Carolingian culture in the North Sea world: rethinking the cultural dynamics of personal adornment in Viking age England

Boosted by a proliferation in metal-detected finds, categories of personal adornment now constitute a vital archaeological source for interpreting Viking-age cultural interaction in the North Sea region. Previous research in England has explored the potential of this metalwork in relation to the formation of ‘Anglo-Scandinavian’ identity, but without due consideration of a wider spectrum of cultural influences. This article redresses the balance by shifting attention to twenty-eight belt fittings derived from richly embellished baldrics, equestrian equipment, and waist belts manufactured on the Frankish continent during the period of Carolingian hegemony in the later eighth and ninth centuries ad. The metalwork is classified and then contextualized in order to track import mechanisms and to assess the impact of Carolingian culture on the northern peripheries of the Frankish empire. The main conclusion is that the adoption, adaptation, and strategic manipulation of Carolingian/northern Frankish identity formed an embedded component of cultural dynamics in Viking-age England, scrutiny of which sheds new light on patterns of interconnectivity linking peoples of the North Sea world.

A framework for English? Or a vehicle for literacy? English teaching in England in the age of the Strategy

This article considers the evolution and impact on schools in England of the "Framework for English" since its introduction in 2001, a national initiative that follows on from the National Literacy Strategy, which focused on primary schools. Whilst acknowledging that the Framework is part of a whole school policy, "The Key Stage Three Strategy", I concentrate on its direct impact on the school subject "English" and on standards within that subject. Such a discussion must incorporate some consideration of the rise of "Literacy" as a dominant term and theme in England (and globally) and its challenge to a politically controversial and much contested curriculum area, i.e. "English". If the Framework is considered within the context of the Literacy drive since the mid-1990s then it can be see to be evolving within a much changed policy context and therefore likely to change substantially in the next few years. In a global context England has been regarded for some time as at the extreme edge of standards-driven policy and practice. It is hoped that the story of "English" in England may be salutary to educators from other countries.

Emerging segmentation practices in the age of the social customer

This paper reports on an exploratory study of segmentation practices of organisations with a social media presence. It investigates whether traditional segmentation approaches are still relevant in this new socio-technical environment and identifies emerging practices. The study found that social media are particularly promising in terms of targeting influencers, enabling the cost-effective delivery of personalised messages and engaging with numerous customer segments in a differentiated way. However, some problems previously identified in the segmentation literature still occur in the social media environment, such as the technical challenge of integrating databases, the preference for pragmatic rather than complex solutions and the lack of relevant analytical skills. Overall, a gap has emerged between marketing theory and practice. While segmentation is far from obsolete in the age of the social customer, it needs to adapt to reflect the characteristics of the new media.

Cities’ low carbon plans in an ‘age of austerity’: an analysis of UK local authority actions, attitudes and responses

Background: Cities play a significant role globally in creating carbon emissions but, as centers of major population, innovation and social practice, they also offer important opportunities to tackle climate change. The new challenges faced by cities in an ‘age of austerity’ and decentralist agendas present substantial challenges for coordinated multilevel governance. Results: Based on research carried out in 2011–2012, this paper examines the attitudes and responses of sustainability and climate change officers in UK cities that have prepared low carbon and climate change plans, in the context of these challenges. Using a conceptual framework that analyses ‘awareness’, ‘analysis’ and ‘actions’ (in the context of spending cuts and a new ‘decentralized’ policy agenda) this research suggests that progress on low-carbon futures for cities continues to be fragmented, with increased funding constraints, short-termism and lack of leadership acting as key barriers to progress. Conclusion: Recent UK national policies (including localism, austerity measures and new economic incentives) have not only created further uncertainties, but also scope for cities’ local innovation through policy leverage and self-governing actions.

Diet and lifestyle in Bronze Age Northwest Spain: the collective burial of Cova do Santo

A multidisciplinary investigation of the collective burial of Cova do Santo is presented as a novel approach to understand daily life during the Bronze Age in Northwest Iberia. The research is focused on three main aspects: i) taphonomy and patterns of disposal, ii) paleopathology and -demography as indicators of health status and lifestyle, and iii) stable isotope analysis to reconstruct paleodiet and to investigate the timing of the introduction of millet to the Iberian Peninsula. Osteological analyses were performed on 64 bones (61 human and 3 animal); additionally, bone collagen was extracted from 15 samples (13 human and 2 animal) and analyzed for its carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes composition. The radiocarbon age of the human remains is consistent with the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1890 to 1600 cal BC). The recovered remains belonged to a minimum number of 14 individuals with an estimated age at death of forty years or younger. This relatively young age is in contrast to a high prevalence of degenerative joint disease in the group. The isotopic results suggest a very homogeneous diet, which was almost exclusively based on C3 plants and terrestrial animal products. Overall, the data suggest that the studied population belonged to a period prior to the introduction of spring or summer-grown crops such as millets. The collective burial from the cave of Cova de Santo, Galicia, currently represents the largest assemblage of prehistoric human remains from Northwest Spain and the relatively good preservation of the bones offers a unique opportunity to investigate daily life in Northern Iberia during the Bronze Age.

Il realismo di un nuovissimo medio evo: Boccaccio in the age of neorealism

After the war Italian artists and intellectuals saw a significant and necessary confluence between their political desire to create a "new." Italy and their cultural ambition to re-invigorate the study of medieval Italy. This tendency is particularly evident, I argue, in the post-war scholarly and critical focus on Boccaccio, and especially Boccaccio’s Decameron. Not only within the academy but also in the popular press, Boccaccio was granted pride of place in the canon, venerated as the pioneer of socially conscious vernacular literary realism, the archetype for the pursuit of artistic truth in the face of social upheaval. As a result, I wish to suggest, Italian neorealism, which rose to prominence in the first years after the Second World War, was in a significant sense imbued with and realised through a profound engagement with the work of Boccaccio. In turn, the cultural currents affiliated with neorealism influenced Boccaccio studies, whose operative notions of medieval «realism» were to a perhaps surprising degree stimulated by approaches to the neo-realist poetics at work in the Italian films, novels, and criticism of the 1940s and ’50s. Situating the critical discourse surrounding Boccaccio within the post-war Italian context can therefore serve to shed unexpected light on both the cultural affirmation of neorealism and the disciplinary configuration of Italian medieval studies.

Spectacular foodscapes: food celebrities and the politics of lifestyle mediation in an age of inequality

This editorial introduces a special issue of Food, Culture & Society and works to add a parallel, substantive take on the phenomenon of the food celebrity and the mediated, everyday cultural politics they create. We start by exploring the concept of the foodscape. Specifically, we argue that food celebrities represent a fundamental component of contemporary foodscapes, how they “perform” and function, and the socio-material means by which they are produced. We then explore the key roles and privileges of food celebrity, arguing that the celebrity chef is not the only high-profile, mediating figure at work on the foodscape. Key food celebrity paradoxes are identified and discussed: food celebrities must work to be authentic and aspirational, accessible yet exclusive, responsibilizing but also empowering. We conclude with a short contextualization of the papers in this special issue, and argue for the rich potential of food celebrity scholarship as a way to better understand food inequalities

Classical strings in AdS(4) x CP(3) with three angular momenta

In this paper, rotating strings in three directions of AdS(4) x CP(3) geometry are studied; its divergent energy limit, and conserved charges are also determined. An interpretation of these configurations as either giant magnons or spiky strings is discussed.

Learning by Reading : A literature study on the use of authentic texts in the EFL upper elementary classroom

The English language is widely used throughout the world and has become a core subject in many countries, especially for students in the upper elementary classroom. While textbooks have been the preferred EFL teaching method for a long time, this belief has seemingly changed within the last few years. Therefore, this study looks at what prior research says about the use of authentic texts in the EFL upper elementary classroom with an aim to answer research questions on how teachers can work with authentic texts, what the potential benefits of using authentic texts are and what teachers and students say about the use of authentic texts in the EFL classroom. While this thesis is written from a Swedish perspective, it is recognized that many countries teach EFL. Therefore, international results have also been taken into consideration and seven previous research studies have been analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of the use of authentic texts in the EFL classroom. Results indicate that the use of authentic texts is beneficial in teaching EFL. However, many teachers are still reluctant to use these, mainly because of time constraints and the belief that such texts are too difficult for their students. Since these findings are mainly focused on areas outside of Sweden, additional research is needed before conclusions can be drawn on the use of authentic texts in the Swedish upper elementary EFL classroom.

Authentic Texts in English Language Teaching : An empirical study on the use of and attitudes towards authentic texts in the Swedish EFL upper elementary classroom

International assessments indicate that Swedish students achieve high results in reading, writing and understanding English. However, this does not mean that the students display oral proficiency, despite an emphasis on functional and communicative language skills in the current English Syllabus. While a previous literature study by this researcher has shown that authentic texts are a way to increase these skills, most of the results shown are from an international viewpoint. Thus an empirical study was conducted within Sweden with the aim to examine the use of authentic texts in the Swedish EFL upper elementary classroom. Twelve teachers have answered a questionnaire on how they use authentic texts in their language teaching, as well as their opinions about these as a teaching tool. Additionally, 37 students have answered a questionnaire on their attitudes about authentic texts. Results indicate that all of the teachers surveyed see authentic texts as an effective way to increase students’ communicative competence and English language skills; however, only a few use them with any frequency in language teaching. Furthermore, this seems to affect the students’ attitudes, since many say that they read authentic texts in their free time, but prefer to learn English out of a textbook at school. These findings are based on a small area of Sweden. Therefore, further research is needed to learn if these opinions hold true for the entire country or vary dependent upon region or other factors not taken into consideration in this study.