Ritual Practice, Urbanization, and Sociopolitical Organization at Preclassic Ceibal, Guatemala

2020 ◽  
pp. 61-84
Author(s):  
Melissa Burham ◽  
Takeshi Inomata ◽  
Daniela Triadan ◽  
Jessica MacLellan
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Community Formation ◽  
Sociopolitical Organization ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Lines Of Evidence

In Chapter 4, Melissa Burham and colleagues examine urban growth, monumentality, and local community formation during the Late Preclassic period at Ceibal, Guatemala. Rather than focusing on the monumental epicenter of the site, the authors turn to the small communities that grew around the site core, each anchored by a minor-temple complex. Though smaller than temples in the site core, these community temples nonetheless represent monumental constructions that required considerable communal effort to build and maintain over an ever-expanding area. In this way, Burham and her coauthors consider how scale informs the definition of monumentality. Chapter 4 draws together various lines of evidence, including excavation and mapping data from Harvard’s previous work at the site and newer data from the current project, to spatially define communities and examine the role of minor temples and ritual in fostering local group identities.

scholarly journals Formation of legislation on local referendums in Ukraine: problems and perspectives

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
V. V. Kravchenko ◽  
A. O. Yanchuk
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Legislative Activity ◽  
Community Issues ◽  
Legislative Improvement ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

The article deals with the issues related to the definition of the conceptual framework of the new legislation of Ukraine on local referendums in the context of the requirements of the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on the right to participate in local government affairs, which was ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on September 2, 2014. The proposals on the legislative consolidation of the subject of local referendums, the order of their appointment, the legal force of decisions taken at referendums, etc. are formulated.The authors emphasize that legislative regulation of the initiation, organization and conduct of local referendums requires significant legislative improvement. To date, enough legislative initiatives have been developed in the field of initiation, organization, holding of local referendums and the implementation of their decisions. To implement such work in the current legislative field, a coordinated and coordinated work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the President of Ukraine is necessary.The article concludes that the adoption of the Law «On Local Referenda» has long been overdue, and therefore the adoption of any legislative initiatives in this direction will be a step forward towards the development of a legal, democratic state in which citizens will be able to exercise their right to participate in the management of state affairs not only through state authorities and local self-government bodies, but directly – through a referendum.Consideration in the legislative activity of the Parliament of the directions of improvement of the legislation on local referendums given by us will significantly increase the role of the local referendum in the mechanism of solving local issues by the territorial community, will help to create real ways of direct solving local community issues by a territorial community.

KAMINALJUYU STELA 10: Script classification and linguistic affiliation

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Mora-Marín
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Economic Role ◽  
Mayan Languages ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
Preclassic Period ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Epigraphic Evidence ◽  
Lines Of Evidence

This paper examines various lines of evidence for the classification and linguistic affiliation of writing at Late Preclassic Kaminaljuyu. The linguistic evidence for the ethnic composition of the Maya highlands and Pacific slopes during the Late Preclassic period points to contact among Ch'olan-Tzeltalan, Greater K'iche'an, and other non-Mayan languages, and to a dominant political economic role of Ch'olan-Tzeltalan. The epigraphic evidence supports classifying the script together with the Lowland Mayan script, and separately from the Epi-Olmec script, and hints at the presence of uniquely Ch'olan traits, some of which have been pointed out by other authors. A comparison with contemporaneous texts of unambiguous Lowland Mayan (Ch'olan or Yukatekan) affiliation suggests an overlap of orthographic, calligraphic, and semantic traits. Both lines of evidence support the hypotheses that Ch'olan-Tzeltalan speakers were the innovators of the Maya script, and that such a development perhaps took place in the Maya highlands. At the very least, the evidence points to a much closer relationship between the Maya highlands and lowlands during the Late Preclassic than previously thought.

Construction of Heritage: Small and Medium Towns of Gurgaon District

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-125
Author(s):  
Parul G. Munjal
Keyword(s):  
Urban Growth ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
The Past ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Historic Structures ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Heritage Discourse

Global discourses around heritage are grappling with idea of including dissonant, non-compliant voices and expanding the definition of heritage from the physical to a cultural process, pushing beyond the authorized heritage discourse. The dialogical model of heritage is presented as a means to break down the divide between laypersons and experts, suggesting new models for decision-making in the future. It is problematic to contextualize this discourse in the Indian context, more so in small and medium towns where this intellectual debate has never been formalized. Yet, there are existing ways in which the local stakeholders maintain and use sites or structures from the past that they value. Identification of these ways of keeping and using could be a step towards demystifying the construct of heritage in the local community. The Gurgaon district has witnessed an unprecedented urban growth rate from 2001 to 2011 and the eight historic small and medium towns of the district are on the verge of being enveloped in the rapid urban development. This impending change calls for a need to examine the heritage sites of these towns. Studying the historic structures in six of these towns points to the role of history and religion as connectors to heritage. This role has been explored on ground and at an ideological level, as an attempt towards understanding the construct of heritage as a process in play.

Perceptual buffer zone: a potential of going beyond the definition of broader preservation areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-291
Author(s):  
Hassan Darabi ◽  
Homa Irani Behbahani ◽  
Samin Shokoohi ◽  
Saman Shokoohi
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Buffer Zones ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Mental Map ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Definition Of

PurposeThe integrity of heritage and landscape hinges on protection and restoration policies. Such policies are implemented through the determination of buffer zones that most of them are mainly based on the self-absorbed view, which isolates cultural sites from the community, instead of the more inclusive perception-based view. This study used perceptions as a base in identifying buffer zones in Anahita Temple, in comparison with previous study.Design/methodology/approachAccordingly, two parallel and qualitative methods were implemented. First, the site inventory approach was used to determine physical buffer zone, and then historical and temporal perceptions were used to determine a perception-based one. In addition, integrated buffer zone was defined based on two approaches. Finally, the participatory importance and performance analysis were proposed in order to conservation strategies formulation.FindingsThe results indicated that a physical buffer zone isolates the historical site from its landscape, thereby presenting challenges. By contrast, constructing a perception-based one not only maintains the integrity of the landscape but also creates correspondence between the landscape and people's mental map of the site.Practical implicationsMaintaining the site's integrity is expected to encourage participation from the local community and fuel more effective conservation efforts but it also introduces challenges given the need to impose new regulations.Originality/valueDespite various studies on role of perception in Historical Landscape, less attention has been paid to the role of perception in definition of heritage buffer zone. Therefore, the main goal is to develop a framework to determine the buffer zone of heritage sites by providing a sample.

Childhoods as political projects: A comparison between cultural nationalism and minority activism in Japan

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flavia Cangià
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
Ethnic Relations ◽  
Japanese Culture ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Educational Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

Recent studies in the social sciences have focused the attention on the role of children in cultural politics, in particular on children’s experiences in nationalism, as well as on their participation in inter-ethnic relations. In line with this research, this study aims to investigate the relationship between childhood and political action and to conceptualize “childhood” as a contested political notion. More specifically, it discusses variations in the definition of “childhood” in “majority” and “minority” like contexts with a special focus on Japan. This article compares the Agency for Cultural Affairs and its programs for the promotion of “Japanese culture,” with the Dōwa Education’s programs on the buraku issue, and discusses how the resulting definitions of “childhood” are based upon various representations of “group identities” and upon different conceptions of educational processes. In this sense, the notion of “childhood” reflects a variety of political projects based on various institutional agendas, upon which different understandings of children’s role in society depend.

Strengthening local communities through development of local self-government institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-67
Author(s):  
ANTON PILSHCHIKOV ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Local Problems ◽  
Definition Of

Solving problems at the local level requires the unified activity of both the municipal authorities and representatives of civil society. In this regard, the author attempts to comprehend the concepts of ‘local self-government’ and ‘local community’ in the context of the formation of a cooperative environment in the relationship between them, and also gives his own definition of the term based on existing approaches and views. The essence of this understanding of the local community is to emphasize the uniqueness of the role of local governments and public organizations, as well as individual citizens. The author focuses on the participation of non-profit organizations in this process, which is illustrated by the example of the all-Russian Council of local self-government and projects implemented by this organization, as well as by considering the work of the Association for the promotion of twinning relations of Cologne and Volgograd. The paper concludes that the role of the non-profit sector in the development of local communities needs to be strengthened in Russia. At the same time, it is necessary to change approaches to the definition of the term ‘local community’ in such a way that it reflects the desire to form associations that meet the criteria for involvement in the process of solving local problems that arise for public organizations and local residents (of different focus and different significance for the municipal territory). It is important that local communities have their own opportunities for self-identification against the background of existing associations and have a fruitful influence on the communication process between different communities and allow the exchange of experience in various fields.

The Effect of Path Length and Display Size on Memory for Spatial Information

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Guérard ◽  
Sébastien Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Path Length ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Serial Memory ◽  
Fixed Reference ◽  
A Minor

In serial memory for spatial information, some studies showed that recall performance suffers when the distance between successive locations increases relatively to the size of the display in which they are presented (the path length effect; e.g., Parmentier et al., 2005) but not when distance is increased by enlarging the size of the display (e.g., Smyth & Scholey, 1994). In the present study, we examined the effect of varying the absolute and relative distance between to-be-remembered items on memory for spatial information. We manipulated path length using small (15″) and large (64″) screens within the same design. In two experiments, we showed that distance was disruptive mainly when it is varied relatively to a fixed reference frame, though increasing the size of the display also had a small deleterious effect on recall. The insertion of a retention interval did not influence these effects, suggesting that rehearsal plays a minor role in mediating the effects of distance on serial spatial memory. We discuss the potential role of perceptual organization in light of the pattern of results.

Challenges of Fear Conditioning Research in the Age of RDoC

2017 ◽  
Vol 225 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina B. Lonsdorf ◽  
Jan Richter
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Clinical Diagnosis ◽  
Research Domain Criteria ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
The Future ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Methodological Considerations ◽  
Research Domain

Abstract. As the criticism of the definition of the phenotype (i.e., clinical diagnosis) represents the major focus of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative, it is somewhat surprising that discussions have not yet focused more on specific conceptual and procedural considerations of the suggested RDoC constructs, sub-constructs, and associated paradigms. We argue that we need more precise thinking as well as a conceptual and methodological discussion of RDoC domains and constructs, their interrelationships as well as their experimental operationalization and nomenclature. The present work is intended to start such a debate using fear conditioning as an example. Thereby, we aim to provide thought-provoking impulses on the role of fear conditioning in the age of RDoC as well as conceptual and methodological considerations and suggestions to guide RDoC-based fear conditioning research in the future.

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