The White Paper on European Governance: Implications for Urban Policy

This paper discusses the recent European Commission White Paper on European Governance, arguing that the document offers interesting possibilities for the future development of the European Union (EU), how it is governed and more particularly for 'European Urban Policy'. However, the paper argues there are problems with its use of the term governance as a strategy for reform and with a number of its proposals to widen access to the European Commission (EC) and the policy process. With regard to urban policy it is suggested that the White Paper's emphasis on a greater role for sub-national government and citizens' is to be welcomed. Although once again it is unclear whether the Commission has fully thought through the implications of its proposals both for itself and the groups it wishes to engage with. More specifically it is argued that the Open Method of Coordination is broadly similar to the methods whereby both current urban (and spatial) policy have been developed and should be embraced. Overall the White Paper is something of a mixed bag; however, this is to be expected of a document which is primarily intended to stimulate discussion about the future of EU governance.     

The Company of White Paper Makers in Hampshire: An Inventory of Plant

Abstract

This article describes the unusually detailed inventory made in 1696 of the South Stoneham paper mills near Southampton. It sheds light on methods of paper making in late 17th-century England, and gives an idea of the surprising scale of the undertaking.     

The Barony and the Churches of Late Nineteenth Century Glasgow

The Barony Parish Church was one of the most important churches in nineteenth century Scotland partly due to its history, size, and location at the heart of the "second city" of the Empire and its Minister, Norman MacLeod. Its congregation represented every tier of Glasgow society in terms of social class and gender and as such, throws light on the more general debates on religion and society in nineteenth century Britain. When compared with other churches and denominations in Glasgow, it builds a more general picture of church and people in the city. The picture drawn reveals a complex pattern of adherence varying between individuals and families. An over emphasis on secular reasons for church membership ignores the important role of faith in determining patterns of adherence. Family letters, diaries, and journals often reveal a deep-seated faith and critical reflections on the preaching of the Word.     

日本"有事法制"议案和新版《防卫白皮书》评析

“有事法制”议案赋予了日本自卫队以“国家军队”的职能,赋予了日本政府使用武力乃至“先发制人”解决可能发生的争端的权力,开辟了日本在海外行使武力的道路;《2003年防卫白皮书》则重新阐述了日本关于战争的认识,重新确立了日本的军事防卫重点,重新确认了日本自卫队的主要任务。这表明日本的“专守防卫”政策发生了重大变化。军国主义思想始终没有彻底清算,社会政治生态右倾化进一步加深,冷战后政治大国欲望的加速膨胀,以及迫于“美日同盟”的压力等,是日本防卫政策变化的主要原因。日本社会政治发展趋势和国家发展方向都将受到防卫政策变化的巨大影响。     

Mural and Other Paintings,in English Churches

In 1825 Lewis Nockalls Cottingham removed Romanesque carvings from the spandrels of the great west window at Rochester Cathedral as part of a comprehensive programme of restoration and repair. The architect's preliminary drawings for this project (held by Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University in New York) permit the accurate reconstruction of these spandrels, and this reconstruction, in turn, reveals some of the principles which guided this important early nineteenth-century restorer. It can be shown that in attempting to clarify the several styles of medieval building at Rochester, Cottingham repressed some features which he saw as hybrids and emphasized others which he judged insufficiently prominent. This desire to make the fabric history more clearly legible as a sequence of stylistic cues reflected recent advances in the writing of architectural history, in particular the taxonometric approach pioneered by Thomas Rickman.