gave way to asphalt and concrete; navigation evolved from the iron rail compass to radar; runways that once had been outlined at night with cans of oil topped off with flaming gasoline now shimmered with multicolored electric lights; instead of being crammed next to mailbags in open-air cockpits, passengers sat comfortably in streamlined, pressurized cabins. In the early phase of that era, Cornish performed aerobatics and won air races. He went on to run a full-service flying business, served as chief pilot for the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, managed the city's municipal airport, helped monitor and maintain safe skies above the continental United States during World War II, and directed Indiana's first Aeronautics Commission. Dedicating his life to flight and its many ramifications, Cornish helped guide the sensible development of aviation as it grew from infancy to maturity. Through his many personal experiences, the story of flight nationally is played out.

La diversité des sujets abordés, celle des formations et expériences des auteurs font de ce recueil une interrogation multiple : validité - signification - rôle des pratiques de quantification en matière sociale et économique. Des mesures (validité) se lit aussi démesure (signification et rôle) ; car le médium est devenu message : la mesure est la réalité des sociétés modernes. Serait-ce pour cela que les statistiques ont, jusqu’à présent, échappé à la réflexion critique ?

L'ouvrage livre les résultats d'une recherche pluridisciplinaire sur le Tricastin antique, en moyenne vallée du Rhône, et sur la centuriation qui en a structuré les campagnes dès la fin de la République romaine. Cette centuriation est attestée par les documents cadastraux de la colonie d'Orange, sous le nom de Cadastre B, le moins lacunaire des trois plans épigraphiques identifiés par le chanoine Joseph Sautel et André Piganiol. L'ouvrage s'ouvre par une présentation géographique, géologique...

This volume presents a comprehensive overview of biocultural rights, examining how we can promote the role of indigenous peoples and local communities as environmental stewards and how we can ensure that their ways of life are protected. With Biocultural Community Protocols (BCPs) or Community Protocols (CPs) being increasingly seen as a powerful way of tackling this immense challenge, this book investigates these new instruments and considers the lessons that can be learnt about the situation of indigenous peoples and local communities. It opens with theoretical insights which provide the reader with foundational concepts such as biocultural diversity, biocultural rights and community rule-making. In Part Two, the book moves on to community protocols within the Access Benefit Sharing (ABS) context, while taking a glimpse into the nature and role of community protocols beyond issues of access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge. A thorough review of specific cases drawn from field-based research around the world is presented in this part. Comprehensive chapters also explore the negotiation process and raise stimulating questions about the role of international brokers and organizations and the way they can use BCPs/CPs as disciplinary tools for national and regional planning or to serve powerful institutional interests. Finally, the third part of the book considers whether BCPs/CPs, notably through their emphasis on "stewardship of nature" and "tradition", can be seen as problematic arrangements that constrain indigenous peoples within the Western imagination, without any hope of them reconstructing their identities according to their own visions, or whether they can be seen as political tools and representational strategies used by indigenous peoples in their struggle for greater rights to their land, territories and resources, and for more political space. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental law, indigenous peoples, biodiversity conservation and environmental anthropology. It will also be of great use to professionals and policymakers involved in environmental management and the protection of indigenous rights.

This open-access book invites its readers to dive into the depths of marine mammal bioacoustics. The ocean is a noisy place—naturally as well as anthropogenically. Our book explores the fundamentals of ocean acoustics, revealing the intricate sources of underwater noise that challenge marine life. Readers delve into the unique vocalizations of mysticetes, odontocetes, pinnipeds, otters, and sirenians, uncovering their diverse communication in stormy waters. The book presents research on marine mammal hearing and the impact of noise on their physiology and behavior, from the subtle behavioral responses to the broader biological significance of these effects. With insights into the management of anthropogenic noise, this book equips students, researchers, environmental managers, policy makers, conservationists, and enthusiasts alike with vital knowledge for protecting our ocean’s acoustic environments.

Today’s European Union is in an identity crisis as it seems to be losing its points of reference. The principles that upheld its creation are being increasingly questioned around the world and within the EU itself. Its chances to survive hinge upon its ability to deliver at home and abroad, without abandoning its values and principles but rather adapting and re-launching them. This volume offers policy options on key questions for the future of the EU: How to scale-up its role abroad? How to benefit from new partners without severing ties with traditional allies such as the US? How to contain Eurosceptic forces by reducing inequalities? And how to reinforce the euro while aiming at more sustainable and balanced growth?

Seit der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts wird im politisch-gesellschaftlichen Kontext der eigentlich religiös konnotierte Begriff „Versöhnung“ immer häufiger zur Beschreibung von Konfliktlösungsstrategien benutzt. Doch was bedeutet Versöhnung bezogen auf Politik und Gesellschaft? Welche Faktoren sind relevant für Versöhnungsprozesse? Womit lassen sich Erfolge, aber auch Hindernisse und Rückschläge auf dem Weg der Versöhnung erklären? In dem vorliegenden Band gehen internationale Forscherinnen und Forscher aus Geschichtswissenschaft, Politikwissenschaft, Soziologie und Theologie diesen Fragen nach. In ihren Beiträgen wird Versöhnung auf zwei Ebenen reflektiert. Auf der ersten Ebene handelt es sich um übergreifende Analysen von Faktoren, die Versöhnungsprozesse beeinflussen. Auf der zweiten Ebene werden bestimmte Aspekte von Versöhnungsprozessen an einschlägigen Fallbeispielen aus dem Kontext des deutsch-französischen und russisch-finnischen Verhältnisses, des ehemaligen Jugoslawiens, Süd- und Nordkorea, der DDR und Südafrika veranschaulicht.Alle Beiträge machen deutlich, dass, obwohl unterschiedlichen Versöhnungsprozessen bestimmte Elemente gemeinsam sind, Versöhnung als ein sich dynamisch wandelnder, immer kontextgebundener Aushandlungsprozess erscheint, der multilateral von Akteuren aus Kirchen, Politik und Gesellschaft getragen wird.