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If it can be shown that peace is one of the first outcome of the Democracy movement, many else will follow this in time. Today is defined by the awakenings or new awakenings that attract attention by the common social identification which is completely different than defining by being a member of a nation state or a social class. Consequently, this work of mine involves a struggle in analyzing problems of the present age with building a multi dimensional commentary theory, and contributing to building a livable world in the next century that will understand the global phase of capitalism in all its complexity. The work asserts that globalization that brings description and critique to be highly valued for the fast and rooted changes we live in, crises we face, particularly the crisis of representative democracy, provides very important contributions especially by philosophers like Diamond, Plattner and Sartori, in order to understand the present age.
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Generation of electric power increased rapidly in the late 19th century. Riga introduced these new technologies very early: the first electric bulbs were switched on here as early as 1876. In the 1890s, more than twenty small private power stations operated in Riga. The first small power station funded by Riga’s municipal government was constructed next to the Riga City Theatre and canal in 1887. In the early 20th century, the local authority monopolised this field and created the first centralised power supply system. This article explores the construction history and architecture of Riga’s power utilities, including the small architectural forms that emerged in Riga’s urban environment along with the building of the main electric power plant. Riga City Power Station in Andrejosta. Situation, Construction History and ArchitectureRiga’s municipal government was interested in commissioning effective and lasting utility structures; therefore high-level specialists with a European reputation were invited to design projects in fields where there was no previous local experience. Engineer Oskar Miller (1855–1934) from Munich, founding father of the German electrical power industry and co-founder of the international concern Allgemeine Elektrazitäts-Gesellshaft (AEG), had become renowned in the sphere of urban electrification. When the municipality approved the introduction of a centralised electric supply system in late 1901, Miller was entrusted with designing the power station. Early on the location of the power station was allocated at Andrejosta, an industrial territory quite close to the city centre as well as next to the railway and waterway. Miller devised the power station project in 1902. Architect Karl Felsko (1844–1918) worked out the project’s details, endowing the overall image of the power station complex with architectonic expressiveness. Construction supervised by Felsko began in 1903 and the object was put into operation on 1 May 1905. Felsko had given the silhouette of the building ensemble a dynamic nature, and a small tower with a pyramidal spire served as a vertical accent, emphasising the power station entrance. This element could remind one of a sacred architectural ensemble. Besides, unlike most examples of Riga’s industrial architecture built of yellow brick, the power station complex was constructed of red brick. The colour may have been chosen because of parallels with the sacred tradition in the shaping of the image of the complex. The base part of the façade, bands of cornice dentils and window surrounds were plastered and painted white, creating an expressive contrast between the dark red brick wall areas and the light plastering. Comparing Miller’s sketches with the realised object, one should note that Felsko had introduced much more audacious and modern solutions for the window openings, significantly reducing the supporting function of the end wall of the turbine hall and glazing in the largest part of the wall plane. The Riga coat of arms decorated the entrance to the power station, demonstrating the municipality as the owner of the complex. Substation Architecture of Riga’s Electrical GridAlong with the electrical grid, substations were also installed: in 1905 there were 57 transformer points in Riga but in 1914 their number had risen to 306. Such small transformer points in Riga’s urban space had iron containers or kiosks set up in the early 20th century, larger structures were enclosed in purpose-built stone constructions. The stone substations were similar in appearance to kiosks. The main transformer station was located on Aleksandra (present day Brīvības) Boulevard and it was designed by the City Architect of the time Reinhold Schmaeling (1840–1917). It was a pavilion-type building enclosed by the park greenery. The building had a circular layout. The roof dome topped with a lantern was covered with dark-coloured tiles in a scale-type pattern, creating a textural effect and tonal contrast to the modelling of light façade surfaces. The form of the building with its sinuous rhythm and decorative façade finish complied with the character of Art Nouveau. The appliqué-type decorative sculpture of the façade contained modern abstract, geometric motifs of the time, such as the circle and three grooves. A geometrically stylised sun motif was included in the portal part while a naturalistic sunflower motif crowned the portal and was repeated in the décor of the cornice strip. These motifs were most likely intended to emphasise the semantic meaning of the plastic décor, bearing in mind the building’s function of introducing modern lighting in the city. The small free-standing building in the very centre of the city’s ring of boulevards had given the architect a chance to express himself as a skilful master of building. If this substation located in the city’s representational and recreation zone had stylistically valuable, individualised architecture, in other places rational simplicity and standardisation were preferred. Three so-called iron containers have survived in Riga’s public space from the early 20th century; they were mass-produced for substations by the local Union factory. It was founded as a branch of the German venture in Riga in 1898 but was taken over by the international concern AEG already in 1904. In 1914, the city had several dozens of such low-voltage switching stations. These small architectural forms were visually similar to advertising hoardings, so they came with the warning: “Do not paste advertisements here!” During World War I, most of power station equipment and transformers were evacuated to Russia in 1915 and 1916. At the end of World War II, strategic objects of Riga’s power grid, including the power station in Andrejsala, were destroyed in 1944.
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The paper deals with the renewed muafiyet of ahali in the kasaba and of re-establishment of a market day as an important need by all of its inhabitants. In addition to being intensively credited by Krzlaraga Mustafa-aga, muafiyet was the second important factor of the development of the kasaba. According to the renewed muafname, as well as according to the manner in which authorities produced documents to solve the issues of tax exemptions and benefits to certain categories of persons, it can be concluded that muafiyet referred to the ahali of the kasaba. It also explains the term ahali that, as related to the mentioned muafiyet, referred to persons who were eligible for and capable of initiating and maintaining the agricultural development of a certain kasaba. The privileges of tax exemption awarded through the first muafname of 1591 to inhabitants of newly established kasaba referred to the inhabitants personally, providing they “revive and urbanize the place”, i.e. the kasaba. However, after the issuance of a renewed muafname, it can be seen that the authorities such as vali and kadi, based on the text of muafiyet, approved privileges to ahali of the kasaba not only for use of wakf land within the limits of stipulations of the first hududname of 1590, but also for their own land out of wakf. For urban development of the kasaba of that time, it was not enough to just establish the center of the town. Because of agriculture as a prevailing industry of the time, cultivation of land was essential regardless of the fact whether it belonged to wakf or not. Muafiyet awarded to the ahali at the time of the establishment of the kasaba, which after expiry of muafname in 1697 and its renewal in 1734, was valid all until 1844. The paper explains another significant decision of 1590 connected with Varcar Vakuf. Although it was determined that the regular market day be set, there was no market day after 1697. After the attack by Austrian army and after displacement of the kasaba population, the market day was not established before 1805 although it was not on Friday as before but on Sunday.
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Censuses, performed by the Ottoman Finance Organization in order to determine the taxpayers in different districts and different times, contain important information about administrative, economic and military structure of the State. These censuses were recorded with different names such as land, avarız and temettuat registrations. The main aim at this study is to examine the changes in the socio-economic structure and population of Gediz District in Kütahya Sanjak which was the center of the Anadolu Governor depending on the land registrations in the Beyazit II Era and the avarız registrations in the XVII century.
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In this paper we propose to further examine the possibilities that the late migrations of the 11th – 13thcenturies induced periods of growth and decline of agrarian settlements, but also the intensifications of trade and communications in the Eastern Carpathian area. The rhythm and intensity of the invasions are indicative of the reinforcement of the tribal confederation in southern Moldavia and in Wallachia, as a result of the gradual migration of Turkic peoples from North Pontic area to the west.It is possible that extra-Carpathian territories played the role of buffer zones between the nomads and the Christian states. The function of buffer zones was to reduce the likelihood of conflict, but these regions also feature an opportunity for peaceful exchange, and so they may develop into centers of trade.During the 11th – 13th centuries, the local communities of Moldavia had the characteristics of a sedentary and rural society, bonded to its traditional occupations, agriculture, and stock breeding, completed by artisan occupations. Given the favorable environment, this economic profile was sufficient for subsistence and could occasionally produce a surplus for exchange.This reexamination of the nomads’ way of life and of their influence on agrarian communities suggests that there was much more than a just interaction between the civilizations of East and West. Extreme climatic and geographical conditions repeatedly made Central Asian peoples develop modes of subsistence and institutional structures that had huge consequences for world history.New sources continue to appear and so we hope to be able to rule out some explanations and find support for others. In order to test the explanations for the relation between sedentary/farmer and nomad / warrior / conqueror we need quantitative data with good temporal resolution over the relevant time period and in the relevant regions for settlement, climate change, epidemic diseases, migrations, trade, and warfare.
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This project deals with the times of Suleiman the Magnificent (1522–1566) and the doge Andrea Gritti (1523–1538). However, the basic problem it focuses on is information – the information that Venice collected through its diplomatic envoys in the capital on the Bosporus and which is preserved to this day in the Venetian archives. Of course, the gathering of information on the Turks, the appearance and development of the so-called genre “delle cose dei Turchi” certainly did not first arise at that time. Interest in the subject goes back to Byzantine times and naturally continued after the conquest of Constantinople. Venice was in a most advantageous situation in this respect, for it had knowledge about the territories and its population accumulated over centuries, as well as commercial and economic ties of centuries’ standing with various cities and ports. This knowledge and these skills were handed down over the years by its officials, merchants and diplomats and preserved through documents in its archives. Venice played a major role in collecting information and carrying it over from the East to the West. Merchants were the most active factors in this activity. Subsequently, especially in the 16th century, these processes achieved a completed form with the development of diplomatic practices and the functioning of the Venetian system of governance, developed into numerous offices and chancelleries of the Serenissima. Their most outstanding manifestations were the famous Venetian relazioni – the reports by diplomatic envoys of the Republic, ceremoniously presented to the Senate. The first preserved written texts of this kind date back to the late 15th century.
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In the Angevin era, the magister tavarnicorum was first of all the highest office-bearer of financial administration, but he also had other functions. Firstly the magister tavarnicorum’s function as ‘ordinary judge’ actually meant that he was at this time regarded as the main court of appeal for cases heard in towns, or the judge of towns. This function began to accrue to the magister tavarnicorum in the second half of the thirteenth century but only became fully formed in the Angevin era. The magister tavarnicorum’s judicial powers were manifested in diverse matters and can be traced through charters of privilege granted to towns and documents recording his actions in specific cases.
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The review of: Cinderella Goes to Market: Citizenship, gender anti women’s movements in East Central Europe by Barbara Einhorn; London, New York: Verso, 1993. 280 pp.
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Rural landscape and medieval communities have often been regarded as being mainly static, belonging to some “traditional” or unchanging past. This stereotype point of view can be rejected, by regarding the agriculture as a dynamic process, where the main roles were held by nature, rural landscape and ecological space and the individual with his concerns, feelings and experiences, permanently balancing between stability, change, resilience, crisis and innovation. The daily routine and the medieval man’s concern to provide food, structured its relationship with the environment, as well as inter-community relations. The knowledge regarding crops and plants, soils and climate were complemented by skills and experience in agriculture, metalwork and tool manufacture, all these being placed in a natural, anthropogenetic and socially distinct environment. The present study stands for an introduction to an intricate analysis of the medieval rural world of the Eastern Carpathian area. Such an article meets the necessity of an enlarged database, as it takes into consideration information provided by corroborating disparate and often anachronistic or confusing archaeological and historical data. Medieval rural research started quite late inRomania, in the second half of the 19th century, when a few studies were published by ethnologists, linguists, and agronomists. It was only towards the middle of the 20th century, when the rural areas started to be archaeologically investigated but without substance and consistency.In our country, elements of "everyday life" and agricultural space organization were briefly discussed, the research being tainted by the lack of historical sources (written sources and archaeological research). Our historical and archaeological data cannot be compared to the situation in other European countries and, moreover, what we have has not been exploited enough. In addition, such a topic requires the use of a very large range of information provided by several complementary fields of research, interdisciplinarity being instrumental in this case. Nowadays, topics related to human inter-relations, individual and communal mentality, food and culinary practices, hygiene, education, culture and religious practices, ordinary and eschatological fear, archaic landscape and the ecology of the daily medieval landscape, are a constant presence in European scientific circles and research programs. In many academic centers of Europe important monographic works and studies were published, on topics such as rural territory organization and structure of countryside communities, paleoclimatology, agricultural landscape and the ecology of rural settlements, commercial networks, and centers of production, culinary art, etc.
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A particular feature of the land law in the Post-Byzantine world is the priority of seller’s relatives in any land exchange. This right of preemption, “protimesis” (προτιμήσις) was strictly enforced, any irregularities in the transaction resulting in it annulment, even one year after the fact. The “crying” of the sale, at the crossroads and in the majority of public places, had precisely the role of determining the relatives of the seller or, in certain cases, one of the previous owners of the land, to make known his/her formal optionof accepting or declining the purchase, exerting or waiving thus the right of preemption. The crying procedure used the same personnel as the procedure of public auction announcement in the cases of sale of sequestered/confiscated goods or properties (sultan mezat). As the official gazette was inexistent, the crying is the only public address instrument, for official announcements and commercial advertisement, the professional criers being equal in importance to the executors and the land surveyors. In certain cases, the crier was also employed as one of the latter, and this versatile profession is one of the bases of the concept of public servant in modern Moldavia. The main documentary source consists in the legal decisions and court orders bearing on disputed and/or seized property. As there is no clear-cut evidence for the existence of public space in the Romanian Middle Ages, the presence of the criers in the documentary sources indicate the reality of an implicit public space, with visual and sonorous existence, even though it lacks a materiality that is clear, stable and formally defined. The fixed “crying spots” at the crossroads are augmented by the mobile announcements of the infamies during the “walk” of the felons from the court to the place of punishment, which could be in certain cases the one’s domicile or the scene of one’s crime. Together with the cried official announcements, both fixed and mobile, of the government’s decisions, the real estate market is the main formal contributor to the sound-townscape in the Proto-Modern European Orient.
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The increase in forest cover and the reduction in agricultural land area has become a common feature of the contemporary landscape in Poland. This article presents an overview of the trends of farmland afforestation in the Commune of Szadek in the last two decades. The economic factors that shaped the process of farmland to woodland transformation are presented. The results show that the forest land area has increased in the last 20 years. In general, around 300 ha of arable land and wasteland were afforested in the years 1995–2015, of which 172 ha belonged to owners from the private sector. However, in the last decade there were only 27 ha of private lands converted to woodlands. Since Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004, the afforestation of arable lands has been financially supported by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) within the Rural Development Programme (RDP) in accordance with the principles of the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The financial support of afforestation programme in the Commune of Szadek amounts over 800 thousands zloty per 23,75 ha of woodlands (data of Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture). The scale and rate of farmland afforestation depended on the available financial measures and sufficiently clear rules for afforestation programmes within RDP. However, the negative economic experiences arising from the instability of the contemporary Polish and European economies and rules, curbs the process of economically (afforestation of land unsuitable for agricultural use) and/or ecologically (forest restoration within a deforested landscape) justified afforestation of poor agricultural lands and wastelands.
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