ABSTRACT
The world is governed by territorial rules. Our occupancy of space is much more important than we think and is flagged almost everywhere you look. If you are sitting down reading this book, in say a library, you will probably see territorial signs everywhere – ‘No talking’ – ‘Private’ – ‘Staff Only’. You may also notice that people have strewn their bags, pencils and folders across desks, putting down the markers of their territories. Similarly, schools are quite territorial. Think of the sign on the staffroom door that has great significance for students – this is the staffroom, and, by corollary, not a student room – stay out! School car parks are adorned with signs such as ‘Staff Cars’ and other subtle territorial guides such as ‘Please report to the school secretary’. If you ask any junior infant about grass in a school, they will probably say ‘it is not for walking on’! We can also claim territorial areas by our use of objects – signals and signs of our occupancy of a particular area. Like all other species on this planet, the human is a territorial creature. We manage our use of space carefully, swiftly and often astutely.
