This book traces the development of the Polish theory of history, analysing how Jerzy Topolski, Krzysztof Pomian, and Olga Tokarczuk have both built upon and transgressed the metahistorical theories ...of American historian Hayden White. Poland’s reception of White’s work has gone through different phases, from distancing to a period of fascination and eventual critical analysis, beginning with Topolski's methodological school in the 1980s. Topolski played a major role in international debates on historical theory in the second half of the 20th century. The book’s second study is a rare opportunity for English-speaking audiences to engage with the thoughts of Pomian, a philosopher and historian of ideas who has both complemented and developed theories of historical cognition independently from White. In the final chapter, the book presents a study of the historical imagination in 21st-century Central and Eastern Europe through the work of novelist Tokarczuk, the winner of the 2018Nobel Prize in Literature. In considering the contributions of these three thinkers, the book explores the active process by which past becomes history and thus motivates contemporary actions and realities. By deconstructing and reconstructing contemporary theories of history, this research is a unique contribution to the fields of historiography and the philosophy of history.
This paper explores the geography of microbreweries in three countries in Central Europe: the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. Each has a long, turbulent, and different history of brewing, but ...in the twenty-first century all of them have experienced the change in this market caused by the so-called craft beer revolution. First, in an exhaustive literature review, we present the reasons for the craft beer proliferation in the world and characterize the beer market in these three countries. We also identify the factors that might lead to the location and clustering of craft breweries. Second, we empirically test where the microbreweries tend to locate and what the driving forces are in the clustering patterns in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia, using spatial statistical models (LISA and spatial lag) and data from Eurostat and collected by the authors. Our findings suggest that craft brewers cluster in Central Europe, for reasons related to income and general well-being, the education level, economic activity and creativity, the age of the population, and the distance from cities.
•Craft breweries in Central Europe have a strong tendency towards clustering.•Above-average breweries’ concentration dominates mainly in the Czech Republic.•Craft breweries’ location is related to the level of socioeconomic factors.•GDP, employment, population age have a positive impact on the number of craft breweries.•Brewing traditions, well-being and education level do not play a large role in craft breweries’ location.
Als in Europa der Zweite Weltkrieg zu Ende ging, begann ein bis heute umstrittenes Kapitel europäischer Geschichte: die Flucht und Vertreibung der Deutschen aus Ostmitteleuropa. Dieser ...geschichtspolitische Konflikt lässt sich 'besichtigen': Er materialisiert sich in verschiedenen europäischen Museen, die 'Flucht und Vertreibung' interpretieren und ausstellen. Vincent Regente arbeitet die erinnerungskulturellen Auseinandersetzungen am Beispiel von sieben aktuellen Museumsprojekten in Berlin, Danzig, Brüssel, Görlitz, Kattowitz, Aussig und München erstmalig vergleichend heraus. Sein konsequent trinationaler Ansatz, der die deutschen, polnischen und tschechischen Sichtweisen gleichermaßen berücksichtigt, eröffnet neue Perspektiven für das Verständnis des Diskurses über 'Flucht und Vertreibung'.
This article examines the development of corporate research and development (R&D) in the automotive industry of East-Central Europe (ECE) in the context of the internationalization of corporate R&D ...generally and the automotive industry R&D specifically. Driven by large inflows of foreign direct investment since the early 1990s, vehicle assembly and the production of automotive components grew significantly in ECE. In my study I investigated the extent to which these increases in production have also led to the development of automotive R&D as an example of a higher value-added function of the automotive value chain. I conducted a more detailed analysis of Czech automotive R&D because of its prominent position in ECE. Despite modest growth, my analysis uncovered inherent weaknesses of automotive R&D in ECE and strong barriers to its future development related to its peripheral position in the European and global automotive production networks.
The Palaeozoic Variscan oceans revisited Franke, Wolfgang; Cocks, L. Robin M.; Torsvik, Trond H.
Gondwana research,
August 2017, 2017-08-00, Letnik:
48
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Geological evidence, supported by biogeographical data and in accord with palaeomagnetic constraints, indicates that “one ocean” models for the Variscides should be discarded, and confirms, instead, ...the existence of three Gondwana-derived microcontinents which were involved in the Variscan collision: Avalonia, North Armorica (Franconia and Thuringia subdivided by a failed Vesser Rift), and South Armorica (Central Iberia/Armorica/Bohemia), all divided by small oceans. In addition, parts of south-eastern Europe, including Adria and Apulia, are combined here under the new name of Palaeo-Adria, which was also Peri-Gondwanan in the Early Palaeozoic. Oceanic separations were formed by the break-up of the northern Gondwana margin from the Late Cambrian onwards. Most of the oceans or seaways remained narrow, but – much like the Alpine Cenozoic oceans – gave birth to orogenic belts with HP-UHP metamorphism and extensive allochthons: the Saxo-Thuringian Ocean between North and South Armorica and the Galicia-Moldanubian Ocean between South Armorica and Palaeo-Adria. Only the Rheic Ocean between Avalonia and peri-Gondwana was wide enough to be unambiguously recorded by biogeography and palaeomagnetism, and its north-western arm closed before or during the Emsian in Europe. Ridge subduction under the northernmost part of Armorica in the Emsian created the narrow and short-lived Rheno-Hercynian Ocean. It is that ocean (and not the Rheic) whose opening and closure controlled the evolution of the Rheno-Hercynian foldbelt in south-west Iberia, south-west England, Germany, and Moravia (Czech Republic). Devonian magmatism and sedimentation set within belts of Early Variscan deformation and metamorphism are probably strike-slip-related. The first arrival of flysch on the forelands and/or the age of deformation of foreland sequences constrains the sequential closure of the Variscan seaways (Galicia-Moldanubian in the Givetian; Saxo-Thuringian in the Early Famennian; Rheno-Hercynian in the Tournaisian). Additional Mid- to Late Devonian and (partly) Early Carboniferous magmatism and extension in the Rheno-Hercynian, Saxo-Thuringian and Galicia-Moldanubian basins overlapped with Variscan geodynamics as strictly defined. The Early Carboniferous episode was the start of episodic anorogenic heating which lasted until the Permian and probably relates to Tethys rifting.
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•A multi-disciplinary Palaeozoic model for the Variscides is presented.•The north-west segment of the Rheic Ocean closed during the Early Devonian.•Gondwana moved independantly from the Armorican Terrane Assemblage from the Silurian onwards.
Summary
Soil is a non‐renewable resource that requires constant monitoring to prevent its degradation and promote its sustainable management. The ‘Land Use/Cover Area frame statistical Survey Soil’ ...(LUCAS Soil) is an extensive and regular topsoil survey that is carried out across the European Union to derive policy‐relevant statistics on the effect of land management on soil characteristics. Approximately 45 000 soil samples have been collected from two time‐periods, 2009–2012 and 2015. A new sampling series will be undertaken in 2018, with new measurements included. The organization for the 2018 sampling campaign represents an opportunity to summarize past LUCAS Soil achievements and present its future objectives. In 2009–2012 and 2015, LUCAS Soil surveys targeted physicochemical properties, including pH, organic carbon, nutrient concentrations and cation exchange capacity. Data from 2009–2012 (ca. 22 000 points) and derived output (more than 20 maps) are available freely from the European Soil Data Centre website. Analyses of samples collected during 2015 are ongoing and data will be available at the end of 2017. In the 2018 LUCAS Soil sampling campaign, additional properties, including bulk density, soil biodiversity, specific measurements for organic‐rich soil and soil erosion will be measured. Here we present the current dataset (LUCAS Soil 2009–2012 and 2015), its potential for reuse and future development plans (LUCAS Soil 2018 and over). LUCAS Soil represents the largest harmonized open‐access dataset of topsoil properties available for the European Union at the global scale. It was developed as an expandable resource, with the possibility to add new properties and sampling locations during successive sampling campaigns. Data are available to the scientific community and decision makers, thus contributing to both research and the development of the land‐focused policy agenda.
Highlights
LUCAS Soil consists of soil physicochemical and biological properties data from Europe.
Harmonized and open‐access dataset allowing inclusion of soil in large‐scale inter‐disciplinary assessments.
LUCAS Soil has a broad pool of users from scientists to policy makers, and applications from map validation to modelling.
LUCAS Soil confirms the need for open‐access and a large‐scale dataset for soil properties.
Aggregation assembles different size mixtures of soil particles into a larger architecture. Such mixtures impede resolving which particles build aggregates and how these control the accumulation of ...soil organic matter (OM). Here we present an approach to differentiate the size distributions of soil fractions in the size range of microaggregates (<250 μm) from their dispersible particle-size distribution using dynamic image analysis. This approach enabled us to differentiate the magnitude and preferential size ranges of aggregates and non-aggregated particles. Wet sieving was used to isolate free microaggregate-sized fractions. Larger soil structures >250 μm were sonicated to isolate occluded size fractions <250 μm. To investigate the impact of soil texture, we analyzed topsoil samples of an arable site on Cambisol soils with a gradient in clay content of 16–37% and organic carbon concentrations of 10–15 g kg−1. Our results demonstrate how soil texture governs aggregate size distributions: most water-stable microaggregates were found to be of approximately 30 μm diameter, independent of the clay content gradient. High-clay soils contain more water-stable macroaggregates (>250 μm) and larger microaggregates in the 50–180 μm size range. The low-clay soils, on the other hand, contained more non-aggregated sand-sized particles >100 μm which probably hampered the buildup of larger aggregates. The size distribution of particles <100 μm in size fractions <250 μm showed a similar prevailing soil texture pattern, with approximately 24% clay, 59% silt, and 17% sand-sized particles at all clay contents. In contrast to the prevailing texture pattern along the clay content gradient, 4% more clay-sized particles helped build up water-stable macroaggregates. In the low-clay soils, the aggregates were smaller and the size fractions <53 μm had higher OM concentrations. This indicates that the low-clay soils held most of their OM in smaller microaggregates. Such arrangement of OM in smaller microaggregates demonstrates that soil texture may control OM stabilization mostly indirectly via the distribution of OM in different aggregate fractions. The occlusion of microaggregates in larger structures led to lower alkyl:O/N-alkyl ratios in 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, indicating increased preservation.
•Size-specific approach to differentiate soil aggregates from unaggregated particles•Larger and more occluded microaggregates in high-clay soils•Most soil microaggregates sized 30 μm independent of clay content.•Soil organic matter sequestration decoupled from direct influence of soil texture.•Instead, soil microaggregation governs organic matter distribution and composition.
Since July 2013, the project D4 of the Collaborative Research Centre 806 at the University of Cologne has dealt with the Mesolithic in western Germany. During the first phase of this research, the ...primary tasks were to establish a regional chronology for the Middle Stone Age on the one hand, and the mapping of all known sites in the Rhineland and Westphalia regarding the different Mesolithic phases on the other. Since July 2017, the project has focused on mobility, cultural exchange, and human-environment interactions during the Final Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic in Central Europe. Due to the poor conditions of preservation, numerous Palaeolithic and Mesolithic assemblages only contain lithic artefacts. Communication networks and mobility patterns of the hunter-gatherer groups can be deduced from the raw material of these finds for a considerable number of sites. Apart from pottery, lithic artefacts and their resources also illustrate the social and economic networks during the Neolithic. The raw material of knapped artefacts and their potential geological sources offer important information relating to the project's goals.
A map of the potential raw material sources for knapped artefacts in comparison with the archaeological finds is the basis for any suggestion about mobility patterns and communication networks. In general, information on geological lithic sources and the archaeological inventories in western Central Europe is far more detailed than for other regions. These data and all the information gathered on lithic raw material sources for western Germany and the Benelux countries allow us to provide a GIS-database using the software QGIS in the form of several maps and data tables with geological and archaeological information as well as detailed descriptions and references.
One important result of this paper addresses the reconstruction of lithic raw material catchment areas. Three examples from younger Mesolithic sites show that the more precise petrographic method for identifying lithic raw materials results in much larger catchment areas than traditional macroscopic identification, leading to new considerations for estimating population densities during the later Middle Stone Age.
The aim of this study was to assess the soil contamination caused by potentially toxic elements (Al, As, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se, V, and Zn) using various indices and the associated risk of ...human health for adults and children in selected soils from Germany (Calcic Luvisols, Tidalic Fluvisols, Haplic Gleysols, and Eutric Fluvisols) and Egypt (Haplic Calcisols, Sodic Fluvisols, and Eutric Fluvisols). Soil contamination degree has been assessed using indices such as contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), and enrichment factor. We also assessed the health risk for children and for male and female adults. Chromium, Cu, As, Mo, Ni, Se, and Zn in the German Fluvisols had high CF of >6, while in the Egyptian Fluvisols Se, Mo, As, and Al revealed a high CF. The PLI (1.1–5.2) was higher than unity in most soils (except for Tidalic Fluvisols), while the most important contributor was Se, followed by Mo and As in the Egyptian Fluvisols, and by Cr, Cu, and Zn in the German Fluvisols. The median value of hazard index (HI) for children in the studied soils indicated an elevated health risk (higher than one), especially in the German Fluvisols (HI = 4.0–29.0) and in the Egyptian Fluvisols (HI = 2.2–5.2). For adults, median HIs in all soils were lower than unity for both males and females. The key contributor to HI was As in the whole soil profiles, accounting for about 59% of the total HIs in all three person groupings. Our findings show that in the studied multi-element contaminated soils the risk for children’s health is higher than for adults; while mainly As (and Al, Cr, Cu, and Fe) contributed significantly to soil-derived health risk.
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•German Eutric Fluvisols are highly polluted by Cu, Cr, Zn, Cd, Pb, and As.•Egyptian Fluvisols and Haplic Gleysols are highly polluted by Al, Se, Mo, and V.•The hazard index for children indicated an elevated health risk in all soils.•The risk for children’s health is higher than for adults in all soils.•As, Cr, Al, Fe, and Cu contributed significantly to soil-derived health risk.
Soil contamination was very high in the studied soils (pollution load index ranged from 1.1 to 5.2), especially in the German and Egyptian Fluvisols; health risk for children was higher than for adults, and As, Al, Cr, Cu, and Fe had a key role in soil-derived health risk.
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