Transporte de los ácidos grasos a través de la placenta

As stated previously, I chose for this study a qualitative methodology⁸⁹ with a triangulation approach in order to analyse⁹⁰ the urban core of Erbil. Therefore, I have

89 This is an umbrella name that covers different aims and methods.

90 Phenomenologists, social interactionists and all type of interpretivists in qualitative research argue that researchers have their own understanding, their own convictions and their own conceptual orientations.

For instance, phenomenologist avoid use coding as they assume that both through continued reading of

developed those particular methods and analytical tools that are best suited for, (i) verifying the persistent elements, (ii) establishing both the changes in urban elements and in their relationships with each other, and (iii) for identifying the specific agents of these changes. Based on previous studies, three main variables were identified (see Chapter 1):

1. The independent variable is the ‘agent of change’, which includes the following tangible elements: (i) economic forces, such as land use, functions and investments, (ii) socio-cultural forces, such as openness to new ideas and lifestyles, and finally, (iii) privacy, such as rule by power, rule by government, and the lack of comprehensive or intensive planning. Intangible elements that create change are: rituals, events and activities. The consequence of these agents on other variables – i.e. the ‘dependent’

variable and the ‘semi-dependent’ variable – either cause minor changes, represented by adaptation, or major radical changes that impact directly on properties in the urban core.

2. The dependent variable concerns such tangible aspects as paths, nodes and edges, which are influenced by the agents of change.

3. The ‘semi-dependant’ variable is the structure of the urban core and its relationship to other urban elements as it is affected by the other variables.

The methods of analysis for this stage were: visual analysis, historical analysis, conservation analysis, comparison and hermeneutic approaches, mapping, and the figure and ground technique as introduced by Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter in their 1984 book, Collage City - were all used to analyse urban elements and their interrelationships.

For the analysis of the pattern of movement relating to both permanent and temporary activities in Erbil, the theory expounded by Hillier et al. (1993, p. 29) was employed, which required focusing on the flow of pedestrian and vehicular movements, since they believe that the configuration of urban structures has a more important effect on the

the source material and through their observations they can capture the essence and reach a practical understanding of a specific situation (Miles and Huberman 1994, p. 8).

pattern of such movements than attractors⁹¹, such as land usage or the activities occurring in buildings. Therefore, the role played by the configuration of the urban space affects both the actors and patterns of movement (figure 2.6). They state that:

Attractors and movement may influence each other, but the other two relations are asymmetric. Configuration may influence the location of attractors, but the location of attractors cannot influence configuration.

Likewise, configuration may influence movement but movement cannot influence configuration. If strong correlations are found between movement and both configuration and attractors, the only logically possible lines of influence are from configuration to both movement and attractors, with the latter two influencing each other (Hillier et al. 1993, p.31).

Figure 2.9: The impact of the pattern of movements on urban space configuration Source: (Hillier et al. 1993, p. 31)

Figure 2.7: shows the impact of spatial configuration on activities and how the spatial configuration affects the pattern of movements in an urban area.

Figure 2.10: The spatial configuration and the patterns of movement

The Urban Core Analysis: The tangible components selected for the analysis of the urban core have the following specific characteristics:

91 The attraction theory, which states that land use or the attractor impacts on the configuration and pattern of movement (Hillier et al. 1993, p.29).

1. Edges: these are either Hard Edge, as in a natural barrier or construction, or Soft Edge, as in a street or open space.

2. Paths: these are characterised by their kinds (regular or irregular), hierarchy, directionality, visual axis, and widths. Paths are also divided into primary routes (P1), historic paths of the bazar area (P2), secondary paths (P3).

3. Nodes: these are focal points which absorb different activities and emerge either from the junction of paths, the meeting of places that constitute urban public space, or they can be a specific building or monument. Nodes act as main structures that are used for specific events. In the analysis for this study, these will be divided into, open public spaces (N1), the nodes that issued paths and thus become fundamental urban structures (N2) and the intersections of secondary paths (N3); the criteria for these nodes are, functions, dominance and distributor or non-distributor– i.e. the node is a distributor when more than one path connects it to other nodes, and a non-distributor when it is only connected by a road (Hillier,1984, P.93 -94), figure 2.11.

Figure 2.11: The distributor and non-distributor space Source: (Hillier 2003, p. 94)

Identifying the persistent elements in the urban core involves the following, (i) focusing on artefacts, buildings, monuments, function or event that exist or take place there, (ii) tracing the urban elements and the intangible aspects through four stages (the Assyrian, Attabeg, the Early Modern and the Modern) and removing the non-common elements and maintaining the intrinsic properties.

Stage of the Analysis

The first, historical stage, which is divided into four periods, the Assyrian, the Prosperous (Attabeg and Hathebani), the Early Modern and the Modern (Figure 2.9) traces the development of Erbil’s historic urban elements - i.e. the paths, nodes and edges of the city by identifying the outline of the urban core, which is, together with the

citadel, one of the city’s two main nodes. Traces of the original urban core are also found in this stage. The data used for analysing the urban core include written sources, documentation, photographs much of which found in different countries -archaeological and historical studies, interviews, group discussions, site visits, individual testimonies, satellite imagery, aerial photographs and archaeological remains. The methods of analyses for this stage were: (i) visual analysis, (ii) historical analysis, (iii) textual analysis, (iv) comparison, (v) conservation analysis, and (vi) hermeneutic analysis. Also, I used an interpretive approach in order to understand the historic text and to develop a hypothesis that was supported by examples from other cities in the region.

Figure 2.12: The first stage of the analysis

The second stage is divided into three periods – the Attabeg, the Early Modern and the Modern. The main focus was on (i) the urban core, (ii) the changes in its tangible and intangible aspects, (iii) the agents of change, (iv) the relationships of the urban elements;

(v) in addition to tracing the persistent elements are analysed. Maps, photographs, and existing architecture were used as a physical evidence (figure 2.10). The methods of analyses include, (i) visual, (ii) historical, (iii) textual, (iv) critical (v) discourse, (vi) comparative, and (vii) hermeneutic, alongside Hillier et al’s (1993) theory (see previous section).

Figure 2.13: The Second stage of the analysis

In both stages multi-methods were used in the analyses; an interpretive approach was adopted and the results were then triangulated to form a complete image for each stage.