Previous Historical Periods Research Articles

ECONOMIC CATEGORIES OF "AMORTIZATION" AND "DEPRECIATION": THE HISTORY OF ACCOUNTING CONCEPT FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The article deals with the formation and development evolution of the accounting concept of amortization and depreciation of fixed and intangible assets. The methodological sense of the amortization and depreciation accrual processes and the resulting methods of their reflection in the accounting system in the context of historically formulated accounting theories and individual concepts are analysed. An estimation of historical experience through the representation of amortization and deterioration as objects of accounting in interrelation with their economic content is carried out. The level of accounting methods’ validity for calculating and displaying amortization charges and the amount of depreciation of fixed assets in the context of their consideration from the position of capital, fund, reserve and regulatory item are analysed. The possibilities of applying separate historically formulated ideas for developing an improved concept of accounting amortization adequate for the modern economy are set forth. The aim of the article is a historiographic analysis of the principal approaches and methodological foundations of accounting conventions of amortization, depreciation, and devaluation of economic entities assets and appropriateness assessment using individual developments in modern theory and practice. The subject of the article is the study of content and nature of amortization and depreciation of fixed assets as general economic categories and accounting objects. Methods of studying the theoretical and methodological basis are the dialectical method of cognition of conceptual processes of “depreciation” and “amortization”, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison, an abstract and logical method of modelling. The practical significance of the work is that historical experience, important and necessary in modern conditions, can be adapted by incrusting several ideas of the past. Value/originality. To develop and adapt accounting concept of amortization to the current conditions, it is advisable to turn to the ideas and conceptual approaches developed in previous historical periods. In particular, it may be considered advisable to use the conceptual framework of E. Schmalenbach, who proposes the creation of a transit account “Reserve for inflation” to account for deviations of the revalued value when placed on the balance of an object. The urgency and, obviously, the advisability of introducing such a “false” object is argued at once by several factors – the real existence of inflationary processes in the modern economy and dynamics of their continuation to the observational period is evident; devaluation of the purchasing power of the accumulated amortization resource; the rapid pace of technological progress does not allow talking about the reproduction of fixed capital by the method of “acquiring an analogue”.

Locked-in post-socialism: rolling path dependencies in Liberec’s district heating system

This paper uses the experience of post-socialist district heating reforms to tell a broader story about the continued and shared challenges that central and eastern European cities face as they grapple with the legacies of the recent and more distant past. We argue that the restructuring of this infrastructural domain has been contingent upon geographically embedded trajectories stemming from previous historical periods, while leading to the creation of new socio-technical lock-ins. The paper thus develops the notion of “rolling path-dependencies” in order to explore how post-socialist developments both overcome and supplant previous trajectories of transformation. It focuses on the northern Czech town of Liberec – a place that is known for having some of the highest heating prices in the country – to elucidate how a socially, economically, and environmentally detrimental lock-in has come into existence as a result of ill-conceived policies of marketization, municipalization, and privatization. Using evidence from official documents and interviews with policy-makers, we demonstrate how the infrastructural legacies of post-socialism both persist and are being reproduced at the urban scale even within “advanced” reforming states like Czechia.

EVOLUTION OF THE OBJECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE FRAMEWORK OF ECO-GENESIS

The aim is to consider the features of evolution and determine the nature of the object of ecological knowledge as a basis for professional activities of environmental engineer in the current situation. Methods. The author suggests the approach, according to which for the understanding of the nature and current status of the object of professional activity of environmental engineer it is necessary to make an analysis of the peculiarities of the genesis of environmental science, which determined the formation of the aggregate of environmental knowledge as an instrument of transfer in the learning process from teacher to listener in its development over the historical time. This process is proposed to name eco-genesis, that is the historical development of environmental science content and pedagogy. Results. The author suggests periodization of epochs eco-genesis which shows the change in ecological thought over the previous historical period. The analysis held on the results of such a periodization of all ages the development of ecological knowledge allowed to highlight some specific features of eco-genesis, namely the qualitative change of the object of ecological knowledge from organismic systems to a global technogenic and natural system, the development and complexity of the methodology of environmental research and studies, the transformation of environmental science from the individual scientific course to interdisciplinary scientific system. The author introduces a new class of systems – exartisphere, as an object of knowledge and environmental bases for the activity of environmental engineer in the modern, the sixth era of eco-genesis. Main conclusions. The results can be recommended for use in practice, in order to highlight the essential content and new approaches in environmental science and pedagogy of the near future, as well as for the revision of the existing approaches to designing the content of training of environmental engineer.

European Policies for Social Inclusion of Roma: Catch 22?

The article analyzes contemporary political discourses with regard to social inclusion of Roma on the basis of comparison with achievements and failures in the previous historical period of the communist rule in Eastern Europe. It argues that since the vast majority of the European Roma had lived in the past and continue living nowadays in the countries of Eastern Europe, no successful policy for their inclusion is possible without taking into account the experiences and outcomes of the actions for Roma integration in the socialist period. The experience from the times of socialism shows that successful policies are possible only in an appropriate socio-political context and only if accomplished within the mainstream approach. Against this background, the article scrutinizes the European Policies for Social Inclusion of Roma, and explains why they present a <em>Catch 22</em> situation: There is a vicious cycle of problems which need to be solved; the solution requires a special policy for inclusion, however this policy stigmatizes Roma and sets them even more apart from the rest of society. Thus the vicious cycle of problems expands. The main point of the article is to propose an explanation of this failure of democracy and liberalism, which could constitute a useful lesson for the future.

Efficacy Analysis of a Script-based Guide for EVAR Execution: is it Possible to Reduce Patient Exposure to Contrast, Operative Time and Blood Loss even when Advanced Technologies are not Available?

INTRODUCTIONDespite the patient and medical staff exposure to radiation in endovascular aneurysm repair, the benefits of this abdominal aortic aneurysm type of surgical management are justfied by minor recovery time and hospitalization, as well as an option for patients not elected to conventional open repair. In this minimally invasive surgical aproach, time of procedure and radiation doses can be substantial - and the increasing frequency of these procedures and it's complexity have impelled vascular surgeons to face additional and successive risk to occupational radiation exposure. Meticulous study of the computed tomography angiography during the endovascular aneurysm repair preparation allows reduction of unnecessary radiation exposure, as also reduces consecutive image acquisition and contrast use (that may be related to renal overload in susceptible patients). Some studies have proposed strategies to optimize endovascular intervention to reduce contrast use and X-ray exposure. Although they might prove to be effective, they rely on use of additional specific and advanced equipment, available only in major centers. As an alternative to this expensive and restrict technology, it is presented a simpler technique through image manipulation on software OsiriX, aiming to reduce both exposures.OBJECTIVETo analyze the efficacy of the adoption of a study protocol and a script-based guide in preparation for endovascular aneurysm repair through verifying it's impact over the surgical procedure - as referred to intravascular contrast infuse, effects over renal function, blood loss and operatory time.METHODSA longitudinal prospective study from March 2014 through March 2015, where 30 performed endovascular aneurysm repair were compared to a historic control group. The planning for endovascular aneurysm repair through the patient's tomographic image manipulation in the prospective group was performed with OsiriX MD software. A script-based guide upon gathering detailed computed tomography angiography images was elaborated by the author and distributed to the performing surgical team for appreciation, instruction and pre operatory judgment. Based upon the script, the C-arm gantry angle was specifically corrected in each case of endovascular aneurysm repair, for image optimization and aneurysm's neck visualization. Arteriography was performed under digital subtraction angiography after catheters were positioned according to predicted level description in the referred guide. Statistical analysis were performed with a significance level of 5% (P value<0.05).RESULTSThere was a statistically significant relationship between the two studied periods and the variables: contrast volume (284.5 vs. 31.8 mL), operative time (207.5 vs. 140.4 min.) and blood loss (798.1 vs. 204.4 mL), revealing that they are considerably larger in the historical control group than in the script guided current group. There was no difference related to the volume of contrast used in the two groups and the occurrence of renal impairment.CONCLUSIONIn the present paper it was possible to demonstrate the impact of the ability to manipulate digital formats of medical images without the need of sophisticated equipment, in adoption of a guide based on the compilation of informations collected with assistance of an accessible software performed on a personal computer. Although we could not prove relation to occurrence of renal impairment, there were direct results on reduction of intravascular contrast use, even as surgical time and blood loss, compared to a previous historical period.

Le renouveau de l’enseignement artistique en Allemagne après la Seconde Guerre mondiale

Germany after 1945 was a territorial unity that had lost its status as a State and which was divided into four zones of occupation. The program of reform of art education is part of the widespread political and cultural renewal that took place during the subsequent post-War years. The importance of these reforms is a question to consider, with respect to the difficult ethical, historical and ideological context that shaped them. To all appearances, the reopening of many artistic institutions gave birth to an exceptional period of cultural and artistic activity. Indeed, some artists who had lost their right to practice under the Third Reich agreed to come back and teach art at these newly reopened institutions. The present study will focus on those artist-educators who developed the most innovative pedagogical concepts and methods, for example Willi Baumeister (Art Academy in Stuttgart), Karl Otto Gotz (Art Academy in Dusseldorf) and Georg Meistermann (Art Academy in Karlsruhe). In total, the group I wish to investigate taught in eleven higher education institutions across all the four occupation zones; their work continued later, in the post-War states, FRG and GDR. My research methodology includes bibliographic research, archival research, and interviews with former students, many of whom have become artist-educators themselves. My correspondents were the benefactors of an extraordinary kind of teacher-student relationship that stressed an attitude of freedom that contrasted strongly with the previous historical period of the mid-1930s to 1945. The vast majority of German artists who now have an international reputation — including Georg Baselitz, Otto Piene, Gerhard Richter, Gunter Uecker — studied in one or several higher art schools or art academies in the occupied zones (East or West) after 1945.

Is War Becoming Obsolete? A Sociological Analysis

There is a degree of consensus among scholars that the character of warfare has substantially changed over the past three decades. However, there is no agreement about the direction and causes of this change. Some argue that ‘the new wars’ have become more brutal, more chaotic and decentralized. These wars are linked to the globalization processes emphasizing that as the unrestrained proliferation of globalized economy intensifies so will these new wars. In contrast others insist that all forms of organized violence are on the wane: there are fewer wars, they are less lethal, more localized and shorter than in previous historical periods. Moreover they argue that the very institution of warfare is gradually but definitely becoming obsolete. This paper challenges both of these perspectives and articulates an alternative interpretation. The aim is to develop a longue durée sociological analysis that focuses on the macro-organizational social context and explores the dynamics of the war-state-society nexus over the past centuries. I argue that warfare is not becoming obsolete and that ‘new wars’ are unlikely to completely replace inter-state warfare. Instead my analysis indicates that there is more organizational continuity in the contemporary warfare that either of the two dominant perspectives is willing to acknowledge.

Lifespan and longevity among representatives of creative professions

The article presents data on mean age of death of 49 064 representatives of various creative professions: visual artists (painters, sculptors, architects, n = 8 458), musicians (composers, conductors, singers, pianists, violinists, etc. n = 7 883), writers and poets (n = 11 488), scientists (n = 21 235). The mean age of death among writers and poets was significantly (p < 0.001) less than that in visual artists, musicians and scientists whereas scientists lived longer than representatives of other categories (p < 0.001). Women lived longer than men of any studied categories (p < 0.02). It was shown that the mean age of death gradually but irregularly increased since the 1st century A. C. until the 20th century in any professional cohort. Visual artists-men in 20th century lived longer than in previous historical periods (p < 0.001). Scientists both females and males in 20th century lived longer then these in 19th century (p < 0.001). The first five places of long-livers among men belong to Nobel prize winners (78,8 yrs.), academicians (72,7 yrs.) and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (71,7 yrs.), conductors (71,1 yrs.) and scientists (71,0 yrs.). Rock-musicians, author's song singer and poets lived less than other categories (43,6; 53,6 and 61,6 yrs. respectively). Among women leading long-livers were conductors (83,2 yrs.), harp-players (80,9 yrs.), academicians of the RAS (80,3 yrs.), clavesin-players (79,1 yrs.) and violinists (78,2 yrs.). Among women, less lived rock-musicians (37,6 yrs.), author's songs singers (51,4), horns and woodwinds instruments players (59,0 yrs.). Relative number of nonagenarians (90+) was much higher among women as compared to men. The values were as 43.75% of harp-players, 33.33% of conductors, 29.17% of architects, 20% of violinists and viola-players and 18.99% sculptors for women, and 16.67% of Nobel prize winners, 12.12% of conductors, 7.51% of academicians, 7.44% of violinists and 7.0% of scientists survived 90+ years among men. Centenarians were 8.33% of academicians and architects, 6.25% of harp-players and 4.22% of writers-poets among women, and only 0.76% of pianists, 0.45% of scientists and 0.42% of violinists were centenarians among men. Our data are in agreement with the opinion that high intellect and education directly correlate with longer life span and longevity.

Tomorrow Began Yesterday

The phenomenon of the sixtiers was prepared by the previous historical period. The period after the World War II comprises a fundamental change of the world order – from a multipolar world to a confrontation of two superpowers and two ideological systems, and, at the same time, formation of a complex of international organizations on a global scale. In this context, the Soviet architecture made a sharp turn from Stalin’s Empire style to an extreme ascetism – the continuation of constructivism of the early XXth century. The Irkutsk architectural school, unlike the main flow of the 1960s, developed the style of Neo-Brutalism. The article draws parallels between Neo-Brutalism of the Irkutsk school and “a severe style” of the Soviet pictorial art of the same period.

POLÍTICAS EDUCATIVAS Y PRÁCTICAS ESCOLARES: LA APLICACIÓN DE LA LEY DE ENSEÑANZA PRIMARIA DE 1945 EN LAS AULAS

INTRODUCTION. This article analyses the influence of educational politics in the school practice during the first years of Francoism. We study the impact of some educational principles established in the 1945 Primary Education Act and in the 1953 national Syllabuses for Primary Education on the daily life of schools during the 1950’s. METHOD. The article combines the historical method for the analysis of educational politics and the ethnographic method for the interpretation of school practices. The main source of documentation has been the collection of pedagogical reports archived in the Collection “Anselmo Romero Marín” preserved in the Museum “M.B. Cossío” from the Complutense University. RESULTS. The analysis that has been carried out allows us to detect several continuities with the curricular approaches of previous historical periods and with the methodological renovation of the 1930’s. On the other hand, it does not seem that the educational legislation of the first Francoist period was very present in the daily school life, except for the most symbolic and ritualized aspects. This conclusion leads us to confirm that the history of the classroom is built from the empirical school culture developed by schoolteachers with which we cannot find any significant breaks despite the clear ideological changes observed in educational politics. DISCUSSION. A possible line of discussion in the historiographical debate about Francoism could arise from introducing the theoretical model of the “grammar of schooling” developed several years ago by Tyack and Cuban. The discussion might then focus on how far Francoist educational politics entailed a curricular and methodological break with the previous historical period. On the one hand we could state that educational practices are immune to political changes and, on the other hand we could say that they are dependent of the mentality of teachers and of their professional dynamics.

Geoarchaeology of the ancient and medieval Danube Delta: Modeling environmental and historical changes. A review

The study presents a brief review of the main evolutionary stages of the Danube deltaic area, according to the most recent discoveries in the field, as well as an emphasis on the new delimitating criteria for the hinterland in the ancient (7th century B.C.–5th century A.D.) and medieval times (14th–18th centuries A.D.) A cartographic delimitation model for the studied settlements' hinterlands was created. The Danube Delta is a dynamic interface between the geological history, the deltaic morphogenesis and the human occupation. The Danube Delta complex is one of the most important geo-political and cultural entities which can be described as a compound geographical unit that provides an exceptional biodiversity. Although this area has been intensely inhabited during the previous historical periods, underlined in the case of several ancient and medieval sources, only limited archaeological sites have been identified up to the present, and they are affected by the permanent extension and mobility of the Danube Delta. The Greek cities of Istros/Histria and Orgame/Argamum, colonies established by Miletus, which later continued their development as Roman cities, were located in the lagoonal region on the coast. The Roman fortification of Halmyris was situated on the Danube Delta's southern branch and the small bastion was located on the island called “Bisericuta”. Two other medieval fortresses were identified; Heraclea, probably a Genovese fortress (present-day Enisala), and the Ottoman fortification of Vadu, situated respectively at the western and southern limits of the Razim–Sinoie lagoon. There are still numerous scientific debates on the origin and evolution of the Danube Delta and the Black Sea. The specific studies on the recent evolution of the Danube's mouths (Antiquity and the Middle Ages) can provide essential and significant contributions to the habitat's dynamics in relation to the deltaic geomorphology. The rapid changes in the shoreline caused a massive exodus of the populations from the areas covered by water. The Milesian colonies of Histria and Argamum disappeared because of the rising sea level and because a barrier spit was built in front of the Halmyris Gulf, which caused the formation of the Razim–Sinoie lagoon.

الخط الكوفي الهندسي الشكل حلية زخرفية بجامع البرديني بالقاهرة "دراسة تحليلية مقارنة" (Geometric Kufic Script A Decorative Ornament in al-Bardini Mosque in Cairo ‘A Comparative Analysis Study’)

The Mosque of al-Khawaja Karim al-Din ibn Ahmad al-Bardini al-Shafei (1025-1038 AH/1616-1629 CE) monument no. 201, Daudi street, (previously Darb al-Fawakhir), north of Queen Safeya Mosque, Darb al-Ahmar, south of Cairo, in Mamluk style and its layout comprises a lounge perpendicular to it from the south-east is the Qibla Iwan (Mecca direction locator), with a curtain/drape on the inner left-side of its main door. It is perpendicular north- west to the lounge. The sheath is marble inlaid with mother-of-pearl in different areas, decorated with rectangular fillings including 12 star-shaped plates, and other various geometric motifs. This paper deals with the geometric kufic script in the Mosque. The author reads each inscription, carefully analyzes it, measures it, and compares it to other similar samples from previous historical periods. (Please note that this article is in Arabic)

Graffiti, Calliglyphs and Markers in the UK

Graffiti is a commonplace in the modern world but it is easy to project the concept of illegal graffiti into the past. Writing on walls in previous historical periods is discussed and as most was not illegal the concept of ‘calliglyphs’ is introduced to allow historic writing or drawings on walls or objects to be studied in context. The article then proposes the word ‘marker’ as a concept to define wider forms of personal expression and the human imprint in the late twentieth/early twenty-first century landscapes. A framework for markers is outlined based upon the concepts of permission and tolerance.

La historia como recurso explicativo y apoyo codificador en la obra académica actual

This paper analyzes the widespread presence of history and diachronic linguistics in the labour of codification recently carried out by Real Academia Española and Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española in their new books Nueva gramática de la lengua española and Ortografía de la lengua española. These works draw on a wide-ranging and reliable corpus of examples from previous historical periods.

A FIFTEENTH-CENTURY MIDDLE ENGLISH SERMON ON THE DECLINE OF THE WORLD AND THE AGE OF STONE

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.)TWs is an edition of a Middle English sermon preserved in London, British Library, Royal MS 8 F.vii.1 The text is not part of any longer cycle or collection of sermons, and seems in fact to have been a late addition to this manuscript, being bound in at the end with an incomplete copy of the Oculus sacerdotis, Veronica O'Mara includes this sermon in her 'Checklist of unedited late Middle English sermons that occur singly or in small groups', and it has also been described in the Repertonum of Late Middle English Prose Sermons compiled by O'Mara and Suzanne Paul, but the text has never been edited before, and has received very little critical attention.2 The sermon deserves to be better known, however, not least for its detailed accounts of materials derived from the first book of Ovid's Metamorphoses and from the Etymologies of Isidore of Seville. While Ovid and Isidore were often cited in medieval sermons, this text devotes an unusual amount of space to paraphrasing and explicating them, presenting a detailed account of Latinate learning in a semi-popular, vernacular context. For the most part, the sermon discusses Ovid and Isidore with comparatively Kttle concern for moral instruction, being at least as interested in the specialized information that these texts contain as it is in what they might be made to say by analogy about Scripture or pastoraKa. As a result, the Royal 8 F.vii sermon invites us to ask new questions about the kinds of material that were thought useful or appropriate for dissemination in fifteenth-century preaching, and to look again at the possibilities for education that were available in the controversial arena of vernacular writing.The protheme of the sermon describes the decline of the world using material attributed to Ovid, dividing prehistory into ages of gold, silver, brass, and iron on the model of Metamorphoses, book I, lines 89-150. Extending the logic of this narrative, the preacher extrapolates a fifth age, an age of stone, which encompasses the present day and is worse than any previous historical period. Finally, he compares the seven sins in this age of stone to the properties of seven different types of stone, citing the entries for diamond, beloculus, magnetite, coral, selenite, tombstone, and pyrite from Isidore's Etymologies, As such, the sermon amounts to a digest of materials from the core curriculum of Latin education, presented in the vernacular and accessible to a lay audience.Fifteenth-century preaching in Middle English has been characterized in terms of its self-conscious orthodoxy, primarily in response to WycHfism. Examining the evidence of late medieval English sermon texts, Helen Spencer concludes that 'there had been a conscious attempt, which lasted about twenty years, c1390- c.1410, by at least some secular priests to encourage preaching, followed by a period of successful repression, which in turn gave way to moderate promotion of sermon collections, often of a self-consciously orthodox kind'.3 Fifteenth-century sermons habitually avoid the exposition of Scripture, and focus instead on pastoraua, suggesting a studied effort to avoid those things that Wyclifism made controversial. This account of English preaching is the more persuasive because it accords with two important narratives about the role of English texts in late medieval religious life. The first of these describes how parish priests, obliged by thirteenth- and fourteenth-century pastoral legislation to provide their congregations with an elementary education in the faith, looked increasingly to the pulpit as a place to deliver it, and to English as the language to deliver it in.4 The second describes the rise and fall of Vernacular theology', the increasing sophistication of religious writing in English in the fourteenth century, and the suppression of this genre by legislation designed to limit the spread of Wyclifism in the fifteenth. …

CONTEMPORARY LABOR RESISTANCE IN CHINA, 1989–2009

In contemporary China, no sustained labor movement has emerged in the strict sense of the term, namely, an organized social movement initiated from below aimed at the redistribution of national income for the benefit of labor, or power sharing. The reasons for the absence of a militant labor movement in the early twenty‐first century contrast with previous historical periods. The authoritarianism of the one‐party state remains the most important factor throughout all the periods of leadership under the Chinese Communist Party, but there were also significant differences between the Mao period (1949–1976) and the Deng/post‐Deng period (1979–2009). In the former period, especially after 1956, workers were granted the title of zhurenweng (masters of the house); as “the leading class” in “socialist China,” they were seen by the party as the incarnation of “socialist industrialization.” The working class was the primary social force that the party had to rely on in the fight against “revisionism” or “capitalist restoration.” These titles must be heavily qualified by the fact that the workers, like the peasants, did not enjoy basic political freedoms, let alone genuine democratic rights to elect their workplace managers, trade union leadership, or their national leaders. In their daily lives, the honorary title of zhurenweng meant little to workers, who day in and day out had to take orders from their supposed “public servants,” the cadres.

Traveling through time: Respect and use of Virgin Mary icons in Serbian tradition and nowadays

The beginning of the process of repeated actualisation and revitalisation in Serbia coincided with the beginning of the social, economic and political crisis on the territory of the former SFRY, which took place in the beginning of 1990s.On the official political (and life) scene during the 1990s and in the first decade of the 21 century, religious symbols have been used liberally. In everyday life, casinos, brothels and new cars are consecrated, religious paraphernalia become current fashion accessories, icons are used to decorate premises of political parties, tycoons and businessmen, while images of saints entice customers from consumer goods, such as paper napkins, towels, key rings, spirits bottles, etc. Festive days, holidays, transitional and critical situations are frequently marked with mass gatherings under religious text or implications, but certainly once again using religious paraphernalia, only this time those which evoke collectivity and national unity. Thus, while in public premises it is usual to see an icon of St. Sava, the first Serbian archbishop, as well as the icon of the White Angel, a detail from the painting The myrrh-bearers on Christ's grave, at mass celebrations, but equally so at revolutionary street protest rallies (which in the capital were plentiful during the last dozen years), as well as at celebrations of town Patron Saint's days and various festivities, there appears the image of the Theotokos. Leading processional walks of the towns, it emerges as a symbol which manages to mobilise the nation with its fullness and multi-layered meaning. Political and ideological usage of Virgin Mary icons is characteristic of not only modern Serbian society. This paper also brings the review of traditional cult and respect of Virgin Mary and Her icons and their usage in secular context in previous historical periods.

Seoul Searching: How Do Mobile Communication Technologies Alter Urban Mobility?

The majority of research on the information revolution in Korea focuses exclusively on the 1990s, disregarding previous historical periods, claiming that decade marked the beginning of an “information society.” This article, on the other hand, adopts a wider, sociohistorical perspective on urban mobility and mobile communication technologies in the Korean context. By doing so, it recontextualizes the shifting relationship between mobile communication technologies and urban mobility and provides insights into how the modern social geography of mobility in Seoul is being constantly made and remade. In particular, the article focuses upon the social space of bang (literally “room” in Korean) as a product of the specific modern spatial rearrangement of the public and the private. It examines how the organizing principles of social spaces are moving from enclosure and containment to connection and distribution.

Design by the Rules: The Historical Underpinnings of Form-Based Codes

Problem: Form-based codes (FBCs) affect the design of cities with rules about building form and location. They are of renewed interest to modern planners, but their history and that of coding reform generally are largely unexplored. Purpose: This research traces the historical lineage of FBCs. Methods: This work is based on archival research on historic codes regulating urban development. I also used secondary sources on coding history, both from the United States and abroad. Results and conclusions: I describe examples from a long history of rules governing building form and placement, considering those intended to produce particular effects on urban form as direct antecedents of modern FBCs. Takeaway for practice: Today's codes are more complex and difficult to implement than their predecessors. Modern FBCs require community participation and visioning to create consensus, whereas in previous historical periods such agreement was taken for granted and many aspects of urban form were dictated by technological and other constraints. Research support: This article is one product of a larger research project on the history of urban codes. The research was funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Further information can be found at http://codesproject.asu.edu/

Self-Determination and Indigenous Peoples in International Law

In an era of pragmatism, dominated by institutions in international law, scholars have so far failed to move away from longstanding elitist attitudes and practices regarding the politics of power inherent in international relations and in international law. To no surprise, questions of universality and particularity keep recurring with little hope of resolution. This is especially evident in the arena of international human rights law, where human rights discourse claims universality while remaining deeply embedded in the colonial sources of the international legal order. At the same time, such rights discourses offer promises of liberation by mobilizing marginalized peoples everywhere. By focusing on indigenous1 rights in international law, this investigation seeks to engage with a larger contemporary inquiry into the universalist aspirations of the public international legal order and the continued debate over the possibility of globally accepted human rights. As a result of a state-centred international legal order, the unresolved status of indigenous claims unfolds in the context of a global struggle over universal human rights, where indigenous rights do not seem to be easily recognizable in either the national or international arena. This analysis will examine the struggle over the recognition of indigenous peoples as subjects under public international law and their right to self determination as expressed in Articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter, as well as in common Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). Three guiding questions will orient the analysis. First, Part II will address whether the established human rights discourse can serve as a strategic tool for indigenous peoples, or whether it works to delegitimize indigenous discourses and world views. Second, Part III examines the difference, if any, between the present situation of indigenous peoples in international law from that of previous historical periods. And finally, Part IV asks whether a contradiction exists between the right to self-determination as a liberating, legal instrument, and the current politics of national reconciliation that purport to bring peace and security.