From early humans to farmers and herders—Recent progress on key transitions in Southwest Asia

Archaeologists conducting research on the Pleistocene and early Holocene prehistory of Southwest Asia have made a formidable series of new discoveries and fresh insights since 1987. This article examines recent progress and shortcomings on a series of diachronic research topics, including the transition to modern humans, the development of late Pleistocene regionalism and territoriality, the advent of sedentism near the end of the Pleistocene, the origins of food production, and the initial ascendance of social complexity.     

Winds in the ionosphere—A review

Winds in the upper atmosphere, and their effect on the ionosphere, are reviewed with an emphasis on information useful to ionospheric studies. The winds are driven by pressure gradients from solar and auroral heating, with some forcing by tidal energy from below. Simple calculations which balance the pressure gradient by ion drag and Coriolis forces are generally unreliable, so large-scale numerical models of the coupled atmosphere and ionosphere are required. The accuracy of these global models is limited by uncertainties in the energy inputs at high latitudes and at the lower boundary (about 90 km). The best current wind data come from incoherent scatter radar or airglow installations, at a few sites and for only a few nights per month. Satellite data are also available for several years, and results to 1989 are incorporated in the global HWM90 model. This seems acceptable for determining mean winds at night, less good during the day, and least good in the southern hemisphere where few data were available. Plots are given to show the mean winds at different latitudes and longitudes, for use in ionospheric calculations.Meridional winds alter the height of the mid-latitude F layer, causing large changes in the effective loss rate. This is the major cause of observed seasonal changes, of differences between the hemispheres, and of changes at different longitudes. An increased knowledge of the winds is essential for further progress in F region studies. Ionospheric data provide the most promising route, using routinely scaled parameters. The simplest calculations compare observed peak heights, obtained from M (3000)F2, with the value h_o predicted by simplified “servo” equations. Errors occurring for some hours after sunrise can be overcome using model results to define h_o this allows rapid and accurate wind calculations at dip latitudes of 23–62°. Winds can also be obtained from full model calculations, designed to match observed values of peak height or density.     

Recent Archæological Researches in Rome

Luminescence dating has been applied to ceramic bricks sampled from a selection of English medieval ecclesiastical and secular buildings in Essex, Kent and Lincolnshire, ranging in age from the fourth to the late sixteenth centuries. The results obtained for the Anglo-Saxon churches, which included Brixworth, confirmed the reuse of Roman brick in all cases. The dates for the earliest medieval brick type indicate that brick making was reintroduced during the eleventh century, a century earlier than previously accepted, and dates for bricks from the same secular Tudor building indicate that the practice of recycling of building materials during the late medieval period was also applied to brick.     

Southwest University for Nationalities in Advance——Recent Interview With University Party Committee Secretary Norbu Gyaincain

Norbu Gyaincain is the Party Secretary of the Southwest University for Nationalities. Recently we made an interview with him on the establishment and development of the university.Reporter: Could you please talk about the establishment and development of your university?     

Atmospheric tides—a review

Studies on atmospheric tides are reviewed with an emphasis on theory and recent important observations. Numerical simulation seems to be promising to elucidate the variability of observed tides. Radar observation will be powerful to obtain the precise vertical structure of tides in the middle atmosphere as well as the thermosphere. Various unsolved problems are pointed out.     

Equatorial scintillations—a review

The scintillation technique, as is well known, provides an integrated measure of phase and amplitude fluctuations imposed on radio signals over a wide range of frequencies during their propagation through the ionosphere. The large amplitude of equatorial irregularities necessitates the use of frequencies in the GHz band to obtain unambiguously the temporal variation of irregularity intensity and the effect of irregularity anisotropy. Recent observations of equatorial scintillations will be reviewed with an emphasis on GHz measurements. The steep spatial gradients observed in in-situ data and their relationship to intense GHz scintillations will be explored. Co-ordinated measurements of equatorial irregularities by such techniques as radar backscatter, in-situ rocket and satellite, total electron content and 6300 Å airglow will be discussed, insofar as they provide a better understanding of the scintillation phenomena. While it is difficult to critically assess results that are so recent and constantly evolving, we have attempted to focus attention on the outstanding problems that still remain in the field.     

What's in a bone? Recent advances in archaeological bone chemistry

This paper focuses on advances in archaeological bone chemistry since 1989. At that time studies generally shifted from development and application of techniques in bone chemistry to more experimental approaches. In stable isotope studies, controlled feeding experiments have been carried out to determine the routing of various dietary components into bone tissues. Biological apatite has been added to collagen as a tissue of study for stable carbon isotope analysis, providing the ability to study much older remains. Other elements have been added such as hydrogen for the study of paleoclimate and oxygen and strontium isotopes to study life history. Trace element studies have focused on methods of detecting and controlling for diagenesis, and barium has been added to the list of useful dietary indicators. Attempts to extract DNA from archaeological bone have been successful, however, this field is still in its early stages in terms of applications to understanding prehistoric biological relationships.     

Generalized characteristic functions applied to propagation in bounded inhomogeneous anisotropic media—reciprocity and energy relationships

The problems of radio wave propagation, in bounded inhomogeneous anisotropic media, can be expressed as sets of four simultaneous first order differential equations with variable coefficients. A nonsingular transformation matrix which consists of generalized characteristic vectors is introduced to diagonalize the coefficient matrix even when two or more of its characteristic values are equal. Thus, the original set of differential equations for the transverse electromagnetic field components are converted into loosely coupled generalized characteristic functions. These generalized characteristic solutions are suitable for regions where there is strong coupling between the upward and downward traveling ordinary and extraordinary waves.In this work, numerical solutions are presented for the transmission and reflection scattering coefficients that characterize a bounded inhomogeneous plasma in an arbitrarily oriented magnetic field. These numerical solutions for arbitrary excitations are shown to be consistent with the adjoint reciprocity conditions for dissipative anisotropic media and also with energy conservation for nondissipative media.     

Recent trends and issues in Australia‐Indonesia relations

THIS ARTICLE concentrates particularly on bilateral relations between Australia and Indonesia.* While it is necessary to see relations between the two countries in their broader regional and global context, there has also been some tendency to underestimate the impact of domestic political and economic factors.     

A progress review of entrepreneurship and regional development: What are the remaining gaps?

This study reviews the literature related to regional entrepreneurship. It identifies the main topical perspectives, advancements and shortcomings, discusses several research gaps and proposes ways forward. The literature review is based on 170 peer-reviewed articles in the leading journals of entrepreneurship and regional science. The findings reveal that major debates occur within the disciplines of regional economics, sociology and economic geography, but discussions across disciplines are scant. While regional economists tend to overlook the role of contextualized agency, and thus neglect processes that may influence entrepreneurs’ acting in distinctive localities, entrepreneurship scholars tend to overlook the role of the spatial and proximate contextual conditions in the entrepreneurial process. Future research should intensify its efforts on the interrelation between entrepreneurial agency and regional structuring in order to expand current understandings of which types of entrepreneurship prevail in different localities.     

Neutral atom precipitation—a review

The production of energetic neutral atoms by charge exchange of ring current ions with neutral hydrogen in the geocorona was predicted many years ago, and there are now a number of measurements of the effect of the impact of these energetic atoms on the thermosphere. Theoretical models of the process have been developed. The latitude variation of the precipitating flux depends very much on the pitch angle distribution of the ions in the ring current, and on the L shell on which they are located.The production of a belt of trapped particles at low altitude near the magnetic equator may occur when neutral atoms re-ionize and become trapped on impacting the thermosphere, and this belt has been found in particle measurements near the equator and is enhanced during periods of magnetic activity.A region of enhanced optical emission due to precipitating neutrals is found in the thermosphere near the magnetic equator in both disturbed and quiet times, implying a low L value and/or pancake pitch angle distribution for the ring current particles that give rise to these neutrals. An isotropic pitch angle distribution is present in parts of the ring current at time during magnetic storms. This gives rise to neutral atom precipitation at all latitudes, and particularly of particles near 90° pitch angle in the region of SAR arc occurrence, about 10° in dip latitude equatorward of the isotropic region.The rate of energy deposition and the rate of production of ionization in the thermosphere depend on the ion species present in the ring current; their energy spectra, and on the distributions of the ions with L value and pitch angle. The rate of energy deposition may at times reach 10⁻² to 10⁻¹ mWm⁻², sufficient for significant heating and wind generation. The rate of production of ionization in the thermosphere at night may be much greater than that of other low latitude night-time ionization sources.     

On the New Trends in Recent Chinese Historiography—An Appraisal Based on Views from Social History

The development of historiography in the new era has manifested in the discourse of “new historiography.” One of its achievements is the rise of “social history” or “new social history.” Over the course of the past four decades, the study of social history has prospered, as it has continuously broadened the research field by embracing interdisciplinary methods. As a result, its development has shaped the prospects of Chinese historiography in the new era. Admittedly, if we were to follow a stricter standard of evaluation, then it becomes evident that some problems worthy of reflection are present in the development of new historiography, such as sociologization, the localization of historical research, and the pursuit of new trends in research. For these reasons, we must be aware of these problems in academia in the new era.     

Recent differential population growth in Sumatra: 1961–71

Sumatran population growth and influences

Sumatra, Indonesia's large western Outer Island region, had general, urban and rural rates of population growth during 1961–71 as much as 50% or higher than those for the remainder of Indonesia. The rapid population growth in Sumatra, continuing into the later 1970s, has been associated with a variety of influences. Among these were:

1. New or improved economic activities encompassing large‐scale extraction of crude oil, natural gas, tin, bauxite, and forest products; some coal mining; continued fisheries, commercial small‐holder and estate types of agriculture; and new or expanded manufacturing.

2. Large‐scale transmigration, in‐migration from elsewhere in Indonesia other than Java and Bali, and intramigration within Sumatra have led to increased populations and densities in at least five major areas. The southern area of Lampung Province and to a lesser extent eastern South Sumatra have had notable growth from transmigration flows; several coastal plains areas in Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, and Jambi provinces, from upland to lowland or other in‐ and intra‐migration flows.

3. Traditional ethnic, religious, and regional linkages within a predominantly rural village system have remained strong. These cultural conditions provide a background for understanding the continuing overwhelming rural character of Sumatra's people.

4. Although urban growth was more rapid than rural growth in Sumatra during 1961–71, most of this urban growth was concentrated in and around a few relatively large urban centres; the remainder of the urban growth was in the many other urban places, most having the aspect of overgrown villages.

5. Differential growth rates for total, rural, and urban populations were associated with differing perceptions at local, provincial, Sumatra‐wide, or national levels — of the areas having the best opportunities for improved living. With a few exceptions, Sumatra's upland areas have lost large numbers of people to near‐by and only recently highly accessible lowlands. Small, but crucially important, numbers of ambitious and more highly educated people have left Sumatra for Jakarta or other areas of actual and perceived greater economic opportunity.

6. In 1971 the sharply contrasting and increasing population densities of Sumatra emphasized several areas of greater economic development on the one hand; areas of continued limited accessibility or economic activities oil the other. If trends of the 1961–71 decade persist, the 1981 Indonesian census results for Sumatra should indicate increased populations and densities, particularly in the southern Lampung area of agricultural inflow and in the lowlands around Sumatra's large cities which also should continue to have sizeable population increases.

     

The MST technique—a brief review

The purpose of this paper is to briefly review the MST (mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere) radar technique for remotely observing the atmosphere in the height range 1–100 km. Particular emphasis will be directed here toward aspects of the subject related to the equatorial atmosphere—a region in which the overall circulation and dynamics is poorly understood. Some of the current MST capabilities will be demonstrated via data obtained from existing observatories located in the tropics. A case will be made for the necessity of having additional equatorial-region observatories, and an example of a reasonably economical system will be discussed.     

Recent Research on “Incumbency Advantage” in House Elections: Part II

Research before 1978 on elections for U.S. Representative persistently raised the question of just what factors yield the advantage incumbents enjoy (Beth, 1982; Goldenberg and Traugott, 1980: 62; Fiorina, 1982: 35-38; Hinckley, 1980a: 645-646). To illuminate this question, the 1978 national election survey by Michigan's Center for Political Studies, taking the congressional district as the primary sampling unit, included extensive questions on voter contact with awareness of, and evaluation of, House candidates (Mann and Wolfinger, 1980: 133). A side effect of this design was uneven coverage of Senate races; it also happened that incumbents ran more strongly in sampled races than overall, and among respondents than in the electorate (Mann and Wolfinger: 133-136; Jacobson, 1981a: 240-242; 1981b: 185; Fiorina, 1982: 42). This essay surveys recent articles on the subject, especially those using this data.