The Water Balance of the Land

The article gives a quantitative evaluation of the elements of the hydrologic cycle (precipitation, runoff, evaporation) for the earth as a whole, for natural geographic zones of the USSR (tundra, tayga, steppe, desert) and for types of land within a given zone. The role of man in altering the water balance of individual territories through reclamation measures (irrigation, drainage, plowing up of virgin land) and through changes in agricultural techniques is also discussed.     

The dejuvenation of the Italian population

Abstract

In recent decades, a process of structural reduction of the weight of new generations in overall population (dejuvenation) has been observed. In Italy, this process started in the 1970s and accelerated in the 1990s. We present here its main consequences for Italian society and economy. The number of Italian young people (aged 0–29) was reduced from 24.5 million in 1951 (51.6% of the population) to 17.5 million in 2016 (28.8%). What is more, many young Italians are becoming a wasted resource and a social cost, facing high rates of unemployment, long economic dependence on the family of origin, renunciation of full achievement of their life plans, distrust of institutions, low social and political participation, and increasing emigration flow. We analyze, using multivariate models, the data of the Rapporto Giovani survey held by the Toniolo Institute in 2015. Our main finding is that generational disadvantages not only hamper economic growth but, in a familistic context, also exacerbate social inequalities.     

The Secret Society's Secret: The Invoked Reality of the Tiandihui

This essay examines two sets of reports in the Qing-dynasty Jiaqing and Daoguang periods (respectively 1796-1820 and 1821-45) in order to understand better the perceived reality of the Tiandihui.The first set,found among the papers of Jiangxi governor Xianfu (1809-14),allows a comparison of a criminal gang that invoked the Tiandihui ceremony with one that did not.The second set includes the diary of Taihe county magistrate Xu Dihui (in office from 1824) that recorded various events which came to be reported to the senior officialdom as having been conducted by secret societies.By collating the incidents as reported in the diary and memorials to the emperor,the authors argue that the pressure of the administrative process was responsible for the ultimate acquiescence by the Hunan governor Han Wenqi (in office 1825-29) in the perception of an indisputable connection of the incidents with secret societies.Moreover,both sets of reports show that participants in secret-society ceremonies and officials who suppressed them knexv that the acclaimed networking of the Tiandihui as implied in its folklore was very far from the reality.     

The Killing of the Khazar Kings

PSYCHOLOGY AND PRIMITIVE CULTURE. By F. C. BARTLETT. Cambridge: University Press, 1923. Pp. xii + 294. 8s. 6d. n. Reviewed by R. R. Marett.

THE EXEMPLA OF THE RABBIS. By M. GASTER. [The. Asia Publishing Co.'s Oriental Series, edited by BRUNO SCHINDLER, Ph.D., Section III.: Palestine (Hebrew),. vol. I.] Leipzig-London, 1924. Pp. xlviii + 314 + 208. £2 2s. n. Reviewed by W. R. Halliday.

MASSENKUNST IM 16. JAHRHUNDERT, FLUGBLÄTTER AUS DER SAMMLUNG WICKIANA. FEHR, H. (Denkmale der Volkskunst, ed. by Wilhelm Fraenger). Berlin: Herbert Stubenrauch, 1924. 4°. Pp. 121 + 86. 10s. Reviewed by M. Gaster.

ANGLO-NORMAN LAPIDARIES. By PAUL STUDER and JOAN EVANS. Paris: Ed. Champion, 1924. 8vo. Pp. xx + 404. Reviewed by M. Gaster.

LES ROIS THAUMATURGES. Étude sur le caractere surnaturel attribué à la puissance royale, particulierèment en France et en Angleterre. By MARC BLOCH, Professeur à l'Univ. de Strasbourg. (Strasbourg and Paris, Librairie Istra, 1924.) Oxford University Press. Large 8vo. Pp. vii + 542; 4 plates. Fr. 30 (12s. 6d. n.). Reviewed by H. J. Rose.

LA POÉSIE CHEZ LES PRIMITIFS, OU CONTES, FABLES, RÉCITSET PROVERBES DU RWANDA (Lac Kivu). Par le R. P. EUGÈNE HUREL (Pères Blancs). Brussels: Goemaere, 21 Rue de la Limite), n.d. 10″ x 6½″. Pp. 260. 18 f. Reviewed by A. Werner.

LA LANGUE KISONGE. GRAMMAIRE—VOCABULAIRE—PROVERBES. Par le R. P. A. SAMAIN, Missionnaire de Scheut Au Kasai (Congo Beige). Brussels: Goemare, 21 Rue de la Limite, n.d. (Being No. XIV of the Bibliothèque-Congo). 10″ x 6½″. Pp. 152. Reviewed by A. Werner.

THE PANCHATANTRA RECONSTRUCTED. By FRANKLIN EDGERTON Connecticut, New Haven: American Oriental Society 1924. Two Vols. Vol. I., Text and Critical Apparatus Vol. II., Introduction and Translation. 8vo. Pp. x + 406 xix + 409. Reviewed by H. A. Rose.

THE OCEAN OF STORY : being C. H. Tawney's Translation of Somadeva's Kathā. Sarit Sagara (or Ocean of Streams of Story). Ed. by N. M. Penzer. (10 vols.) Vol. I. pp. xli + 334. Privately printed for subscribers: Chas. J. Sawyer, 1924. 10″ + 6?″. Pp. xli + 335. 42s. n. per vol. Reviewed by W. R. Halliday.     

隋唐丁中制探源——從敦煌吐魯番出土户籍文書切入

正史中首次明確記載的丁中制是西晉武帝平吴後＂户調之式＂的＂丁中老小＂劃分,而最爲完整的＂黄小中丁老＂之制,傳統認爲形成於隋朝。據傳世史書的記載,我們只能了解丁中制發展中的幾個關鍵點,而借助敦煌吐魯番新舊出土的户籍類文書,即可發現晉以降的丁中制在十六國、北朝等不同時段的發展脈絡。西晉制度向隋唐演進之主流,在北朝而不在南朝...     

The Concept of the Noosphere

A Marxist philosopher questions the premise stated during the debate over a unified geography [1960–1964] that the natural sciences must be concerned with the study of the laws of nature and the social sciences with the study of the laws of society, and the two may not be mixed. He develops the concept of the noosphere as the sphere in which man interacts with nature (called by others the anthroposphere, technosphere, or sociosphere) and suggests the need for the elaboration of a general theory of the man-nature relationship. The first steps leading to such a theory should involve the study of society by the techniques of the natural sciences, the study of nature by the techniques of the social sciences, and the elaboration of parameters characterizing the actual man-nature relationship.     

商代王位继承制的特质

商代自成汤始,三十帝十七世,弟及王位者十四人,其中九世为兄终弟及。殷王室在婚姻形态上虽有嫡庶之分,但并不彻底也不完备,未能进一步对继承王位的嫡子再分嫡庶,故无法形成具有区别大小宗的宗法制度。而子继作为弟及的中介和桥梁,起初主要是长兄之子,至小乙时转变为季弟之子,武乙以后又变为嫡长之子。子继者的亲属关系虽有变化,但在武乙之前基本上是兄终弟及的格局,从而显现出商代王位继承制的特质。周初承继了殷商末季的政治遗产,确立了更为严格的嫡长子继统法,遂成为后来百世不易的重要政治制度之一。     

The case of the World Trade Organization

This article explores the relationship between power and rules within the context of international relations, utilizing as a case‐study what is arguably the most powerful international juridical institution in the world today, the World Trade Organization (WTO). The author draws upon a number of his previous works on the subject of the WTO and its predecessor, the GATT, wending through such topics as: the way that political and diplomatic leaders improvized and filled in the gaps of international institutions when the original idea for an International Trade Organization (ITO) failed; the remarkably elaborate development of the particularly deep and rich WTO Dispute Settlement (DS) jurisprudence (over 60,000 pages); and the constant tension between the role of nation‐state power and the power allocated to international institutions, apparently necessitated by the huge impact of ‘globalization’ and interdependency in world affairs (especially economic) today. Various specific issues and cases illustrate these tensions and allocations, including treaty interpretation techniques, the degree of deference towards the members’ government actions, the arguments about the appropriate role of the ‘adjudicators’, and the delicately sensitive approach of the DS system towards clashes of policy necessitating ‘balance’. Throughout, particular emphasis is laid upon the ‘rule oriented’ (‘more legalization’) approach of the WTO DS jurisprudence, both in reflection on the historical and current developments of that juridical system—from ‘power oriented’ to ‘rule oriented’—and also in the important roles regarding tensions between ‘sovereignty’ concepts and international rule needs.     

The septuagint-version of the book of Joshua

Abstract

After I published a book on the Covenant Code (A Law Book for the Diaspora, 2003), in which I challenged the early dating of CC in comparison with the Deuteronomic Code and the Holiness Code, three leading scholars of biblical law (Bernard Jackson, Bernard Levinson and Eckart Otto) wrote lengthy reviews in which they attacked my views in defense of the status quo, namely, the priority in dating of CC before D and HC. Each from his own perspective and methodology has brought forward his strongest arguments against my “revolutionary” views, so that this response to my critics should represent a fair test as to my views on the Covenant Code and provide biblical scholarship with a means by which to judge the merits of the case.     

The Future of the Philosophy of Historiography

This article argues that the perception of decline among philosophers of history reflects the diffused weak academic status of the discipline, as distinct from the booming research activity and demand for philosophy of history that keeps pace with the growth rate of publications in the philosophies of science and law. This growth is justified and rational because the basic problems of the philosophy of history, concerning the nature of historiographical knowledge and the metaphysical assumptions of historiography, have maintained their relevance. Substantive philosophy of history has an assured popularity but is not likely to win intellectual respectability because of its epistemic weaknesses. I suggest focusing on problems that a study of historiography can help to understand and even solve, as distinct from problems that cannot be decided by an examination of historiography, such as the logical structure of explanation (logical positivism)and the relation between language and reality (post‐structuralism). In particular, following Quine's naturalized epistemology, I suggest placing the relation between evidence and historiography at the center of the philosophy of historiography. Inspired by the philosophy of law, I suggest there are three possible relations between input (evidence)and output in historiography: determinism, indeterminism, and underdeterminism. An empirical examination of historiographical agreement, disagreement, and failure to communicate may indicate which relation holds at which parts of historiography. The historiographical community seeks consensus, but some areas are subject to disagreements and absence of communication; these are associated with historiographical schools that interpret conflicting models of history differently to fit their evidence. The reasons for this underdetermination of historiography by evidence needs to be investigated further.     

The early dissolution of the house of representatives

An early election is likely: (a) when the elections for the two houses are out of kilter, (b) when the Parliament has met the technical conditions of section 57, and (c) when the government is in its first term of office. In other circumstances a parliament is likely to run its full term.

In terms of likelihood of winning an early election a prime minister would be well advised to call a synchronising early election if his government is in its first term (Deakin in 1903, Hughes in 1917 and Fraser in 1977) but should be advised against calling a double dissolution election if he is not in his first term. (There is no case of a prime minister winning a double dissolution election who was not in his first term.)

Generally speaking, synchronising early elections have been kind to governments while double dissolution elections have been unkind.     

The Dynamics of the Electoral Geography of the Five Star Movement: The Role of Territorial Area and Municipality Size

ABSTRACT

The aim of the article is to trace the evolution of the Movimento 5 Stelle (Five Star Movement [M.5.S.]) over the last four national elections (the 2013 and 2018 general elections and the 2014 and 2019 European elections). In particular, our goal is to understand how the electoral support for the party changed, in the context of the broad transformations of the Italian electoral geography. In order to accomplish this goal, we investigate the explanatory role of the spatial dimension on electoral support, specifically in terms of geographical zone and municipality size. The M.5.S. is also compared with the two parties that reported the best results in the last European elections: the Lega (League) and the Partito Democratico (Democratic Party [P.D.]). Our results show that the recent European elections do not represent a turning point in the (electoral and geographical) history of the M.5.S.: its territorial rooting in the south of the country and in medium-sized municipalities are present from the 2014 European elections onwards. Interpretations and implications of these findings are discussed in the conclusions.     

The Metrical Structure of the Oral Decapentasyllable

Abstract

What Milman Parry saw as his ‘historical method’ in Homeric criticism has paradoxically relieved students of the Greek folk song from the obligation to approach their subject of study from an exclusively genetic or ‘etymological,’ – in a word, historical – viewpoint. Instead of having to search for – or rather to speculate about – the origins of Greek oral poetry in the mists of antiquity or to assess the extent to which a song can provide reliable historical evidence concerning past events, we are free to turn our attention, as scholars such as Roderick Beaton (1980) and Grigoris Sifakis (1988) have done, to a synchronic study of the folk-song tradition, concentrating as much on the rules that generate the songs as on the significance of actual samples collected in the field (or in the scholar's study or the recording studio).     

The Shared International History of the Americas

Book reviewed:
Lester D. Langley. The Americas in the Modern Age . New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2003. 336 pp. Illustrations. $37.50 (cloth), $20.00 (paper).     

The Translation of the Scriptures and the Ecumenical Patriarchate: The Translation Efforts of Hilarion of Tirnovo

Abstract

In the beginning of the nineteenth century, Constantinople continued to be the intellectual and religious centre of the Greeks despite rival flourishing educational and economic centres in such cities as Smyrna, Kydonies (Aivali), and Chios. Moreover, it was the ‘national’ centre of the Greek people. It was natural, therefore, that the subject of a new translation of the Scriptures, a project affecting all Greeks, should have arisen once more in the Ottoman capital.     

The Geography of Industry in the United States

This review article surveys American work on the geography of industry from the point of view of five lines of research: (1) the development of a general theory of industrial location; (2) the geography of manufacturing as a whole and the delimitation of manufacturing districts; (3) the geography of individual industries; (4) study of individual industrial districts and centers; and (5) the effect of technological change on the geography of industry.     

The Role of the Eastern Regions in the Economy of the USSR

The economic development of the eastern regions, including Siberia and the Far East, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, has been hampered by manpower shortages (except in Central Asia) and the high cost of construction. However the generally more favorable conditions for resource development are viewed as a sound basis for further industrialization of the Eastern regions, focusing on fossil fuels and electric power and on industries consuming large amounts of fuel and power (nonferrous and ferrous metals, some chemicals, and forest products). In view of the need for integrated regional development, primary resource-based industries should be supplemented by some manufacturing, particularly heavy machinery industries and pulp and paper. Savings in construction could be achieved by investing in territorial-production complexes with interrelated industries and common engineering and transport systems.     

The Ideology of the Eunuch Priest

Roller explores the evidence for eunuch priests who castrated themselves to honour the Great Mother Goddess Cybele. While the custom of sacred eunuchism originated in Phrygia (in central Turkey), such priests are best attested in Greek and Roman society, where they were viewed with disgust and loathing because of their asexual condition and because they adopted the dress, hairstyles and mannerisms of women. The negative reactions to the eunuch priest rest on an unspoken assumption of the superiority of masculine appearance and of the inviolability of appropriate gender roles for men and women.     

The failure of the Patarine movement

Although the authors of recent literature on the Patarine movement in Milan (1057-75) have very different intellectual backgrounds, they all try to study and interpret the movement in its complete historical context, and they point to the circumstances or special combination of circumstances which caused the movement to fail. Its failure was due in part to its relationship to the social structure. In this article we first show why this relationship needs to be re-examined and then go on to investigate how the place of the movement in the social structure contributed to its failure and dramatic collapse.     

The Yezidi Wednesday and the Music of the Spheres

The article is an attempt to answer the question why Wednesday has the status of a holy day in Yezidism. Wednesday can be seen as a commemoration of the fourth day of creation, when the life on earth began and the Peacock Angel became its ruler. The article points to the Yezidi worship of the Moon and the Sun and related angels (Melek Fakhradin and Melek Sheikh Shams) and connects it with the Pythagorean concept concerning the movement of the planets and the Music of the Spheres. Two sacred Yezidi instruments, def and shibab, appear as allegories of celestial bodies in the Yezidi sacred hymns in the cosmogonic context of the creation of the macrocosm and microcosm (Adam). The article also points out the meaning of Wednesday in Judaism as the day when God created the sun, moon and stars and briefly discusses relationships with planet worship in Harran, Zoroastrianism and Mandaeism, especially in the context of the Yezidi Çar?emiya Sor festival which takes place on the first Wednesday of the month of Nisan.