Conservation Institute Research Articles

Archaeobotanical analysis of a medieval “pantry” in the courtyard of Banski dvori Palace (Zagreb, Croatia)

In 2021, the Croatian Conservation Institute conducted multidisciplinary conservation-restauration and archaeological research in the northern courtyard of Banski dvori Palace to determine the layers of historical development. The results confirmed the continuity of settlement of the Zagreb upper town plateau from prehistoric times to the present day, and served as a basis for the development of project-technical documentation required for the complete restoration of the Government of the Republic of Croatia building damaged by the 2020 earthquake. During the excavations, remains of a subterranean timber-framed structure were documented. Based on the archaeological finds and context it can be interpreted as the underground storage room of a medieval urban house dated to the period of 13th and 14th century. A total of 1464 plant macrofossils were isolated by archaeobotanical analysis, of which six were carbonized and some of remains were just partially mineralized. The majority of the finds (95%) represent woody edible species with the highest number of finds being grapevine (Vitis vinifera), sweet/sour cherry (Prunus avium/cerasus), and blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). Some woody species such as grapevine and peach (Prunus persica) were certainly cultivated, while others like Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) and blackthorn are evidence that the population collected fruits from nature. Edible herbaceous species accounted for 2.12% of the finds, included cucumber (Cucumis sativus), spice fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), cereals millet (Panicum miliaceum) and common wheat (Triticum aestivum/durum). More than 40% of the remains were found in five vessels, while the rest were from the surrounding sediment. All vessels contained grapevine and wild apples/pears, and fruits such as sweet/sour cherry, blackberry and plum were also found, leading to the assumption that the vessels contained the commonly used medieval beverage made from unripe fruit, known as verjuice.

Jeretici i disidenti - vernici prigovarači savesti i jugoslovensko vojno krivično pravo od 1945. do 1991

The paper presents results of a research focusing on a four decades' struggle for legal recognition of the right to conscientious objection in Socialist Yugoslavia. Without a pretense to evaluate it, the paper aspires to describe and explain the evolution of Yugoslav Military Criminal Law by examining its distinctive historical causes and inner logic. Methodologically, the study relies on normative analysis of relevant legal sources that have been either understudied or simply disregarded. It analyzes especially the 1989 Amendment to the Military Service Obligation Act that introduced the right to conscientious objection into the Yugoslav socialist legal system , as well as related archival materials, newspaper reports and other written accounts depicting the political background of the 1989 legal reform. The study sheds light on socialist secularism and questions the common perception of the Yugoslav People's Army as a conservative institution unwilling to compromise. It also contributes to a broader theoretical discussion on the ambiguous nature of conscientious objection as a right and/or a privilege.

Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought and Civilizations as an actor in the process of Islamization in modern Indonesia

The presented article analyzes the features of development and the main vectors of transformation of conservative Islam in modern Indonesia in contexts of the activities of the organization known as the Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought and Civilizations (INSISTS). INSISTS is supposed to be the intellectual center of contemporary Islamic traditionalism in Indonesia. The article analyzes the problems of the intellectual agenda of conservatives, including the ideas of the Islamization of science, the rejection of liberal Islam and the criticism of feminism. The article considers the main directions of Muslim conservatives activity as a reaction to the modernization of the Ummah and the temporary success of liberal Islam, although its influence on Muslims was extremely limited. It is believed that INSISTS appeared as an attempt to institutionalize and legitimize conservative and traditionalist trends in modern Indonesian Islam in the form of their expansion into the space of scientific knowledge and political criticism. It is shown that INSISTS, as a formally conservative institution, actually uses liberal discourse, trying to actualize the contemporary problems related to gender and feminism in the political agenda of traditionalists. Therefore, it is assumed that the conservative trends in the modern history of the Indonesian Ummah actualize the significant adaptive potential of the traditionalists.

Transient Nozzle-Exit Velocity Profile in Diesel Spray and Its Influencing Parameters

Article Transient Nozzle-Exit Velocity Profile in Diesel Spray and Its Influencing Parameters Ya Gao 1, Weidi Huang 2,*, Raditya Hendra Pratama 2, and Jin Wang 1 1 Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL 60439, United States 2 Research Institute for Energy Conservation, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Ibaraki 305-8564, Japan * Correspondence: wd.huang@aist.go.jp Received: 24 September 2022 Accepted: 10 November 2022 Published: 25 December 2022 Abstract: The primary breakup in the diesel spray relies closely on the initial dynamics at the nozzle exit. However, solid experimental results are still missing due to the great difficulties in measuring the near-nozzle spray dynamics. This study proposed an investigation focusing on the transient nozzle-exit spray dynamics by taking advantage of the X-ray phase contrast imaging technique. The in-nozzle needle motion, spray morphology, and dynamics at a commercial diesel nozzle exit were obtained. Experimental results were then examined, linking with the needle motion to understand the transient spray dynamics. The effect of the initial conditions (i.e., the injection pressure and ambient density) on the resulting trends were also considered. It is found that the nozzle-exit spray morphology and velocity profile highly relate to the in-nozzle needle lift. Once the needle sufficiently opens, the spray reaches steady status, and the nozzle-exit velocity becomes almost constant. The spray width slightly increases with the increasing ambient gas density or the decreasing injection pressure. Injection pressure significantly affects the spray velocity amplitude, whereas the ambient gas density alters the spray-velocity profiles mainly in the periphery of the spray. Finally, an analytic analysis was conducted to further examine the transient spray axial velocity with the changing radial locations. It is found the nozzle-exit spray velocity can be predicted in the Gaussian-type formula. This feature likely relates to in-nozzle flow characteristics.

Institutions and conservation: The case of protected areas

We study the link between institutions and the establishment of protected areas for natural resources conservation. Using difference-in-differences we estimate the impacts of democratization on the share of countries’ area under protected areas in a panel of 144 countries over 1992–2018. We find that countries that democratized devote higher shares of their land to protected areas, but only in the medium- and long-run. Our preferred estimates indicate that, fifteen years after democratization, the share of countries’ area under PAs increases on average by one percentage point more than what would have been implemented without democratization. We also find evidence that democratization leads countries to implement the different types of protected areas in a non-homogeneous way. Our results are robust to several estimators and treatment definitions, confirming the critical role of institutions for natural resources conservation.

Tradition and traditions: From a Model of the Church to a Model of Society – A Response to Challenges in the Black Sea Region

It is a common perception that some of the most conservative institutions in the world are the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. As some say: In 2.000 years, the Church has not changed anything. On the one hand, the statement is true as regards the Tradition of the Church, that is, all that was handed on by the Apostles and contributes toward the holiness of life and increase in faith of the peoples of God (Dei Verbum 8). On the other hand, there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down (Dei Verbum 8). In other words, the Church remains the same as regards her essence (this is preserved by Tradition), while she needs to change as regards her historical forms of life (these are traditions). This conference will show the distinction between Tradition and traditions according to Yves Congar, one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century. His thesis is that the Church must preserve Tradition and reform traditions. To accomplish this goal, that is a true reform within Church without schisms, Congar proposes four conditions for an authentic reform. This conference claims that this model of reform in the Church can be transferred to the present societies in the Black Sea Region. Mutatis mutandis, the four conditions of true reform are applicable to modern societies. Thus, distinguishing between Tradition and traditions, each society can preserve what is essential to its’ own identity and ethos, while accepting the changes suggested by the present and future situations of life

He Who Does Not Serve Is Not Fit for a Wife: The Problems of Military Service and Late Socialist Masculinity in 1980s Yugoslavia

Abstract This paper advances two interrelated claims about late socialist order in the former Yugoslavia. First, the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), which had been a pillar of the Yugoslav state socialism, had to start justifying its character as it came to be defined as an outmoded and conservative institution. Second, it was increasingly difficult for the JNA leadership to attract men to its ranks while masculine ideals entered a period of flux. The urban and educated upper and middle-classes openly argued that the army was not living up to the many roles it was supposed to play. This study has important implications for studies of late socialism in Eastern Europe and the USSR as it indicates the dynamism of this period.

Aktivitas Makan Orangutan Kalimantan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) di Taman Nasional Tanjung Puting Wilayah Camp Leakey Kab. Kotawaringin Barat Sebagai Penunjang Materi Konservasi

Conservation activities for the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) are strongly influenced by several factors in environmental and habitat conditions so that the sustainability of the orangutan population is maintained, including playing an important role in terms of feeding activities and the ability to adapt to eating orangutans in reintroduction areas through monitoring activities in the daily lives of orangutans, emphasizing knowledge of eating activities in the Leakey camp area as an orangutan release conservation institution needs to be done. Observation of the eating activity of orangutans was carried out using the Focal Animal Sampling method. All activities carried out by individuals are observed and recorded. Observations were made starting from leaving the nest at around 06.30 WIB and finished observing at 17.30 WIB. Observations include diet (length of time), type of feed, portion of feed consumed. The data obtained will be tabulated and the percentage determined by displaying the data in the form of tables and charts. The length of time for eating activities of the Gara orangutans occupies the second highest percentage for eating activities, namely 33.0%, resting activity is 55.2% as the most activity and making nests 11.8%, Casper orangutans have the highest feeding activity, which is 91.4% and the second highest play activity 4.6% and the third to make a nest 4.1%. The types of feed consumed by Gara orangutans were 8 species consisting of Gluta renghas L 9%, Mangifera odorata 18%, Pandanus helicopus 14%, Symlecos celastrifolia 4%, Osbornia octodonta 4%, Musa acuminate 23%, Coptotermes curvignathus 14%, Coptotermes sp5% and Casper orangutan 4 species consisting of Diaphania indica s 46%, Mangifera odorata 23%, Musa acuminate 27%, Pimenta officinalis 4%. The portion of feed consumed by the orangutans Gara and Casper is dominated by the fruit portion.

Appraising the Seismic Response of a Retrofitted Adobe Historic Structure, the Role of Modal Updating and Advanced Computations

The concepts of structural assessment and retrofit of historical constructions are of particular complexity and require advanced knowledge in material science, conservation techniques and structural analysis. In particular, adobe constructions, given their low mechanical properties and brittle failure modes, are in immense need of comprehensive assessment and retrofitting plans. The current work focuses on the adobe Church of Kuñotambo in Peru, having experienced long periods of deterioration and earthquake-related damage. Under the ongoing Seismic Retrofitting Project (SRP) of the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), the structural assessment of the church initiated in 2015 confirmed the low lateral capacity of the building and the poor connectivity between the structural parts. Based on the existing cracks and damage, a strengthening scheme was optimized and validated. After the implementation of the retrofitting plan, the quality of its execution and efficiency were assessed in 2019 with a new in situ campaign, which included ambient vibration testing (AVT) and sonic testing. From the acquired field data, the FE model of the retrofitted church was optimized, by updating the stiffness properties of masonry and discontinuities. Moreover, nonlinear static analyses were performed on the updated model in all in-plan directions. Finally, a displacement-based performance assessment was undertaken, under different earthquake limit states, demonstrating the adequacy of the retrofitting.

Daily Activity of Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius Linnaeus, 1758) in Bali Zoo, Gianyar

The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius Linnaeus, 1758) is an endemic species whose presence has a major influence on forest ecology in Papua. As a frugivore, this bird plays a role in spreading the seeds of fruit trees which make up 90% of tree species in Papua's forests. However, the population of this bird in its natural habitat has decreased due to forest conversion as the population grows, and is exacerbated by hunting by the local community. Ex-situ conservation is carried out with the aim of breeding animals outside their natural habitat, so research on the daily activities of the Southern cassowary is required. This study was conducted from January 10 to February 21, 2022 on five individual Southern Cassowaries at the Bali Zoo. The method used was focal animal sampling with instantaneous recording for 30 minutes with one-minute intervals. The data obtained were tabulated and analyzed using Microsoft Excel, then described descriptively. The most common activity for the Southern Cassowary at Bali Zoo was resting (35.69%), followed by moving activities (19.69%), foraging (18.58%), preening (16.74%), alert (6.69%), vocalization (1.19%), defecation (0.48%), and urination (0.14%). This study shows that the Southern Cassowary can reflect its daily activities naturally while at the Bali Zoo conservation institution which indicates that animal welfare is fulfilled.
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Guest Editors’ Introduction: Opening Conversations that Matter in Public Music Studies

Guest Editors’ Introduction: Opening Conversations that Matter in Public Music Studies

A quantitative application of diffusion of innovations for modeling the spread of conservation behaviors

The study of community-based conservation is challenged by a large number of important variables and nonlinear dynamics. This complexity has made quantitative and comparative analyses notoriously difficult. Here, we argue that analyzing the emergence and persistence of community-based conservation institutions as an emergent phenomenon of individual decision-making can yield important quantitative insights. We first review diffusion of innovations theory (DOI) and the broader field of cultural evolution. We then simulate data on community adoption of a conservation institution, contingent on feedbacks between individual behavior and environmental processes. We demonstrate that fitting these data to differential models of disease transmission, on which DOI is founded, can produce reliable estimates of the rates of adoption, dropout, and long-term uptake of an institution. Overall, we explore a new quantitative approach for modeling the spread of conservation behaviors using probabilistic differential equations and argue for further incorporation of cultural evolutionary theory into the field.

Automated corrosion detection in Oddy test coupons using convolutional neural networks

The Oddy test is an accelerated ageing test used to determine whether a material is appropriate for the storage, transport, or display of museum objects. The levels of corrosion seen on coupons of silver, copper, and lead indicate the material’s safety for use. Although the Oddy test is conducted in heritage institutions around the world, it is often critiqued for a lack of repeatability. Determining the level of corrosion is a manual and subjective process, in which outcomes are affected by differences in individuals’ perceptions and practices. This paper proposes that a more objective evaluation can be obtained by utilising a convolutional neural network (CNN) to locate the metal coupons and classify their corrosion levels. Images provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) were labelled for object detection and used to train a CNN. The CNN correctly identified the metal type and corrosion level of 98% of the coupons in a test set of the Met’s images. Images were also collected from the American Institute for Conservation’s Oddy test wiki page. These images suffered from low image quality and were missing the classification information needed to train the CNN. Experts from cultural heritage institutions evaluated the coupons in the images, but there was a high level of disagreement between expert classifications. Therefore, these images were not used to train the CNN. However, the images proved useful in testing the limitations of the CNN trained on the Met’s data when applied to images of coupons from different Oddy test protocols and photo documentation procedures. This paper presents the effectiveness of the CNN trained on the Met’s data to classify Met and non-Met Oddy test coupons. Finally, this paper proposes the next steps needed to produce a universal CNN-based classification tool.Graphic

Community Participation Process in Community-Based Tourism Development in Waerebo Traditional Village, Manggarai Regency, Flores

Waerebo traditional village is one of the villages in Flores that has managed to rise through tourism development. The tourism business in Waerebo is owned and managed by the community. This study aims to determine the process of community participation in the development of community-based tourism. This study uses a qualitative method. Primary data were collected through observation and in-depth interviews with institutions and parties involved in the development. Assistance with a participatory approach through the placement of facilitators to live with the community is carried out by partners from the Waerebo Cultural Conservation Institute. The training activities followed by practice by the community, accompanied by facilitators, have shown good results. The community is involved in all stages, from planning, implementing activities, and evaluating activities. Community participation from planning to implementation is essential in developing CBT and maintaining destination resilience. The CBT approach is able to increase people's income, help maintain traditional houses, forest roads, provide diesel and solar electricity, and improve their children's education.

'Walking the talk': Applying community-based social marketing to a pilot food waste programme at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Zoos and aquariums are uniquely situated to encourage the adoption of pro-environmental behaviours by the public at large. While the activation of conservation behaviours in a visitor base is necessary, there is an equally essential call to 'walk the talk' by aligning organizational missions and identity with internal practice. This study evaluated an adapted community-based social marketing (CBSM) model to foster food waste-related behaviour change in a unique audience of zoo staff and volunteers. This paper describes an innovative, real-world example of how conservation institutions can modify conservation psychology theories and the CBSM framework for the practical application of mission-aligned pro-environmental behaviour change campaigns. While audience engagement fluctuated throughout the campaign, we observed an attitudinal and/or behavioural shift in our target audience as a result of the campaign, indicating some success in achieving positive outcomes. The implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations are made about how to sustain momentum and participation in campaigns, including the utility of a scale for engagement approaches relative to organizational capacity and resources available.

Conserving Biological Diversity in the Small Islands: Introducing the Center for the Conservation of Maluku’s Biodiversity

Maluku province (islands), Indonesia belongs to an area of world’s biodiversity hot-spot, wallacea hot-spot, in which conservation efforts should be concentrated due to high endemic biodiversity components present and habitat destructions the area is undergoing. Center for the conservation of Maluku’s biodiversity (CCMB) is therefore established with the aim of assisting the government in policy making and activities related to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Following its initiation in the year 2006, the main activities of the CCMB has been directed to building and improving the knowledge and awareness of the importance of biodiversity and its continuing presence for the benefit of Maluku community now and in the future. Development of conservation institutions implementing various conservation systems, methodologies and techniques including inter-situ conservation through community gene-banks or on-farm management conserving cultural and semi-wild crop plants, ex-situ conservation through government funded gene-banks, as well as in-situ conservation are the plans for further activities of the CCMB.

Sounding the State of the World: Interview with Karim Rafi, Summer 2021

Matthew Brauer interviews Moroccan contemporary artist Karim Rafi about postcolonial creation in the 2020s in "Sounding the State of the World.” Beginning with Rafi’s shift to remote performances during the COVID-19 pandemic, the discussion approaches confinement as just the latest in a series of crises in North Africa and the world. The repeated experience of crisis opens a conversation about the contemporary experience of time, broached in relation to modern Moroccan art history, which emerged from and against the conservative institutions of the French Protectorate (1912-1956). The interview touches on a range of distinctive concerns in Rafi’s art practice, from sound installations to gardening, which he brings together in multimedia performances and hypermedia objects that register the cultural and political forces shaping art in the 2020s, while reactivating their radical potential for relation apart from capitalist commodification.

Assessing local farmer’s perspectives on the role of bat in providing ecosystem services in the Batang Toru ecosystem, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract. Harahap HA, Yonariza. 2022. Assessing local farmer’s perspectives on the role of bat in providing ecosystem services in the Batang Toru ecosystem, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 4322-4328. Bats play an important role as pollinators in maintaining the ecosystem services and improving the local economy in Batang Toru Ecosystem (BTE). However, the anthropogenic impacts negatively affect their sustainability, making the evaluation of their services increasingly needed. This study was conducted to examine the local farmers’ action against bats in BTE. The objectives were to analyze: (1) farmers’ knowledge of the role of bats in ecosystem services, (2) the perception of bats, (3) awareness of bat population loss and its impact on durian production, and (4) farmers' actions against bats on their land. The results showed that 1 out of 7 farmers exhibited negative actions toward bats in their agroforest lands. They also had significantly low knowledge about bat services in agroforestry. Most farmers regarded bats as meat for food and medicine rather than as pollinators of durian fruits. We recommend that the government and conservation institutions carry out initiatives to educate farmers regarding the importance of bat services, and conservation efforts should be made to maintain the viable population of bats.

ECONOMIC VALUATION OF THE MOLUCCAN ECLECTUS BASED ON MARKET PRICE AND MAINTENANCE COST APPROACH

Illegal wildlife trade is a criminal act of enormous value, almost equivalent to drug trafficking. One species vulnerable to being traded illegally is the moluccan eclectus which has a high number of enthusiasts. Law enforcement in cases of illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia is difficult because there is no standardization in calculating the economic value of wild animals. The economic valuation approach is one approach in quantifying the economic value of wildlife. This study aims to analyze the economic value of moluccan eclectus based on the market price approach, analyze the economic value of moluccan eclectus based on the maintenance cost approach, and compare the two approaches in the economic valuation of moluccan eclectus. Data were collected by two methods, namely literature study and interviews. The literature study collects data in the form of moluccan eclectus market prices circulating in the domestic and international markets. Meanwhile, interviews were conducted with managers of conservation institutions at Siantar Zoo, Medan Zoo, Tasikoki Animal Rescue Center (PPS) Manado, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah Bird Park in Jakarta, Kekewang Zoo in North Sulawesi, and Andy Hoo Captivity in East Java to obtain data on maintenance cost. Data analysis was carried out quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed that the economic value of moluccan eclectus based on the market price approach reached IDR 16,138,820/individual. Meanwhile, based on the maintenance cost approach, the economic value of moluccan eclectus reaches IDR 6,313,333/individual. Based on the accuracy of the results, both approaches have the same level of accuracy. Meanwhile, based on the effectiveness and cost-efficient aspects of data collection and analysis, the market price approach is relatively better than the maintenance cost approach. 
 
 Key words: Economic valuation, illegal wildlife trade, moluccan eclectus

Anthropocenic Objects. Collecting Practices for the Age of Humans

The knowledge needed to tackle future environmental and societal challenges can only be generated through exchange between science and society. The conventional distinction made between natural and cultural heritage in museums and other institutions is no longer appropriate in the Anthropocene. Museums must rethink the social and cultural dimensions of existing museum collections and reinvent the organization of knowledge production for our present. In three workshops at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, practitioners and interdisciplinary theorists discussed the concept of “Anthropocenic objects” and considered how they create opportunities for the emergence of new collecting practices involving participatory research and open exchange between research, society, and conservation institutions.