The Alaskan Eskimo at the crossroads

Klausner, Samuel Z., and Edward F. Foulks. Eskimo Capitalists: Oil, Politics and Alcohol. Totowa, New Jersey: Allanheld, Osmun Publishers, 1982. xii + 343 pp. including appendix, references, and index. $37.50 cloth.

Fienup‐Riordan, Ann. The Nelson Island Eskimo: Social Structure and Ritual Distribution. Anchorage: Alaska Pacific University Press, 1983. xxxvii + 419 pp. including illustrations, references, index. $9.95 paper.     

Cold War historiography at the crossroads

How is the Cold War understood in an expanding and diversifying historiographical field? Conceptual precision and specificity seem to be giving way to a looser understanding of the Cold War as an era that encompassed different although interconnected conflicts and transformations. Some scholars ask for specificity and consistency while current centrifugal trends point to multiple approaches and centres of interest. Diversity is galvanising the field, but historians need to (re)define their object of inquiry and strive for at least a minimum of conceptual clarity. In particular, we should aim at a broad cultural understanding of the Cold War, contextualise it in larger processes of historical change without confusing the two dimensions, and reassess relations between Europe and other Cold War contexts.     

The burden of profession: Applied anthropology at the crossroads

Elizabeth M. Eddy and William L. Partridge, eds. Applied Anthropology in America. New York: Columbia University Press. 1978. 484 pp.

Walter Goldschmidt, ed. The Uses of Anthropology. Special Publication No. 11. Washington, D.C.: American Anthropological Association. 1979. 280 pp.     

崎途与歧路——论国民政府武器制式转型

近代以来,中国武器制式纷乱,成为中国武备孱弱的重要原因之一。国民政府建立兵工署以后,致力于武器制式统一,抗战前在德国的援助下建立了德系生产标准。抗战后,军工系统试图向美系制式转型,由此引起了武器制式的再度混乱,形成了德、日、美三种生产体系杂糅的局面,不仅造成了军工生产的纷乱,还直接给国民党军队作战带来消极影响。     

The culture of Sofia: At the crossroads of paradox and optimism

NINTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CULTURAL ECONOMICS ASSOCIATION FOR CULTURAL ECONOMICS INTERNATIONAL (ACEI) in co‐operation with Northeastern University, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, USA 8–11 May 1996     

At the crossroads of nationalism: Huizinga,Pirenne and the Low Countries in Europe1

Johan Huizinga and Henri Pirenne belong to the most prominent historians of the twentieth century. The fame of the former is most of all based on Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen (1919), a fascinating study of the Burgundian culture; the latter is widely considered as the innovator of the economic and urban history of the Middle Ages. But both historians were equally highly preoccupied by the question as to which position their countries – the Netherlands in the case of Huizinga, Belgium in the case of Pirenne – should take up in Europe and what were the responsibilities of these engagements in an international community. This preoccupation is the subject of this essay. It tells the story of diplomats from small countries, of disappointment through war and of national pride, a story also in which positions changed repeatedly.     

现代化和现代性——韩国现代化的另一种观点

本文以韩国为例,说明:一、现代化是一个以起源于西方的向外发散的国际上的文化传播过程和面对这种冲击每一个社会必然采取应变过程的双向运动;二、西方现代化浪潮冲击所导致的最终结果,是非西方现代化社会的现代性,而现代性是传统因素、殖民遗产和现代因素本土化的一种混合体;三、由于现代性是理性与非理性的混合,因此在非西方的现代化国家,在政治和文化领域,实现知识的进一步理性化是一项重要任务。     

Immigration as a Political Dilemma in Britain

Informed by evidence drawn from the British case, this article assesses three competing explanations for how and why political elites in Western Europe lost control of postwar immigration and immigrant policy: the liberal thesis, the political-historical perspective, and the political institutional breakdown explanation. The British case casts doubt on the assumption that West European elites did lose control of policy, although, to the extent that perfect control was not exercised, the political-historical argument best explains this phenomenon.     

Marketing as Diffusion in a Single Population

The paper examines the optimal advertising policy for a profit-maximizing firm in a single market area. The results are first derived for a spaceless market, indicating the steady-state equilibrium advertising policy and market size. The model is then extended to account for the costs of overcoming distance. It is shown that there is an outward limit to marketing, and that this distance is dependent on the market price and retirement rate of the good and the interest rate. The minimal price necessary for covering any given distance is derived, along with the minimal advertising effort necessary to reach the steady-state market size. It is shown that the steady-state market size, advertising policy, and switching time are all monotonic functions of distance.     

Aid as a Catalyst

This article argues that aid is not the prime mover of development, but rather a catalyst. It might be used as a reward for good development governance. However, it will fulfil its catalytic function better by creating conditions for policy improvement. Better governance should be seen not only as a pre‐condition for development and for development aid, but also as a development objective in itself. This is particularly true for aid recipient countries in disarray.     

Soil phosphate analysis as a tool in archaeology

The theory underlying the use of soil phosphate analysis in archaeology is discussed. After describing the field and laboratory methods used at Stavanger Museum, the method is illustrated by several examples. In all cases the results showed good agreement with the archaeological evidence, and generally provided useful supplementary information. The method may be used as a guide to the functions carried out in different parts of a site and to the intensity of occupation. Although no hidden sites were found in a reconnaissance survey, the results indicate that the method has considerable scope in locating sites in areas destined for town development, etc.