•A diachronous approach to study of community gardens has been employed.•The methodology consists of participatory observation and semi-structured interviews.•Gardens in socialism are seen as a ...continual of rural practices in an urban society.•In post-socialism they are seen as an example of communal involvement.•Visual characteristics of community gardens changes in two contrasting periods.
This paper provides an in-depth analysis of community gardens in a (post)socialist setting during a time of key changes in their perception and management. Community gardens in Zagreb emerged in two specific economic and socio-cultural contexts and a diachronous approach to the study of urban gardens offers a unique insight into differences and similarities reflecting and contrasting those periods. Semi-structured interviews and non-participatory observation were employed. Results show that community gardens in Zagreb are multilayered places which satisfy diverse needs of the urban residents, including home grown food, socializing, recreation, contact with the nature, and supplementation for low pensions. They can also be seen as examples of heterotopias or alternative spaces during both examined periods. In the socialist period they were secluded, private, pseudo-rural places in a semi-authoritarian, communal, and (supposedly) urban and industrial society. In post-socialist Zagreb, characterized by an uncontrolled and unplanned spatial context reliant on neoliberal market-oriented principles, social insensitivity and exclusion, the new gardens are depicted as beacons of communal involvement, grassroots movements, and the ability of citizens to stand together and make their voices heard.
LEADER has often been praised as a successful approach to rural development, although its implementation is not without scholarly critiques. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the ...understanding of how LEADER, now in its initial phase in Croatia, operates within the shifting local power relations in rural areas. We focus on questions concerning the social background of the new LEADER project class, financing, the influence of local politics and the trust and involvement of the local population. Since factors contributing to success and failure of EU programmes have often been attributed to their localization into a specific territorial context, among other things, we use a regional and typological approach in selecting 10 LAGs for conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that, in relation to the local territorial context, the differentiation between the internal and external project classes might be useful as an analytical tool. Furthermore, we have confirmed that there might be pitfalls in using financial criteria as the only instrument of assessment for evaluation which disregards whether the projects implemented are inclusive and responsive to the needs of the whole of local populace - which runs contrary to the basic tenets of LEADER. Finally, the role of local politics has been specifically identified in two diametrical territorial contexts (rural periphery, and more dynamic developed areas).
Plurality is considered to be one of the most important indicators of rurality in the contemporary society. But in what sense can plurality and diversified geographic context of countryside make a ...difference for development of farm tourism, if any? This paper aims to explore the significance of rural diversity of Croatia for farm diversification into leisure-orientated activities. The main method is comparison of spatial distribution of those farms, on the one hand, and seven different types of rural areas, on the other. Among others, the results indicate the significance of overall (mass) tourism development along the coast for development of tourism on agricultural households. Furthermore, age and education are confirmed as important factor in the process.
Pluralnost je jedan od najznačajnjih suvremenih obilježja ruralnosti. No imaju li pluralnost i diverzificiranost geografskih obilježja ruralnih područja utjecaja na razvoj turizma na seljačkim domaćinstvima? Cilj ovog istraživanja jest istraživanje važnosti različitih tipova ruralnih područja za diverzifikaciju seljačkih domaćinstava i pružanje turističkih sličnih usluga. Osnovna istraživačka metoda jest usporedba prostornog razmještaja takvih domaćinstava s sedam različitih tipova ruralnih područja koji su određeni tehnikama multivarijatne (faktorske i klaster) analize. Rezultati, među ostalim, upućuju na značaj koji za pojavu i razvoj turizma na seljačkim domaćinstvima ima masovni kupališni turizam u priobalju. Također, potvrđena je važna uloga dobne i obrazovne strukture stanovništva.
Fiber probe for nonlinear imaging applications Lukić, Aleksandar; Dochow, Sebastian; Chernavskaia, Olga ...
Journal of biophotonics,
January 2016, Letnik:
9, Številka:
1-2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Over the past years it had been demonstrated that multimodal imaging combining the nonlinear modalities coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), two-photon excited auto-fluorescence (TPEF) and ...second harmonic generation (SHG) show a great potential for tissue diagnosis and tumor identification. To extend the applicability of this multimodal imaging approach for in-vivo tissue screening of difficult to access body regions the development of suitable fiber optic probes is required. Here we report about a novel CARS imaging fiber probe consisting of 10,000 coherent light guiding elements preserving the spatial relationship between the entrance and the output of the fiber. Therefore the scanning procedure can be shifted from the distal to the proximal end of the fiber probe and no moving parts or driving current are required to realize in-vivo CARS endoscopy.
The academic picture of a globalized European countryside, and particularly of rural areas in postsocialist, new member states of the European Union, is one of huge and increasing complexity, ...diversity, and uncertainties about the future. The aim of this research is to construct alternative scenarios for rural Croatia in 2030, acknowledging its postsocialist transition as an important framework. Future development scenarios were constructed by integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches. The main methods used were: factor and cluster analysis; Monte Carlo simulation; and Delphi method, involving 37 rural experts in two rounds of written questionnaires. Four scenarios were developed: Rural Renaissance, Shift, Road to Nowhere, and Growth without Development. These scenarios provide a set of well-documented and reasonable assumptions to aid in thinking about possible future paths for the Croatian countryside, while at the same time allowing for the discussion of rural development paradigms.
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