Evaluating the value of community archaeology: The XArch Project

Over the last decade the UK has seen a boom in community archaeology projects. These projects have taken many different forms and have stretched from the public-face of research and developer- funded programs to projects run by museums, archaeological units, universities and archaeological societies, as well as the communities themselves. Community archaeology claims to offer the public an opportunity to become engaged with and involved in the interpretation and understanding of the past. It has been claimed that this interactive approach, one of participation in the archaeological process, develops both intangible and tangible values from the past for individuals and communities in the present. Such values range from educational to economic and from political to social, however these supposed results of community archaeology have yet to be critically analyzed. This paper will focus on accessing the values of the University of Exeter's, Heritage Lottery Funded XArch Community Archaeology Project. It sets out a self-reflexive, ethnological methodology for evaluating what community archaeology really does. Drawing on research from a variety of community archaeology projects in the UK and US this paper will aim to propose a future model community archaeology projects, enabling them to become integrated within a community and in turn more sustainable.El Regne Unit ha experimentat des de la darrera dècada, una explosió pel que fa a projectes sobre arqueologia i comunitat. Aquests projectes adopten formes diverses que comprenen des de presentacions públiques de projectes d'investigació afavorides per universitats i promotors fins a proyectes desenvolupats per museus, serveis arqueològics, universitats i societats arqueològiques, passant per iniciatives de les mateixes comunitats. Els projectes d'arqueologia i comunitat pretenen oferir al públic l'oportunitat de poder participar i implicar-se en la interpretació i la comprensió del passat. Defensem la idea que aquest apropament interactiu de participació en el procés arqueològic desenvolupa valors tangibles i intangibles en les persones i les comunitats del present. Aquests resultats afecten tant valors educatius com econòmics, valors polítics com socials; no obstant això, aquests suposats resultats estan encara pendents d'unes anàlisis més crítiques. Aquesta aportació pretén fer evidents els valors del projecte XArch d'arqueologia i comunitat dut a terme per la Universitat d'Exeter i finançat per l'Heritage Lottery Fund. Planteja una metodologia autoreflexiva i etnològica per tal d'avaluar el que fan realment aquests projectes. A partir de la investigació realitzada sobre una sèrie de projectes d'arqueologia i comunitat, en el Regne Unit i els EUA, aquest té com a objectiu proposar un model per a futurs proyectes d'arqueologia i comunitat, amb la finalitat de poder integrar-los dins la comunitat i resultar més sostenibles.En la última década el Reino Unido ha experimentado una explosión de proyectos de arqueología y comunidad. Estos proyectos han adoptado formas diferentes y abarcan desde la presentación pública de proyectos de investigación auspiciados por universidades y promotores hasta proyectos desarrollados por museos, servicios de arqueología, universidades y sociedades arqueológicas, pasando por iniciativas de las propias comunidades. Los proyectos de arqueología y de comunidad pretenden ofrecer al público una oportunidad de participar e implicarse en la interpretación y comprensión del pasado. Se defiende que esta aproximación interactiva de participación en el proceso arqueológico desarrolla valores tangibles e intangibles en las personas y las comunidades del presente. Estos resultados atañen desde los valores educativos a los económicos, de los políticos a los sociales; sin embargo, estos supuestos resultados están aún pendientes de ser analizados críticamente. Esta aportación se centra en evidenciar los valores del proyecto XArch de arqueología y comunidad llevado a cabo por la Universidad de Exeter y financiado por Heritage Lottery Fund. Plantea una metodología autorreflexiva y etnológica para evaluar lo que hacen estos proyectos realmente. A partir de la investigación realizada sobre una serie de proyectos de arqueología y comunidad en el Reino Unido y en Estados Unidos, tiene como objetivo proponer un modelo para el futuro de proyectos de arqueología y comunidad, con la finalidad de que puedan integrarse en la comunidad y resultar más sostenibles

The Values of Community Archaeology: A Comparative Assessment

Does community archaeology work? Worldwide over the last decade, there has been a boom in projects utilising the popular phrase ‘community archaeology’. These projects take many different forms, stretching from the public-face of research and developer-funded programmes to projects run by museums, archaeological units, universities and archaeological societies. Many of these projects are driven by the desire for archaeology to meet a range of perceived educational and social values in bringing about knowledge and awareness of the past in the present. They are also motivated by the desire to secure adequate funding for archaeological research. However, appropriate criteria and methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of these projects have yet to be designed. This thesis sets out a methodology based on self-reflexivity and ethnology. It focuses on community excavations, in a range of contexts both in the UK and US. It assesses the values these projects produce for communities and evaluates what community archaeology actually does. It concludes that community archaeology frequently fails to balance the desired outcomes of its stakeholders. It suffers from its short-term funding and, therefore, often lacks sustainability, which hampers its ability to produce and maintain values. Evaluation of projects should be qualitative as well as quantitative in establishing the cost effectiveness of projects. Subsequently, recommendations are made for future community archaeology project designs.Heritage Lottery Fun

Permanent Draft Genome Sequences for Mesorhizobium sp. Strains LCM 4576, LCM 4577, and ORS3428, Salt-Tolerant, Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria Isolated from Senegalese Soils

The genus Mesorhizobium contains many species that are able to form nitrogen-fixing nodules on plants of the legume family. Here, we report the draft genome sequences for three Mesorhizobium strains. The genome sizes of strains LCM 4576, LCM 4577, and ORS3428 were 7.24, 7.02, and 6.55 Mbp, respectively

Permanent Draft Genome Sequence of Rhizobium sp. Strain LCM 4573, a Salt-Tolerant, Nitrogen-Fixing Bacterium Isolated from Senegalese Soils

The genus Rhizobium contains many species that are able to form nitrogen-fixing nodules on plants of the legume family. Here, we report the 5.5-Mb draft genome sequence of the salt-tolerant Rhizobium sp. strain LCM 4573, which has a G+C content of 61.2% and 5,356 candidate protein-encoding genes

Permanent draft genome sequence of Ensifer sp. strain LCM 4579, a salt-tolerant, nitrogen-fixing bacterium isolated from Senegalese soil

The genus Ensifer (formerly Sinorhizobium) contains many species able to form nitrogen-fixing nodules on plants of the legume family. Here, we report the 6.1-Mb draft genome sequence of Ensifer sp. strain LCM 4579, with a G+C content of 62.4% and 5,613 candidate protein-encoding genes

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, Mauritania

A hospital outbreak of CCHF in Mauritania alerted authorities to sporadic cases occurring in the community; in all, 38 persons were infected

Excess Mucin Impairs Subglottic Epithelial Host Defense in Mechanically Ventilated Patients

Rationale: Aspiration of infective subglottic secretions causes ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in mechanically ventilated patients. Mechanisms underlying subglottic colonization in critical illness have not been defined, limiting strategies for targeted prevention of VAP. Objectives: To characterize subglottic host defense dysfunction in mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). To determine whether subglottic mucin contributes to neutrophil phagocytic impairment and bacterial growth. Methods: Prospective subglottic sampling in mechanically ventilated patients (intubated for four or more days), and newly intubated control patients (intubated for less than 30 minutes). Isolation and culture of primary subglottic epithelial cells from controls. Laboratory analysis of host innate immune defenses. Measurements and Main Results: Twenty-four patients in the ICU and 27 newly intubated control patients were studied. Subglottic ICU samples had significantly reduced microbiological diversity and contained potential respiratory pathogens. The subglottic microenvironment in ICU was characterized by neutrophilic inflammation, significantly increased pro-inflammatory cytokines and neutrophil proteases, and altered physical properties of subglottic secretions, including accumulation of mucins. Subglottic mucin from ICU patients impaired the capacity of neutrophils to phagocytose and kill bacteria. Phagocytic function was reversible upon treatment with a mucolytic agent. Subglottic mucus promoted growth and invasion of bacterial pathogens in a novel air-liquid interface model of primary human subglottic epithelium. Conclusions: Mechanical ventilation in ICU is characterized by substantial mucin secretion and neutrophilic inflammation. Mucin impairs neutrophil dysfunction and promotes bacterial growth. Mucolytic agents reverse mucin-mediated neutrophil dysfunction. Enhanced mucus disruption and removal has potential to augment preventive benefits of subglottic drainage

RNA interference in Lepidoptera: an overview of successful and unsuccessful studies and implications for experimental design

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The twilight of the Liberal Social Contract? On the Reception of Rawlsian Political Liberalism

This chapter discusses the Rawlsian project of public reason, or public justification-based 'political' liberalism, and its reception. After a brief philosophical rather than philological reconstruction of the project, the chapter revolves around a distinction between idealist and realist responses to it. Focusing on political liberalism’s critical reception illuminates an overarching question: was Rawls’s revival of a contractualist approach to liberal legitimacy a fruitful move for liberalism and/or the social contract tradition? The last section contains a largely negative answer to that question. Nonetheless the chapter's conclusion shows that the research programme of political liberalism provided and continues to provide illuminating insights into the limitations of liberal contractualism, especially under conditions of persistent and radical diversity. The programme is, however, less receptive to challenges to do with the relative decline of the power of modern states