De-studentification: emptying housing and neighbourhoods of student populations

This is the accepted version of a paper subsequently published in the journal, Environment and Planning A. The definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0308518X16642446International scholarship on student geographies and urban change continues to advance knowledge of the intense commodification of student lifestyles and student housing. The main aim of this paper is to consider some of the hitherto under-researched wider knock-on effects of more commodified student housing markets. Here we present findings from the first-ever empirical study of de-studentification. Using the case study of Loughborough, we demonstrate how de-studentification is a process of change that has been stimulated by the increased supply of purpose-built student accommodation. We show that de-studentification leads to the depopulation and decline of some classical studentified neighbourhoods. Moreover, these urban transformations have several significant implications for pre-existing conceptualisations of urban change and student geographies. Notably, the impacts of de-studentification pose important questions for the conceptual boundaries of studentification – a prerequisite of de-studentification – and although, to date, dominant conceptualisations of studentification are wedded to upgrading-led representations of urban gentrification, it is shown that de-studentification, conversely, leads to physical downgrading and emptying of neighbourhoods in distinct phases. We therefore argue for a process-led definition of de-studentification, to illustrate how studentified neighbourhoods are gradually ‘emptied’ of student populations and student housing. More broadly, it is asserted that new student geographies are being created by the deepening neoliberalisation and commodification of higher education, which, in turn, will have unintentional consequences for wider social, cultural and economic relations in university towns and cities, such as emergent community cohesion and changing senses of place

Networks or structures? : organizing cultural routes around heritage values : case studies from Poland

The most common way of managing cultural heritage recently takes form of cultural routes as they seem to offer a new model of participation in culture to their recipients; they are often a peculiar anchor point for inhabitants to let them understand their identity and form the future; they offer actual tours to enter into interaction with culture and history, to build together that creation of the heritage, which so is becoming not only a touristic product, but, first of all, the space for cultural, social and civic activity. Yet, so far, according to what we know, the research problem concerning the method of cultural route organization (points on the route) into solid structures or more of the networked nature, has not been deliberated. A question arises, what values are brought by routes and how to organize routes to be the carriers of the values important for communities, where routes are functioning. And, as a consequence, if, from the point of view of the values of local communities, organizing solid route structures or organizing more widely-spaced, network-based routes would bring effects and what those effects would be. Thus, the posed question is of course scientifically imprecise because a network is a type of structure but presents a given direction for the development of cultural route structures. Our objective here is to present a certain solidity and rigidity of structure with dynamic and smooth understanding of the network. The research presented in the article is based on 3 case studies. We have selected for this purpose the three largest cultural routes in Poland, organized to various degrees. The outcome of the research was referred also to other cultural route organization research

Phylogenetic and Evolutionary Patterns in Microbial Carotenoid Biosynthesis Are Revealed by Comparative Genomics

BACKGROUND: Carotenoids are multifunctional, taxonomically widespread and biotechnologically important pigments. Their biosynthesis serves as a model system for understanding the evolution of secondary metabolism. Microbial carotenoid diversity and evolution has hitherto been analyzed primarily from structural and biosynthetic perspectives, with the few phylogenetic analyses of microbial carotenoid biosynthetic proteins using either used limited datasets or lacking methodological rigor. Given the recent accumulation of microbial genome sequences, a reappraisal of microbial carotenoid biosynthetic diversity and evolution from the perspective of comparative genomics is warranted to validate and complement models of microbial carotenoid diversity and evolution based upon structural and biosynthetic data. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Comparative genomics were used to identify and analyze in silico microbial carotenoid biosynthetic pathways. Four major phylogenetic lineages of carotenoid biosynthesis are suggested composed of: (i) Proteobacteria; (ii) Firmicutes; (iii) Chlorobi, Cyanobacteria and photosynthetic eukaryotes; and (iv) Archaea, Bacteroidetes and two separate sub-lineages of Actinobacteria. Using this phylogenetic framework, specific evolutionary mechanisms are proposed for carotenoid desaturase CrtI-family enzymes and carotenoid cyclases. Several phylogenetic lineage-specific evolutionary mechanisms are also suggested, including: (i) horizontal gene transfer; (ii) gene acquisition followed by differential gene loss; (iii) co-evolution with other biochemical structures such as proteorhodopsins; and (iv) positive selection. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Comparative genomics analyses of microbial carotenoid biosynthetic proteins indicate a much greater taxonomic diversity then that identified based on structural and biosynthetic data, and divides microbial carotenoid biosynthesis into several, well-supported phylogenetic lineages not evident previously. This phylogenetic framework is applicable to understanding the evolution of specific carotenoid biosynthetic proteins or the unique characteristics of carotenoid biosynthetic evolution in a specific phylogenetic lineage. Together, these analyses suggest a "bramble" model for microbial carotenoid biosynthesis whereby later biosynthetic steps exhibit greater evolutionary plasticity and reticulation compared to those closer to the biosynthetic "root". Structural diversification may be constrained ("trimmed") where selection is strong, but less so where selection is weaker. These analyses also highlight likely productive avenues for future research and bioprospecting by identifying both gaps in current knowledge and taxa which may particularly facilitate carotenoid diversification

W kierunku autonomicznego, opierającego się na opisie semantycznym, systemu zarządzania aplikacjami rozproszonymi

In this paper we present our approach to the management of distributed systems based on semantic description of available resources. We use ontologies for a semantic description of the monitored system and other aspects of monitoring and management (such as metrics) and introduce a feedback loop on underlying infrastructure. Such an approach allows to automate monitoring and the ease the work of administrator. We introduce concepts behind a novel automatic management system, SAMM, developed within our research. We discuss the core mechanisms used in the system - the estimation of future measurements, approach to knowledge gathering, and the process of decision making. Then we provide some details on the architecture and implementation of SAMM.Publikacja ta przedstawia nowe podejście do zagadnień monitorowania i zarządzania systemami rozproszonymi, wykorzystujące ontologiczny opis zasobów przez nie udostępnianych. Podejście to wykorzystuje ontologie do opisu semantycznego monitorowanego systemu, a także innych aspektów monitorowania i zarządzania nim (np. dostępne metryki) oraz wprowadza sprzężenie zwrotne na monitorowanej infrastrukturze. Pozwala to na automatyzację procesu monitorowania i zarządzania w celu ułatwienia pracy administratora. Publikacja opisuje także działanie nowatorskiego systemu SAMM, który powstał w wyniku badań. Przedstawione zostały również koncepcje dotyczące estymacji pomiarów, tworzenia baz wiedzy oraz procesu podejmowania decyzji. Artykuł opisuje zarówno architekturę SAMM-a, jak i szczegóły implementacyjne

Public Built Cultural Heritage Management: The Public-Private Partnership (P3)

The topic of the paper relates to the role of conservation and valorization in the management process of built cultural heritage, more specifically in the case of publicly owned, complex properties. Although well-established opinions state that the conservation of cultural heritage as common goods basically pertains to the purview of the public sector, the par-ticipation of private resources and adoption of new business models may pose an opportunity for the public administration to intercept funds that have originally not been intended for heritage. Partnership is an organizational issue that implies some degree of cooperation be-tween different partners. The interest towards partnership schemes is the product of the multiple interactions they are capable of creating and the variety of opera-tional instruments employed to implement them. The importance lent to the rela-tionships established in public-private partnerships warrants that their theoretical models, their organization, and some considerations concerning normative as-pects undergo careful scrutiny. Since public-private partnership has already been adopted in the past and in diverse contexts, as for instance in infrastructure devel-opment, the paper does not focus on innovating this alternative way of funding, but rather on describing and analyzing this emerging phenomenon of transition between public and private organizations in the cultural heritage field, as it has not been widely adopted