Cultural landscapes: exploring local people's understanding of cultural practices as “heritage”

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Settimini

PurposeA vital testimony of human presence landscape is recognised and protected by international, national and local documents as an identity resource and one of the factors that contribute to the identity building processes (UNESCO, 1994; European Landscape Convention, 2000). The validation of landscape as cultural heritage presents not only new challenges but also opportunities for the heritage sector. In fact, a landscape plays a dual role: as part of the cultural heritage, which has to be preserved for its values, and as a “living” site, where individuals and groups live and work. This implies that the acknowledgement of its cultural significance should not be exclusively determined on the basis of discipline-driven frameworks and benchmarks but should rather be the result of a shared awareness within local communities.Design/methodology/approachThrough the analysis of the vineyard landscape of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato (Italy), the author discusses how the selection of a World Heritage site driven by “outstanding universal values” risks presenting a top-down approach to heritage processes.FindingsIn this article, the author explores how people living in this cultural landscape articulate their understandings of heritage values, and she addresses issues concerning their participation in decision-making processes, questioning whose values and meanings do the “outstanding universal value” legitimise or not.Originality/valueWhat the author argues is that the World Heritage listing's focus on extraordinary values risks constructing heritage around a consensus that privileges only some actors, whose voices and stories enliven the prestige of the wine production of this cultural landscape, omitting other values, memories and practices from the identity and meaning making processes. Does the identification and representation processes validated through World Heritage status capture how a landscape is understood by individuals and groups living within it? If not, how do these differences affect people's engagement? A further point of discussion is whether individuals and groups want to be engaged in decision-making processes and on which terms.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Ali Mohamed Khalil ◽  
Eman Hanye Mohamed Nasr

PurposeThe study aims to analyze the development of Omani heritage legislation against the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (WHC), 1972 and WHC Operational Guidelines (WHC-OGs) to predict the possible effects of the recent developments on the management of the World Heritage Site in Oman.Design/methodology/approachThis study discusses the development of the heritage protection legislation in Sultanate of Oman since 1970; it analyses the Omani Cultural Heritage Law 35/2019 against the recommendations of the UNESCO WHC as well as the requirements of the World Heritage Operational Guidelines. Moreover, the research investigates the possible effects of the recent heritage legislation developments on the management of Bahla Fort and Oasis in Oman, which is the first Omani World Heritage Site and the only site with special management regulations.FindingsThe paper outlines the effects of both the Omani Cultural Heritage Law 35/2019 and the Special Management Regulations 81/2019 on the implementation of the Bahla Management Plan. Additionally, the research establishes how the customization of heritage legislation as a special heritage management regulation facilitates the implementation of national legislation to solve specific local problems.Originality/valueThe study establishes the significance of developing comprehensive legislation to protect and manage the rich Omani cultural heritage and World Heritage Sites in alignment with the WHC and the WHC-OGs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zarrina Talan Azizova ◽  
Pamela P. Felder

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the racial and ethnic aspects of the doctoral socialization to provide a meaningful insight into the belief systems and decision-making processes related to academic success and degree completion. This paper addresses a gap in literature focusing on the racial and ethnic aspects of the doctoral student experience as they relate to student agency. Design/methodology/approach This narrative research of four doctoral students uses a postmodern active interview method to foreground the role of a doctoral agency as manifested in the ways students make meaning of their experiences as members of the science, technology, engineering, agriculture and math academic community. A dialectical approach to the traditional socialization models provides the framework for understanding the meaning-making processes within a critical context of academia. Findings Findings present the intrinsic foundations for a doctoral agency and forces that shape key decision-making processes for doctoral students. Research limitations/implications Implications for research and practice provide guidance for faculty, graduate school administrators and organizations interested in supporting degree completion for historically marginalized doctoral students. Originality/value This study examines doctoral socialization as a meaning-making process of racial/ethnic students in engineering and agricultural programs. Narrative research design provides depth into the individual experiences and the role of racial/ethnic histories in students’ socialization (meaning-making) processes in a predominantly White academic environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-462
Author(s):  
Satohiro Serizawa ◽  
Soichiro Sunami

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate educational functions of the World Heritage Site by examining the case of cultural tourism in a Japanese Buddhist temple. Design/methodology/approach Japan accepted the World Heritage Convention in 1992. “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara” were decided to be listed on the World Cultural Heritage in 1998. It was composed of buildings, monuments and related cultural landscape, including five Buddhist temples and one Shinto shrine. Among them, the Gango-ji, focused in this paper, is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan. Findings It has been keeping many cultural properties related to the folk religious practice and providing many activities for the local community. The material culture of folk-belief is now preserved in a building in the temple yard. And there is an exhibition room. The main hall and the exhibition room are the important facilities for social education, where the visitors can watch and touch the real materials. According to the staffs of the temple, the tourists had better stay in the main hall after 1 h study at the exhibition room. Originality/value Heritage is a process of the contemporary people engaging in the usage of past as resources. The buildings as the tangible heritage used by the present community are combined with the actions as the intangible heritage of the people who preserve the heritage. The temporal tourists are also permitted to enjoy the process as participants. They can learn many things through their experiences at the heritage site.


Author(s):  
Mavis Thokozile Macheka

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Site has contributed to the sustainable development of the local people who live in its vicinity. What is critically important to underscore is the value of the site to society. Design/methodology/approach The relevant data were collected through questionnaires, personal interviews and site visits. Findings The paper reveals that cultural heritage has affected sustainable development of local communities living in its vicinity in social and cultural terms. There is promotion of Shona traditions through exhibitions and selling of curios by local people at community projects such as the Shona Village and the Great Zimbabwe Nemanwa Craft Centre. The two projects also generate revenue to the local communities. However it was established that a number of benefits from the site such as employment creation are temporary and unsustainable. The main challenge for effecting sustainable development to local communities is lack of community participation. Originality/value Most researchers are arguing that sustainability of cultural heritage is much more difficult compared to natural heritage but the findings reflect that cultural heritage through Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Site could be an essential engine and valuable resource for sustainable development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharif Shams Imon

Purpose This paper aims to bridge the epistemological gap between heritage and tourism in understanding (and describing) the link between what is protected in heritage and what is a sustainable use of heritage as a tourism resource. This is accomplished by focusing on the socio-cultural dimension of heritage. Design/methodology/approach Three case studies involving UNESCO World Heritage sites and representing different stages of tourism development from three different developing economies are discussed. The case studies are based on the author’s extensive monitoring and evaluation of World Heritage Site management over the course of a decade, including tourism management, and they feature in-depth discussions with government heritage authorities and with heritage and tourism experts and stakeholders; observation and monitoring activities; and review of policy and project documents, heritage and tourism plans, UNESCO and other professional bodies’ reports and academic research works. Findings A symbiotic relationship between the environment, people and economy and the multi-sectoral nature of the tourism industry makes achieving sustainable development goals almost impossible unless there is a coordinated and integrated approach by the all parties involved, especially in culturally and naturally sensitive areas. The spirit of place is used as a conceptual framework in the application of systems. Theories seem to be the way forward for a sustainable management of tourism in such areas. Originality/value The paper addresses an important and under-researched aspect of tourism-heritage encounters: How the socio-cultural impacts of tourism affect the value of cultural heritage, especially in the context of developing economies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Giuliani ◽  
Anna De Falco ◽  
Valerio Cutini ◽  
Michele Di Sivo

Purpose Worldwide, natural hazards are affecting urban cultural heritage and World Heritage Sites, exacerbating other environmental and human-induced threats deriving from deterioration, uncontrolled urbanization and unsustainable tourism. This paper aims to develop a disaster risk analysis in Italian historic centers because they are complex large-scale systems that are cultural and economic resources for the country, as well as fragile areas. Design/methodology/approach A heritage-oriented qualitative methodology for risk assessment is proposed based upon the formalization of risk as a function of hazard, vulnerability and exposure, taking into account the values of cultural heritage assets. Findings This work provides a contribution to the body of knowledge in the Italian context of disaster risk mitigation on World Heritage Sites, opening for further research on the monitoring and maintenance of the tangible heritage assets. The application to the site of San Gimignano proves the effectiveness of the methodology for proposing preventive measures and actions that ensure the preservation of cultural values and a safer built environment. Originality/value The application of a value-based simplified approach to risk analysis is a novelty for historic centers that are listed as World Heritage Sites.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Roby Ardiwidjaja

Identitas bangsa Indonesia sekarang ini menghadapi masalah serius akibat pengaruh globalisasi yang membawa perubahan besar dalam berbagai aspek kehidupan berbangsa, oleh karena itu perlu upaya berkesinambungan dalam membangun dan memperkuat jati diri bangsa Indonesia. Salah satu upaya dimulai dengan melindungi dan melestarikan keragaman nilai-nilai luhur tradisi beserta warisan budaya yang masih mencerminkan ciri khas Indonesia. Adanya kesadaran dunia tentang pentingnya pelestarian situs warisan budaya semakin meningkat dari waktu ke waktu, memberi peluang pentingnya pelaksanaan pelestarian guna memperkuat ketahanan budaya bangsa Indonesia. Salah satu upaya pelestarian tersebut adalah dengan mengusulkan warisan budaya berupa situs, kompleks bangunan, dan lanskap budaya yang tersebar di wilayah Indonesia dengan keunikannya masing-masing sebagai Warisan Dunia yang memiliki nilai universal. Situs Warisan Dunia adalah aset bangsa, maka setiap orang memiliki hak dan berkewajiban memahami, mengapresiasi, dan melestarikan nilai-nilai universal, nasional maupun lokal yang terkandung di dalamnya melalui mekanisme pengelolaan yang terpadu dan berkelanjutan. Kajian ini merupakan hasil dari desk research dengan analisis menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif berdasarkan pada studi pustaka dari referensi yang relevan. Hasil kajian ini menunjukkan bahwa pendekatan positif dalam pengelolaan dan pemafaatan warisan budaya adalah dengan menggunakan pendekatan pariwisata berkelanjutan melalui konsep pariwisata budaya. Pariwisata disini dimungkinkan menjadi alat untuk mengemas upaya pelestarian kawasan situs Warisan Dunia menjadi daya tarik wisata budaya. Kajian ini menghasilkan sejumlah rekomendasi yang dapat diterapkan dalam mengembangkan pariwisata berkelanjutan di kawasan situs Warisan Dunia. Today, the identity of Indonesian people faces a severe problem due to the influence of globalization, which brings significant changes in various aspects of national life; therefore, it required continuous efforts to build and strengthen the identity of the Indonesian people. We can start by protecting and preserving the diversity of the traditional noble values and cultural heritage that still reflect Indonesian characteristics. The awareness of the world about the importance of preserving cultural heritage sites is increasing over time, providing an opportunity for the importance of implementing conservation to strengthen the resilience of Indonesian culture. One of the conservation efforts is to propose cultural heritage in the form of site, building complex, and cultural landscape that spread in the territory of Indonesia with their uniqueness as World Heritage that has universal values. World Heritage site is a national asset, so everyone has the right and obligation to understand, appreciate, and preserve the universal, national, and local values contained in it through an integrated and sustainable management mechanism. This study was the result of desk research with the analysis using a qualitative descriptive method based on literature studies from relevant references. The results of this study indicate that a positive approach in the management and utilization of the world heritage is by using a sustainable tourism approach through the cultural tourism concept. Here, tourism might be a tool to package the conservation efforts of the world heritage site to become a cultural tourist attraction. This study produced some recommendations that can apply to develop sustainable tourism in the World Heritage site.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Yongqi ◽  
Yang Ruixia ◽  
Wang Pu ◽  
Yang Anlin ◽  
Chen Guolong

AbstractDepicting the temporal and spatial evolution pattern of global world cultural heritage systematically and finely is the basis of heritage recognition and protection. In this study, 869 world cultural heritage inscriptions (through 2019) were selected as the research objects, and the times and types of each World Heritage site were manually annotated from more than 5000 pieces of data. Through time series modelling, the advantages of and changes in heritage declarations in different regions and periods were analysed, and the impact of heritage strategy on the number of heritage sites included in each region was evaluated. The results showed that the implementation of heritage policy greatly impacted each region, especially on the number of heritage sites in Asia and the Pacific region. Using the heritage era to carry out modelling analysis, from the perspective of the integrity of historical heritage cultural types, it is considered that there may be cultural heritage sites in the Caribbean and Latin America that have not been given enough attention. The modelling analysis results of era attributes can support the fairness of heritage determination. By calculating the frequency and peak value of heritage sites at the national scale, the frequency and peak value of each country in the top 10 list are used to characterize the ability of national declarations of cultural heritage and reveal the differences in the ability of each member country to declare heritage sites and the heritage era. By calculating the distribution density of the heritage era, this study finds that the world’s cultural heritage is not concentrated in the Middle Ages (600–1450) but the periods of Reformation and Exploration (1450–1700) and Progress and Empire (1850–1914). The above analysis shows that there are imbalances and strategic adjustment effects concerning regions, countries, eras and types in World Heritage list development. The composition types of heritage are complex, and the combination types have obvious changes in different periods. It is suggested that the strategy of world cultural heritage collection should be further optimized to fully guarantee the balance of regions, countries and types, and the heritage value should be fully considered in heritage protection with more diversity and complexity of types.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 418-432
Author(s):  
Xiaoai Ren

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at the organizational structure and service provisions of cooperative public library systems in New York State. The study also seeks to ask questions of how cooperative public library systems decide what services to provide. Design/methodology/approach – Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and cluster analysis were applied on New York State public library systems’ 2008 annual reports to generate quantitative profiles of public library systems and their service transactions. Three cooperative public library systems displaying different service features were purposefully selected for further study of their service decision-making processes. The face-to-face and phone interviews were adopted in the study. Findings – Research findings from this study provide information on specific service variations across cooperative public library systems. The findings also provide differences of service decision-making processes in addition to the factors that might cause these differences. Originality/value – This study adds knowledge of public library systems’ management and organizational structures, therefore fills a knowledge gap on public library systems. It can also serve as the baseline for future studies using newer annual report data and therefore to study the changing roles and services of cooperative public library systems in New York State.


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