Stories about real and imagined landscapes: the case of Slovenian Istria

This paper presents the cultural landscape as an abstract concept and the result of a complex relationship between the natural environment and human society, and at the same time as a result of comprehension and personal views. A landscape is a story about the people that created it. The theoretical part establishes parallels between a landscape and the stories that this landscape has generated as well as their connection with geographical knowledge. This is followed by stories about real and imagined landscapes from Slovenian Istria, as ascertained through an analysis of extensive material using the ATLAS.ti software and taking into account the principles of grounded theory. This approaches a holistic view of the landscape, or understanding the landscape as a system of material and non-material elements and processes that direct them

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF PROFESSIONALS\u27 EXPERIENCE AS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE EVALUATION OF INTRODUCING A NEW WORK MODEL IN SOCIAL CARE CENTRES

U radu su prikazani rezultati kvalitativnog istraživanja provedenog s petnaest djelatnika pet CZSS-a uključenih u »pilot projekt« uvođenja novog modela rada u centre za socijalnu skrb poznatog kao »ured sve na jednom mjestu«. Svrha istraživanja bila je identificirati dosadašnja postignuća i poteškoće iz perspektive rukovoditelja i stručnih djelatnika. Istraživanje je provedeno metodom fokusnih grupa, a u koncipiranju istraživačkih pitanja i analizi nalaza koristila se metoda analize okvira. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da model organizacije rada nije jedinstven u svim CZSS-ima, već su se u praksi razvijala tri modela (teritorijalni model, model izvrsnosti te abecedni model). Također se pokazalo postojanje niza poteškoća vezanih uz razumijevanje i provođenje individualnog plana skrbi/rada (IP) kod svih sudionika – djelatnika, ravnatelja, korisnika. I djelatnici i korisnici iskazali su nepripremljenost za novi načina rada, a kao posebna poteškoća istaknut je rad s nedobrovoljnim korisnicima na izradi IP kao i nedovoljno tretmanskih mogućnosti u lokalnoj zajednici koje su značajne za provođenje IP.The article presents the results of a qualitative research with fifteen professionals employed in five social care centres participating in the pilot project of introducing a new work model in social care centres known as »one-stop office«. The aim of the research was to identify achievements and difficulties from the perspective of managers and social care professionals. The data were gathered by a focus group method and framework analysis was applied. The research results suggest that the model of work organization is not consistent in all social care centres and that three models developed in practice (territorial model, excellence model and alphabet model). Data reveal a series of difficulties related to understanding and implementing the individual care/work plan in all involved: social workers, managers and service users. Both social workers and service users expressed their unpreparedness for the new modality of work; the work with involuntary users in the development of individual care/work plan as well as insufficient possibilities of treatment in the local community are underlined as a special difficulty

Gravel plains in urban areas: gravel pits as an element of degraded landscapes

In the past, the excavation of gravel placed Jarški prod among areas of great opportunity, but this was followed by a major ecological blow: the filling of gravel pits with waste. The area started to regain significance with the construction of a drinking water pumping station and in accordance with the Spatial Plan of the City Municipality of Ljubljana is today seen as a forested area with a pronounced ecological or recreational importance. In spite of suitable legal foundations, as a protected water catch-ment area Jarški prod is in practice still unprotected. Considering the most important natural (shallow groundwater, easily permeable layer of gravel) and social characteristics (location near a densely popu-lated area, irresponsible attitudes), the groundwater is an extremely endangered natural resource

Role of electrostatic interactions in amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) oligomer formation: A discrete molecular dynamics study

Pathological folding and oligomer formation of the amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) are widely perceived as central to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Experimental approaches to study Abeta self-assembly are problematic, because most relevant aggregates are quasi-stable and inhomogeneous. We apply a discrete molecular dynamics (DMD) approach combined with a four-bead protein model to study oligomer formation of the amyloid beta-protein (Abeta). We address the differences between the two most common Abeta alloforms, Abeta40 and Abeta42, which oligomerize differently in vitro. We study how the presence of electrostatic interactions (EIs) between pairs of charged amino acids affects Abeta40 and Abeta42 oligomer formation. Our results indicate that EIs promote formation of larger oligomers in both Abeta40 and Abeta42. The Abeta40 size distribution remains unimodal, whereas the Abeta42 distribution is trimodal, as observed experimentally. Abeta42 folded structure is characterized by a turn in the C-terminus that is not present in Abeta40. We show that the same C-terminal region is also responsible for the strongest intermolecular contacts in Abeta42 pentamers and larger oligomers. Our results suggest that this C-terminal region plays a key role in the formation of Abeta42 oligomers and the relative importance of this region increases in the presence of EIs. These results suggest that inhibitors targeting the C-terminal region of Abeta42 oligomers may be able to prevent oligomer formation or structurally modify the assemblies to reduce their toxicity.Comment: Accepted for publication at Biophysical Journa

The Franziscean Land Cadastre as a Key to Understanding the 19th-century Cultural Landscape in Slovenia

The aim of the article is to present the use of the Franziscean Cadastre in studying past land use and reconstructing the rural cultural landscape of the 19thcentury. Special attention is devoted to pre-senting the content and accessibility of archival materials. By comparing maps from the Franziscean Cadastre with current land use, we successfully determined the changes, particularly in the rural cultural landscape. A general trend in Slovenia is the selective abandoning of farm land, which has had a great impact on the appearance of the landscape: cultivated fields become meadows, once cultivated areas on less favourable sites are overgrown by forest, and the same occurs with pastures. On the basis of case studies, we estab-lished the great usefulness and value of the Franziscean Cadastre, which still exists for almost the entire territory of today's Slovenia

The Importance of Teachers’ Perception of Space in Education

In addition to environmental problems, spatial pressures are also being exacerbated by increasing economic development, the prosperity of the European population, and the increasing needs of various activities. These can only be mitigated through carefully planned use of space, which demands more active inclusion of the public in addition to relevant services. For successful public inclusion it is important for both individuals and social communities to be aware that space is a limited commodity exposed to increasing social and economic pressure. This kind of awareness demands an informed and educated population that will not only build its attitude towards space based on conceptual knowledge, but also supplement this through perceptual knowledge obtained in education. Active, responsible, and critical citizens can only be cultivated by properly educated, informed, and motivated teachers. These teachers can use new methods to address many existing topics and include new topics to considerably broaden their students’ minds. This is also what this paper seeks to demonstrate. It focuses on the comprehension of space through spatial perception, further development of routine conceptual knowledge through fieldwork, and the possibility of applying selected methods to learning processes. The goal of these efforts will be achieved when individuals and society understand that space is a limited commodity and that the attitude towards it must change as soon as possible if space is to be preserved for future generations in the spirit of sustainable development

An assessment of capacity of Brestovica – Klariči karst water supply (Slovenia)

In August 2008 an intensive pumping experiment was carried out in order to assess the capacity of Brestovica – Klarici water supply in summer conditions, and its chemical quality. Groundwater was pumped for a period of 30 days, from three wells at the Klarici pumping station, and from well B-10/06, with a common capacity of 470 L/s. The fact that pumping caused a decrease in the water table in well B-10/06 by only 17 cm at a pumping rate of 265 L/s suggests that larger quantities of groundwater could be pumped from this well. The tracer experiment, performed at the B-10/06 temporary pipeline discharge area, showed that no pumped water was returned to the area of the exploited wells during the pumping test. Tracer uranine, which had been injected at the effluent from the pumped water from the well, was detected only at the Sardos Spring. The intensive pumping resulted in changes in the chemical and isotopic composition of oxygen in the water, due to a greater impact of the water from the intergranular SocaRiver aquifer on the karst aquifer.The chemical quality of groundwater from well B-10/06 is adequate for the purpose of drinking water supply. The presence of bacteria in groundwater is typical of karst aquifers and the water needs to be disinfected for further use.Keywords: groundwater, Classical Karst, Brestovica – Klariči aquifer, pumping test, tracer test, geochemical analysis