Chemists,engineers and entrepreneurs the chemical institute of sarrià's impact on Spanish industry (1916–1992)

This paper analyzes the influence the Chemical Institute of Sarrià (IQS) ‐a private institution devoted both to the education of chemists and chemical engineers and to applied research‐ has had on Spain's chemical industry from 1916 onwards. The research reported is based upon three data sources (articles on industrial chemistry published by the IQS’ journal Afinidad and M. Se. theses; IQS graduates’ industrial activities; and technical services carried out by the Institute's staff for several companies). The main conclusion is that the IQS has had a remarkable impact on Catalan and Spanish industry. Although there are no other similar studies on Spanish scientific and technical institutions, the IQS case confirms that technical education and institutionalized research have a positive impact on the economic and industrial development of “latecomers” like Spain.     

Structural ways to embed a research laboratory into the company: A comparison between Philips and General Electric 1900-1940

This paper compares the Philips Research Department and the Research Laboratory of the American company General Electric (GE). 1 It argues that it is, above all, the issue of the organization of industrial research, appropriate leadership and the embeddedness of a research department in the company as a whole that is important for an historical analysis of an industrial research department. The complex structures that Gilles Holst (the first Philips research director) and Willis Whitney (the GE research director during the first decades of the twentieth century) set up in their organizations enabled scientists to keep in touch with the resources provided by the universities, and made it possible for them to come up with articles, patents and devices for their respective companies. It enabled them also to strengthen their contacts inside and outside the laboratory's walls. However, more than his colleague Whitney at GE, Holst at Philips intended to integrate the research laboratory into the company as a whole. Holst's policy as a research director will be illustrated using the case of Philips' radio research. A comparative discussion of industrial research in the 1930s within both companies shows that the "successful" integration of research activities is context-dependent.     

Discussion papers

Using Africa for the regional context, this article presents an instructional strategy for improving students' awareness of African world-views and the news media's coverage of the continent. After studying about African world-views and the media's representation of Africa, students use a research/writing project to evaluate the media's inclusion of world-views in the coverage of selected African events. The research/writing project helps students to become more inclusive in their awareness of cultures and to develop writing skills and electronic network research skills.     

MAJOR RESEARCH AREAS AT THE INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY IN THE TWELFTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN

Five major research areas, debated at an unprecedented, four-day special session of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Geography, Academy of Sciences of the USSR in November 1986, are outlined. Some 30 officially recognized research themes encompassed by these areas represent the Institute's program of research under the Twelfth Five-Year Plan's emphasis on economic restructuring and intensification of resource use. Particular emphasis in the program of research is placed on the study of the interrelated problems of integrated physical geography, human-environment interactions, geosystem stability and instability, the territorial organization of productive forces and settlement, and technological innovations in information systems, modelling, and remote sensing (translated by Jay Mitchell; PlanEcon, Inc.; Washington, DC 20005).     

Symeon the Sanctified and the re-foundation of Xenophon

Abstract

The re-foundation of the Athonite monastery of Xenophon at the end of the eleventh century provides an interesting case study of the activities of a 'second founder'. The activities of Symeon the Sanctified demonstrate how a high-ranking, ex-imperial official re-established the status and possessions of Xenophon by using the wealth, legal expertise and social connections at his disposal. Making use of a detailed study of documents from the archive of Xenophon, the article suggests solutions to the puzzling chronology of Symeon's activities on the holy mountain and discusses the causes of his conflict with the Athonite authorities and subsequent re-instatement.     

In Praise of Recklessness

Abstract

Catherine Zuckert's Plato's Philosophers argues that the central concern of the Platonic dialogues, read as a single corpus, is to examine the character of philosophy as represented in the activities of five different Platonic characters. The activity of philosophy is most clearly triangulated by showing the advantages and limitations of Socratic philosophy as set against the practices of others laying claim to that title. This article endorses Zuckert's interpretation while raising questions concerning Socrates' eventual philosophic status, the relationship between philosophy and irony, and the standing of philosophy as a social practice.     

The William James Foundry 1817–1843: An Exposé of Local Metallurgical Enterprise

Abstract

It is a traditionally held view that slavery retarded industrial enterprises, and as such any form of metallurgical industries/activities, for example, would be alien in a slave society. Recent research has, however, indicated quite clearly the technological capacity of slave societies, noting that technological innovations including technical enterprises were evident in slave societies and thus challenges the 'incompatibility thesis' that slavery retarded economic development.     

Twenty-five years of children's geographies: a planner's perspective

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the key trends and changes that have taken place in my 25 years of children's geographies research. I reflect on the growing awareness of children in research but also the continued marginalisation of children and children's concerns in my own planning profession, and the continuing need for a greater presence for Majority world children in research. I ask if we as children's geographers can rise to the growing global challenges children face. To do so will require greater interdisciplinary work and recognition of the ever more complex and dynamic nature of societies if we are to create a robust forward-looking research agenda with and for children.     

Conformity and resistance in the Victorian penal system: archaeological investigations at Parliament House,Edinburgh

Abstract

Archaeological investigations at Parliament House in Edinburgh included the recovery of artefacts from a void discovered during building works. This space had been used as undercourt jail cells in the late 19th century, a time of penal reform. The assemblage contains items representing domestic, light industrial and clerical activities, as well as personal items such as children's toys and women's clothing. The Victorian penal code, contemporary accounts of prisoners, warders and chaplains, and historical and criminological studies suggest that they reflect not only the Prison Board's attempt to enforce conformity but also prisoners' and prison employees' resistance to the system.     

Hegel and Historicism

Abstract

This article summarises the story of the production of the historical volumes by the South African Democracy Education Trust (SADET). SADET was established after former president Thabo Mbeki expressed concern that there was very limited research done on the achievement of a peaceful political settlement in South Africa after decades of violent conflict. SADET's mission is, and has been to conduct a major study of South Africa's political history between 1960 and 1994. The focus of the article is on the project's editorial structure and on its research methodology, particularly the benefits and limitations of the use of oral interviews as the main research tool.     

An overview of women's health in the U.S. since the mid-1960 s

Women's health became intertwined with the second wave of feminism in the 1960s. The process and history of the interactions among physicians, feminists, health care consumers, activists, and politicians have brought women's health into the foreground of health research and curricular agendas in several ways. It identified major gaps in research and practice and initiated a critique of the current health care system at all levels; it originated from, and remains connected with, the non-medical community; it is interdisciplinary and requires interdisciplinary teams for research and clinical practice, as well as collaboration with colleagues in non-medical academic fields; it developed new curriculum focused on women's health; it emphasizes race, class, sexual orientation, and other diversities among women. The continuing presence of activists and feminist scholars will insure that health and science include women's needs to provide better health for all.     

Examining elements of children's place attachment

ABSTRACT

The quality of children's attachments to people has claimed considerable scrutiny in research and practice. Children's attachment to place, however, has received less attention despite its relevance to childhood experiences. This paper explores childhood place attachment and applies Chawla's theory as a guiding framework. This theory delineates places by three forms of fulfillment: security and belonging, social affiliation, and creative expression and exploration. Research from within schools and hospitals cites evidence of children's varied interpretations and their responses to adult domination that drive creativity. Acknowledging the significance of place attachments can inform research, policy and professional practice.     

Alan Wilson – contributions to research on population and migration

ABSTRACT

This article reviews Alan Wilson's research on population and migration in the 1970s and the 2010s, which supplements his principal contribution - mathematical modelling of urban and regional systems. In the 1970s, drawing on input-output models of economies and working with Philip Rees, Wilson established the accounting basis for Andrei Rogers' multi-regional projection model, adding international migration. Innovative methods were developed to complete demographic accounts, where there were data gaps. In the 2010s, working with Adam Dennett, Wilson systematized methods for estimating migration flows between regions in Europe, employing his family of spatial interaction models. The key aim of both research strands was to ensure that no information was ignored to ensure consistency in population and migration models. The influence of Wilson's contributions to research on population and migration is traced through a survey of subsequent research.     

‘So that we don't spoil them’: understanding children's everyday mobility through parents’ affective practices

ABSTRACT

Children's everyday mobility and freedom of movement have been closely linked to parental practices, or what has been referred to as parental ‘mobility permits’ or ‘mobility licences’. Most research tends to focus on parental restrictions, while this article explores the affective practices Swedish middle-class parents use in order to enhance their children's mobility, i.e. how emotions are perceived as enabling parents’ and children's spatial experiences and thus their feelings of safety and security; as well as how emotions are talked of as disabling or disrupting the potential for children's mobility. These affective practices are analysed in relation to the parents’ self-reflexive positioning on a continuum between ‘the helicopter parent’ and ‘the engaged and enabling parent’. The material for the article is comprised of 33 interviews with the children's parents, carried out within a larger ethnographic research project on children's everyday mobility in Sweden.     

Ming dynasty maritime provisions transport during the second stage of the East Asian War (1597–98)

Abstract

This article discusses the issue of the Ming army's maritime shipping of supplies during the second stage of the East Asian War of 1597–8. Despite the lack of historical sources and difficulty in finding accurate numbers, Zhang Yangmeng's 張養蒙 memorials include records of maritime transport decisions, implementation, effectiveness, and limitations and are of great help to filling in the blank areas of research in Ming army logistics.     

An intergenerational qualitative study of the good parenting ideal and active free play during middle childhood

ABSTRACT

This study addressed the question: How and why has the good parenting ideal changed in relation to active free play (AFP) during middle childhood? Twenty-eight middle class and predominantly white adults (14 grandparent-parent dyads) completed individual semi-structured interviews. Data were subjected to a thematic analysis. Two themes (changing expectations for parental involvement in children's lives and increasing expectations to involve children in structured activities) depicted how the good parenting ideal has changed. A further two themes (news media influence on perceptions of safety and concerns about being judged on social media) explained some of the reasons why the good parenting ideal has changed. Perceived needs for parental involvement, supervision, and organized activities appear to contradict the notion of active free play. It may be useful to develop initiatives that are consistent with the good parenting ideal, and to examine parents’ use of traditional and social media in future AFP research.     

Transatlantic Correspondence and ‘Mobile Knowledge’ in Alexander von Humboldt's Exploratory Travels to Hispanic America

Summary

This article focuses on the relevance of Alexander von Humboldt's correspondence in the formation of transatlantic scientific networks at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Apart from connecting Humboldt with scientists and scholars worldwide, his correspondence turned out to be a fundamental tool for assuring the material conditions and the social and scientific connections he needed to carry out his research on the Spanish colonies and to simultaneously diffuse his achievements on the European side of the Atlantic. His contact with Hispanic American scientists and with the local elites enabled him to build a broad social network, gaining access to key material, human and intellectual resources. The letters sent to scientists, scientific institutions and noblemen in Europe, for their part, kept Humboldt's European correspondents informed about his activities in Hispanic America, contributing to the validation of his work before the scientific community and the fulfilment of the duties resulting from the political and institutional support he received both before and during his travels. This stresses the importance of strategic social groups and their cooperation in the framework of exploratory travels as a means to gaining access to resources in the peripheries. It also reveals the scientist's dependence on all those who supported his research: kings, barons, botanical gardens, universities, and academies.     

The Kenneth J. Barton collection of vernacular pottery

Abstract

Kenneth Barton's large collection of everyday post-medieval European ceramics has recently been donated to Somerset County Museums. The Note describes the character of the collection, the intentions behind its formation, its potential for research, and access to the collection.     

The Diocese of Carlisle, 1814–1855. Chancellor Walter Fletcher’s ‘Diocesan Book’, with additional material from Bishop Percy’s parish notebooks

Abstract

Newspaper children's columns first appeared in the 1870s. However, they have been largely overlooked by academic studies of education, children's literature and the newspaper Press. This latter resource has provided rich veins of material for scholars looking for affirmation of contemporary events. The 'miscellaneous' contents of this source, and particularly that of the provincial weeklies, have been largely ignored. This study analyses the development of children's columns in two weekly newspapers, the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle and the Northern Weekly Leader. Both of these newspapers launched societies attached to their children's columns, the 'Dicky Bird Society', which ran until 1940 and the 'Golden Circle', which ceased in 1919. During their existence, these two societies enrolled nearly half a million members, who were then engaged in activities ranging from charitable collections to nature conservation work. Such numbers support the argument that children's columns were a vital element of the popular Press and were more than simply miscellaneous features. These features played a vital commercial role for their respective titles in their adversarial circulation battles by creating a community of readers at an early age.