Linguistics Landscape: a Cross Culture Perspective

This paper was to aim in discussing the linguistic landscape. It was the visibility and salience of languages on public and commercial signs in a given territory or region (Landry and Bourhis 1997). The linguistic landscape has been described as being somewhere at the junction of sociolinguistics, sociology, social psychology, geography, and media studies. It is a concept used in sociolinguistics as scholars study how languages are visually used in multilingual societies, from large metropolitan centers to Amazonia. For example, some public signs in Jerusalem are in Hebrew, English, and Arabic (Spolsky and Cooper 1991, Ben-Rafael et al., 2006). Studies of the linguistic landscape have been published from research done around the world. The field of study is relatively recent; the linguistic landscape paradigm has evolved rapidly and while it has some key names associated with it, it currently has no clear orthodoxy or theoretical core

A Path Toward the Use of Trail Users’ Tweets to Assess Effectiveness of the Environmental Stewardship Scheme: An Exploratory Analysis of the Pennine Way National Trail

Large and unofficial data sets, for instance those gathered from social media, are increasingly being used in geographical research and explored as decision support tools for policy development. Social media data have the potential to provide new insight into phenomena about which there is little information from conventional sources. Within this context, this paper explores the potential of social media data to evaluate the aesthetic management of landscape. Specifically, this project utilises the perceptions of visitors to the Pennine Way National Trail, which passes through land managed under the Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS). The method analyses sentiment in trail users’ public Twitter messages (tweets) with the aim of assessing the extent to which the ESS maintains landscape character within the trail corridor. The method demonstrates the importance of filtering social media data to convert it into useful information. After filtering, the results are based on 161 messages directly related to the trail. Although small, this sample illustrates the potential for social media to be used as a cheap and increasingly abundant source of information. We suggest that social media data in this context should be seen as a resource that can complement, rather than replace, conventional data sources such as questionnaires and interviews. Furthermore, we provide guidance on how social media could be effectively used by conservation bodies, such as Natural England, which are charged with the management of areas of environmental value worldwide

Measuring Social carrying Capacity: An Exploratory Study

The tourist carrying capacity commands a growing interest given that it is closely linked with sustainable tourist development. The justification of the utility of this concept is given by means of a simple and efficient methodological proposal, by analysing the social carrying capacity. To this end, an empirical application is carried out in the Western Andalusia. In some of the cases analysed, the satisfaction of the tourist is found to decline when the levels of the tourist use are higher with respect to those attributes of the tourist destination supply. This mechanism can constitute a useful alarm signal for tourism planners.carrying capacity, tourist satisfaction, sustainable tourism, tourist destination.

A literature review of analytical techniques for materials characterisation of painted textiles - Part 1: categorising painted textiles, sampling and the use of optical tools

Many types of painted textile are represented in museum collections. Their flexibility, draping qualities, and heterogeneous, layered nature make painted textiles complex objects to conserve. What do we know about their materials and making? There has been limited research into painted textiles and particularly their analysis. Whilst much valuable information can be gleaned from paintings analysis, there are many distinct differences in materials behaviour between stretched paintings and painted textiles that need to be identified and addressed. This paper, together with Part 2, aims to raise the awareness of textile conservators, in particular, of potential analytical techniques to identify and characterise the materials, thus enhancing understanding and conservation of painted textiles. Part 1 focuses firstly, on the categorisation of different groups of painted textile providing a context for their study and secondly, it reviews sampling and optical techniques that can be used by conservators, highlighting some of the challenges they present

Spatial vision in insects is facilitated by shaping the dynamics of visual input through behavioral action

Egelhaaf M, Boeddeker N, Kern R, Kurtz R, Lindemann JP. Spatial vision in insects is facilitated by shaping the dynamics of visual input through behavioral action. Frontiers in Neural Circuits. 2012;6:108.Insects such as flies or bees, with their miniature brains, are able to control highly aerobatic flight maneuvres and to solve spatial vision tasks, such as avoiding collisions with obstacles, landing on objects, or even localizing a previously learnt inconspicuous goal on the basis of environmental cues. With regard to solving such spatial tasks, these insects still outperform man-made autonomous flying systems. To accomplish their extraordinary performance, flies and bees have been shown by their characteristic behavioral actions to actively shape the dynamics of the image flow on their eyes ("optic flow"). The neural processing of information about the spatial layout of the environment is greatly facilitated by segregating the rotational from the translational optic flow component through a saccadic flight and gaze strategy. This active vision strategy thus enables the nervous system to solve apparently complex spatial vision tasks in a particularly efficient and parsimonious way. The key idea of this review is that biological agents, such as flies or bees, acquire at least part of their strength as autonomous systems through active interactions with their environment and not by simply processing passively gained information about the world. These agent-environment interactions lead to adaptive behavior in surroundings of a wide range of complexity. Animals with even tiny brains, such as insects, are capable of performing extraordinarily well in their behavioral contexts by making optimal use of the closed action-perception loop. Model simulations and robotic implementations show that the smart biological mechanisms of motion computation and visually-guided flight control might be helpful to find technical solutions, for example, when designing micro air vehicles carrying a miniaturized, low-weight on-board processor

Jurists and journalists: impressions and judgements

The process of finding evidence of what truthfully happened in a conflictive situation interests jurists and journalists but in different ways. When the work of journalists and judges are concerned the paradox is at stake. Both categories must tell a story about a conflict must listen to all involved, must inform what happened to the general public. Although both categories must use the freedom must use the freedom of speech their point of view about something with objectivity, their timing is different as well as the process and the effect of fulfilling their task. That question that should be made is what happen to law when it becomes the subject matter to the news in the world of full information? In what measurement journalists also pass judgements and how this affects the formal processes of law? The effort to answer these questions and the ones related to them is important to understand some of the problems that must be approached in order to establish the ways of law and of the mass media technological society

Conceptual design models for social values of urban forests [in Sundsvall]

There is an ongoing urban development process in Sundsvall and the proper provision of the social values of urban forests that can meet public needs is now one of the issues for the municipality to deal with in planning. Moreover, the recent focus on the rehabilitative aspects of forests in human health has become a strong motivation for the municipality to invest in providing sufficient and proper networks of greenery over the city. Therefore, to provide such values for establishing a sustainable connection between nature and urban life, studying the social values of urban forests and the municipality’s objectives is considered essential. This study aims to develop a deeper understanding of the social values of urban forests in everyday urban life and apply that knowledge to propose a series of conceptual design models that can meet those social values through designing urban forests. In order to reach the aim, multiple methods have been employed to collect data. Data were collected through literature studies and discussions on urban forests, studying forest policy documents and the relevant theories behind urban forest design as well as studying comprehensive plans of Sundsvall. Moreover, conducting online focus group meetings with some of the representatives of Sundsvall municipality could contribute to learning about their green visions and green strategies for the city until 2040. The study resulted in multiple outcomes including finding the most essential objectives that Sundsvall municipality seeks to meet the public needs, learning about the social values of urban forests and their contribution to urban life, and more importantly, proposing conceptual design models [for Sundsvall] that can provide the desired social values within the city