Palestinian Water: Resources,Use, Conservation,Climate Change,and Land Use

This article addresses the future of freshwater resources in the Palestinian West Bank through a discussion of contemporary issues that each plays a vital role in determining the long‐term sustainability of freshwater reserves, such as water resource availability, trans‐boundary water issues, water reuse and conservation, changes in land use, and the potential impact of climate change on long‐term water management. Climate change and changing land use patterns are already altering this region's water resources. Future predictions regarding the long‐term effects of these changes are complex and therefore inherently uncertain. However, the consensus among most studies on this subject indicates that currently water‐poor regions such as the Middle East will experience even greater water stress in the future. Nearly all of the freshwater consumed in the West Bank is obtained from local groundwater supplies that are suffering overdraft as well as decreasing water quality. Climate change will exacerbate water stress by increasing overall temperatures, decreasing and fluctuating precipitation, and reducing overall aquifer replenishment. Expanding urbanization will continue to strain freshwater supplies by negatively impacting the quality and quantity of available freshwater. Water management in the West Bank is further complicated by total Israeli control over water resources, which often causes water delivery to Palestinians in this region to be marginalized. This article finds that Palestinian and Israeli water managers must plan for future water crises, which will likely be a result of the combined effects of increasing urbanization and climate change coupled with exponential population growth.     

大头弯羊的前世今生和未来

盛夏的清晨,我们一行三人,骑马行走在布青山的一道深窄的峡谷中,突然发现右前方一座峭壁的顶部,静静地站立着一只大头弯羊。它在昂首远眺,大角如轮,背部棕黄,腹白如雪,迷人的体态,清晰地映在碧蓝的天幕中。朝霞为它披上了一层淡淡的光晕,是那样的安详、雄健、庄严、孤独,     

The Archaeology of Al-Andalus: Past,Present and Future

Abstract

THIS PAPER PRESENTS AN OVERVIEW of the archaeology of al-Andalus (the Arabic name for Islamic Spain and Portugal), from its beginnings in the late 1970s to the present day. Innovative approaches and challenging theoretical stances made the archaeology of al-Andalus the spearhead of medieval archaeology in Iberia between the 1980s and 1990s. A problematic, and often conflicting, relationship between archaeology and history has characterised medieval archaeology in Spain since its inception, however, and a new awareness of these problems is emerging. This paper reviews past and current attitudes to such challenges and reflects on the future needs of the discipline. It also reflects on the politics of archaeology and on the role of medieval archaeology in revealing social change, which has until now been underrated.     

Colonialism, Past and Present, in New Mexico

San Jose de las Huertas was established as a land grant community by the Spanish crown in 1765 and occupied for about 60 years. Many of its residents returned to the area after a brief respite, to found the village of Placitas, which exists today. Archaeological excavation at Las Huertas, documentary research and oral history from descendants of the original settlers reveal the shifting impact of different colonialisms, each accompanied by an image of modernity. Spanish demands were attenuated by distance and waning power. American impositions are more problematic, involving a new political economy, conflicts over land and water, as Placitas converts to a bedroom suburb of Albuquerque.     

Land Use and Soil Erosion in Prehistoric and Historical Greece

Abstract

Soil erosion resulting from human exploitation of the land has attracted much public and scientific interest. Being regarded mainly as a modern phenomenon, however, its prehistoric and historical extent remain largely unexplored. Here we summarize three regional studies of Holocene erosion and alluviation in Greece, together with information derived from the literature, and conclude that most recorded Holocene soil erosion events are spatially and temporally related to human interference in the landscape. Wherever adequate evidence exists, a major phase of soil erosion appears to follow by 500–1000 years the introduction of farming in Greece, its age depending on when agriculture was introduced and ranging from the later Neolithic to the late Early Bronze Age. Later Bronze Age and historical soil erosion events are more scattered in time and space, but especially the thousand years after the middle of the 1st millennium B.C. saw serious, intermittent soil erosion in many places. With the exception of the earliest Holocene erosion phase, the evidence is compatible with a model of control of the timing and intensity of landscape destabilization by local economic and political conditions. On the whole, however, periods of landscape stability have lasted much longer than the mostly brief episodes of soil erosion and stream aggradation.     

甲骨文研究的历史、现状与未来展望(续)

三除了殷墟之外,50年代以来．中国境内的不少地方还曾发现过一些商代和西周时期的甲骨文。这些新的发现开阔了人们的视野．丰富了学者们对于甲骨文的认识。河南郑州的二里岗,是一处商代中期的文化遗址,其时代早于殷墟文化并与之相衔接。1952年秋天,中国科学院考古研究所兴办的考古训练班在当地发掘时曾发现卜用兽骨375片、卜用龟甲11片,但均无文字。随后河南文物工作队在这处遗址发现了3片带字甲骨。其中一片牛肋骨上刻有练习契刻的10个字,是1953年4月在被翻动的地面上发现的,文字与殷墟出土的甲骨文大体相似,可能和殷墟甲骨文属于…     

澳大利亚华人新移民回流:历史、现状与趋势

论文回顾了澳大利亚华人移民回流历史,分析了新千年以来华人新移民回流潮的现状、回流原因和趋势。认为从19世纪中叶起,受排华运动的影响,澳洲华人回流现象便已出现,且这种被迫回流现象一直延续到20世纪中叶"白澳政策"废除时。与老移民被迫回流不同的是,从20世纪90年代以来,由于中国经济与社会的持续繁荣与发展、澳大利亚移民政策调整等诸多因素的综合作用,澳洲华人新移民回流人口逐年增长,至新千年已初步呈现出一股方兴未艾的回流潮,并在较长的历史时期内,华人新移民回流潮仍将持续走向强劲。     

近三十年来中国历史气候研究方法的进展——以文献资料为中心

过去30年里,中国历史气候的研究取得了世所瞩目的成就。这一研究领域中每次重要的进展,都伴随着资料的开拓和方法的创新。有鉴于此,本文主要对近三十年来历史气候研究中文献资料的收集整理、资料中存在问题的甄别和处理,温度序列、干湿序列的重建及其它相关历史气候研究领域中研究方法的进展做了回顾总结。指出研究方法的进步主要体现在更有效地提取和利用历史文献中的有效信息,尽量减少重建过程和结果的不确定性。而一定的方法总是适用于一定的资料。并认为新资料的继续开拓和集成方法的发展完善将进一步推动研究的进步。     

Disciplining the Past, Policing the Present: The Postcolonial Landscape of Ecuadorian Nostalgia

The present article assesses the complex reconfiguration that studying the past signifies when one becomes visibly aware of the enormous political and cultural implications that such an endeavor entails. To this end, I will use the Ecuadorian landscape as an entry point or particular case to understand these larger theoretical problematics within a more empirically grounded ethnographic framework. I will rely heavily on my own previous assessments of particular reconfigurations of the past in the Ecuadorian imaginary through the production of the archaeological site of Cochasquí (Benavides, Making Ecuadorian Histories: Four Centuries of Defining Power, 2004a); the Indian movement’s historical recovery of their pre-Hispanic past; the representation of a troubling pre-Hispanic homosexual harem of young coastal boys known as the enchaquirados; and the more recent representation of Guayaquil’s national identity over the last century. All of these studies have viewed the manner in which the differing communities of the Ecuadorian nation-state utilize the past in conscious and unconscious forms to legitimize their own political ambitions. More concretely even, these studies exemplify the manner in which archaeological discourse is used to identify itself as the most rightful heir to assessing and understanding the national past, and ultimately, defining what being Ecuadorian means or should be all about.     

Now the Wars are Over: The Past,Present and Future of Scottish Battlefields

Battlefield archaeology has provided a new way of appreciating historic battlefields. This paper provides a summary of the long history of warfare and conflict in Scotland which has given rise to a large number of battlefield sites. Recent moves to highlight the archaeological importance of these sites, in the form of Historic Scotland’s Battlefields Inventory are discussed, along with some of the problems associated with the preservation and management of these important cultural sites.     

Environmental Assessment in the European Union: Perspectives,Past, Present and Strategic

Environmental assessment (EA) in the European Union (EU) is undergoing a period of significant transition. Following over 10 years of practice and development under Directive 85/337/EEC, the EU EA system is being subjected to legislative reform. In the light of this, this paper provides a critical examination of the past, present and future role of EA in the EU. After evaluating the legislative transposition and procedural effectiveness of the original provisions, the paper examines the extent to which recent amendments to the Directive and the proposed strategic environmental assessment (SEA) Directive will lead to improvement. The authors suggest that although the changes should overcome some of the procedural and practical problems experienced over the last 10 years, a more committed emphasis needs to be placed on fundamental areas of weakness.     

祥龙瑞彩 探索中国龙的足迹

龙的形象并非空穴来风,其有因由,有传承,有故事,在中华民族从原始走向现代,从愚昧走向文明的过程中起源,融合,发展,翻开中国龙的历史,其形象之多变令人为之目眩,千种姿态,万般风流,既可作成庄严凝重的庞然大物,又可变为蜷体蟠结的小巧灵兽,在几千年的龙象演变和龙文化创作中,它始终不离各个时代所共同经营缔造的不同审美风格,1月18日至3月20日,首都博物馆在2012在欢腾喜悦的中国农历新年的开年之际,推出以龙为主题的龙年文化大展,邀观众一同探索中国龙的足迹,寻觅龙的身影,发现中国龙的前世今生,感受这份因龙而生的精神归宿。     

The Scottish Parliament,Regulation and Land Use Planning

Constitutional reforms are taking place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These offer the opportunity to bring about a more effective policy framework for a range of policy areas including land use planning. In Scotland, the introduction of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 could allow the improvement of spatial planning policy and practice in a variety of ways, including bringing a more strategic approach at regional level, introducing a national plan and ensuring greater links with innovative community planning exercises. Such improvements could ensure a more sustainable environment as well as a more inclusive society and could offer lessons for similar practice in other contexts.     

The Achievements,Contradictions and Demise of the Rural Collectives in Songzi County,China

The literature on Chinese rural collectives offers different views on the causes of their demise in the early 1980s. Some argue it was a result of egalitarianism and inefficiency, while others emphasize the coercive nature of the decollectivization campaign. Using Songzi County as a case study, this article reviews both the achievements and the problems of the rural collectives and concludes that they can claim some remarkable achievements. It also finds that work avoidance and inefficiency were caused by stratification rather than egalitarianism. While the demise of rural collectives was mostly due to political pressure from the government, the lack of socialist political process contributed to the peasants’ passiveness in failing to resist this major institutional change.