Preservation of Cultural Heritage Materials at the University of Witwatersrand

This study assessed the preservation of cultural heritage materials in selected universities in South Africa with a view of recommending the best preservation method. Particularly, it examined the availability of a preservation policy at the University of Witwatersrand, the types and format of cultural heritage materials held by the University, the major preservation challenges facing the University and to make recommendations for the effective management and preservation of all materials held by the University. The study established that indeed there is a lack of a preservation policy and challenges with regards to the management of cultural heritage in South Africa.

Colonising Elephant Hunting in Assam (1826–1947)

Elephant has always played an important role in the history of Assam. Because of its strategic importance, elephant has always been preserved while other wild animals such as rhinoceros, tigers, leopards, bears, wolves, hyenas, wild boars, wild pigs, hogs, wild dogs, deer and bear were hunted for games, and attempts were made at the total annihilation of these animals during the colonial rule. Though the cases of elephant hunting for ivory were not uncommon, it was mostly preferred to be captured for its usefulness. Elephant was not only used for transportation, hauling and administrative purposes, but it was also a very good hunting friend. Because of the strategic importance of the animal, elephant hunting became a monopoly of the British government during colonial rule in Assam. Process of elephant catching and its management was also controlled by the British as it was also one of the important sources of revenue for the British government. The wildlife protection policy in India started with the elephant’s preservation policy of 1879. Thus, elephant plays an important role in the wildlife preservation of India. This article deals with the process of colonisation of elephant hunting, and an attempt has been made to study the management of elephants under kheddah department as well as private lease system, methods of elephant catching, elephant protection policies, conflicts over the access of the animal and revenue from elephants.

Integrating Advanced Imaging of Ancient Manuscripts

Digital Preservation has evolved from an early-stage field based heavily on research and the sharing of information to a nascent industry based on practical activity. In this transition there is a risk that the vital activity of sharing information and expertise declines in favor of the day-to-day practicalities of caring for content. This work explores how the Preservation Action Registries (PAR) Initiative can not only help to bridge the gap, but in doing so, create new opportunities that can help make automated digital preservation a practical reality even for non-expert users by describing a proof-of-principle demonstration of the automated application of Digital Preservation Policy, and subsequent changes to that policy.

Does the basic farmland preservation hinder land transfers in rural China?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the links between basic farmland preservation and land transfers in rural China. Design/methodology/approach The Chinese provincial panel data from 2006 to 2016 were analyzed with the use of Arellano–Bond linear dynamic panel data estimations. Findings The basic farmland preservation policy negatively affects the land transfer rate. In addition, this policy is most likely to limit land transfers between local acquaintances in the major grain-producing areas. Further evidence indicates that the basic farmland preservation policy has a negative impact on land rentals in general. Considering that land transfers such as exchanges and take-overs are excluded from rental transactions between acquaintances, the policy’s constraints on land use are likely to hinder land rentals between acquaintances, which are market-oriented. Practical implications Overall, this study’s analysis suggests that the farmland preservation policy’s constraints on land use rights are likely to result in a major diminishment of the rural rental markets. Under this policy, land that is designated as basic farmland cannot be converted to another use. However, it remains possible to improve the productivity of agriculture through other means. These possible avenues for improvement include enhancing the efficiency of production through expanding the scale of farming operations and developing the social services aspect of agriculture (i.e. the basic farmland preservation policy is likely to realize more social revenue than can be gained from land transfers). Thus, the arrangement of the basic farmland preservation policy in China can be managed in a way that is both economical and reasonable. Originality/value To ensure food security, China has enacted several laws and regulations to preserve basic farmland, and it has promoted land transfers to improve farm productivity. Therefore, it is important to understand whether the basic farmland preservation policy restricts land use rights and hinders land transfers that could improve productivity. This study provides empirical evidence showing that the basic farmland preservation policy is actually not conducive to promoting land transfers and that it even discourages the market orientation of land rentals between acquaintances. In dealing with this issue, the Chinese Government should seek to balance the relationship between preserving basic farmland and promoting land transfers.

Noble Authentication Protocol with Privacy Preservation Policy for Public Auditing on Shared Data

The cloud based services today offers a large amount of services irrespective of the geographical location to individuals or a group. This opens the way to new security dangers to the protection and also the integrity of the information put away. Public Key Infrastructure mechanism, advanced endorsements, computerized marks are existing techniques to accomplish numerous security prerequisite sites, however late dangers make them powerless against genuine assaults when utilized without earlier trust-point establishments. At the time of open reviewing of the information by Third Party Auditor, it is quite possible that it might trade off in protecting client’s privacy. This outcome in two separate issues which represents the dangers of authentication and additionally the trustworthiness of the information that is being shared. In this paper, we propose a Noble Authentication Protocol with privacy preservation policy cloud that gives solid common verification framework utilizing the Pedersen Commitment scheme alongside using ring signature algorithm calculations that will authenticate the TPA and just give the essential data to checking the trustworthiness of the mutual information with keeping the privacy of the clients covered up. The proposed technique helps in staying away from conceivable hash crashes, approving the chain of trust to certificate authorities and different denial records.

Heritage Preservation Policy of Civil Servants Joint Stock Fund for Historical Buildings in Athens: The Deligiorgi Residence Case

The Civil Servants Joint Stock Fund (C.S.J.S.F.), since its establishment in 1867, has invested part of its funds in acquiring real estate properties during the interwar period in Greece. The real estate selection was a very significant process for the Fund’s administration, investing on buildings situated in the historic center of Athens and designed by well-known architects. The fund also initiated the restoration procedures in order to keep its real estate up to date with respect to their importance as milestones of Greek Culture. This paper presents a part of the Fund’s heritage preservation policy and its extensive protection, conservation, restoration, and rehabilitation program; referring briefly to the historical and architectural description of the five (C.S.J.S.F.) historical buildings, in addition to the conservation and restoration projects for one of them; the Deligiorgi Residence, which was designed by the architect Ernst Ziller. The restoration work underlines the ultimate need for heritage preservation, and the importance of being sensitive to the historical character of the buildings, thereby improving their economic status and contributing to the sustainable preservation of architectural and cultural heritage within historic cities.

The problems of cultural protection sphere in the UkrSSR in the Kyiv periodicals’ representation (the 1970s)

The paper seeks for the first time to develop new avenues for the study of the monuments preservation of the Ukrainian SSR in the 1970s via a prism of the Kyiv newspapers. The article aims to research general trends and forms of development of the monument preservation policy in the Soviet Ukraine on the basis of a wide range of the Kyiv periodicals of the 1970s. A comprehensiveness and accuracy of coverage in the Kyiv periodicals of the development of the museum sphere in the Ukrainian SSR have been analyzed. The rediscovered publications allow us to conclude that active participation of the periodicals in the cultural protection movement as well as a pressure from the cultural protection activists contributed in an adoption in 1978 of the legislative acts (of the Soviet Ukraine and the USSR) «About protection and usage of monuments of history and culture». It shows that the Kyiv mainstream press of that period was presented as a rich event-actual phenomenon as well as an important factor in the protection and preservation of historical and cultural monuments in Ukraine. A juxtaposition of the content of different Kyiv newspapers makes possible to trace back paradoxes of development of the cultural protection sphere of that time, a struggle of views and positions of representatives of the Soviet authorities and devotees of monuments protection. Having researched the Kyiv periodicals’ corpora of the 1970s, we draw a conclusion that the periodicals of that time give historians a considerable empirical material for studying problems of the searching, scientific and mass work of the Kyiv museums in the Soviet Ukraine. Keywords: the UkrSSR, the Kyiv newspaper periodicals, periodical press, the cultural monument protection sphere, protection and preservation of monuments of history and culture, historical and archaeological researches.