Students: Are they really so conservative?

In order to test the proposition that students in the late 1970s were markedly more conservative than the students of the late 1960s, a sample of 550 University of Queensland students was surveyed in September 1979 employing a questionnaire similar to that administered to 272 Queensland students in 1969. The contemporaneous campaign against the Queensland government's ban on street marches, providing as it did frequent opportunities for participation in protest, facilitated comparison at the level of participation in protest as well as that of attitudes. Although students’ political party preferences had moved to the left, the pattern of attitude change was less consistent, the most marked and consistent change being the decline in confidence in political authorities. Although students’ views of protest politics were no less favourable, their preparedness to participate had declined. Perhaps the most striking change was, however, the rise in interest and participation in politics amongst women.     

So far,so good? Russia and the ESDP

The progression from a European Security and Defence Initiative to a European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) has not left Russian policy–makers indifferent. The Yeltsin administration greeted the emergence of the European Union as a new player in European security, seeing it as a potential challenge to NATO and American influence. President Putin's emphasis on developing trust and cooperation with the West has changed the Russian perspective on the ESDP. Russian interest in dialogue and functional cooperation with the ESDP now stems primarily from a wish to add substance to the still nascent EU–Russia partnership, which Putin has chosen as Russia's foremost external priority. In view of the imbalance between EU and Russian economic capacities, the security sphere appears as the most promising area of cooperation on which to found a meaningful long–term partnership. This article traces the evolution of Russian perceptions of the ESDP since it was first launched in June 1999 and outlines the development of EU–Russia relations in this field, which has given Russia the most advanced mechanism for interaction with the ESDP available to a non–EU country. It explores prospective areas of cooperation, as they are viewed by each side, and looks into issues of potential discord. Finally, the article considers the future of Russia–ESDP cooperation in the light of Russia's revitalized partnership with NATO.     

Why is the Nation-State so Vulnerable to Ethnic Nationalism?

Abstract. The strength of national identity derived from the belief that state elites would be the agents of equitable development. Their invented ideology of the social justice community resonated with the psychological needs of individuals in search of an imagined kinship community able to replicate the security of the family. From the late 1960s, the inability of state elites to fulfil their developmental promises led to a decline in state authority, which then translated into the erosion of its main legitimatory ideology – the myth of the assimilating nation. This generated the new legitimacy of countervailing ethnic nationalisms. Instead of looking to the state as the imagined kinship community, disillusioned citizens became receptive to new social justice claims by aspiring political elites, which depicted ethnicity as the alternative imagined kinship community. Attempts by state elites to manage these new ethnic claims face problems relating to the neutrality of the state and to the resonance of myths of the multicultural nation.     

The Case for a Pre-emptive Strike,and so forth …

Abstract

This article is a response to the piece by Stephen Strehle in issue 5.1. It is recognized that a variety of theological and political perspectives come from the US, but argues that this is a poor illustration of contemporary political theology. Strehle, it is suggested, has a mistaken understanding of US history and represents a strand of American thought which has failed to acknowledge the faults of an imperial past, in particular the crimes committed against ‘native’ peoples. The war against Iraq is presented as a further illustration of an imperial mentality which pervades parts of US culture. Strehle fails to recognize the flaws apparent in the morality of the West. The critique of the place of just war theory in contemporary geo-political conflicts is challenged, as is the assertion that the church has a duty to follow the government of the day. The article ends with a recognition of the value of, and inspiration resulting from, much US political theological thought.     

Staying on Top: Why is Munich so Resilient and Successful?

This article seeks to explain why Munich, Germany's most economically successful city in recent decades, has proved so resilient despite various challenges and shocks. It begins by discussing different theoretical understandings of resilience and our methodological approach which builds on complex adaptive systems and evolutionary economic geography perspectives. Using a blend of historical analysis and in-depth investigation of the dynamics of one of the city's most innovative clusters, we argue that Munich's resilience essentially stems from the complex interplay of Germany's distinctive political history and federal system, which has promoted multi-level governance and a strong urban system, longstanding city regional leadership and entrepreneurialism, Munich's inherent assets and diverse economy and the combined strength of its many knowledge institutions, innovation system and networks. The evidence suggests that historic, structural and locational factors and agglomeration effects largely explain Munich's rise to prominence but that sustained urban and regional leadership and effective governance and policy especially in the technological, scientific and educational spheres coupled with intelligent urban planning have played an increasingly important role in sustaining its competitiveness.     

Why are cut mark frequencies in archaeofaunal assemblages so variable? A multivariate analysis

Cut mark frequencies in archaeological faunal assemblages are so variable that their use has recently created some skepticism. The present study analyses this variability using multivariate statistics on a set of 14 variables that involve differential skeletal element representation, fragmentation processes, carnivore ravaging impact, carcass size and tool type. All these variables affect the resulting cut mark frequencies reported in archaeological sites. A large sample of archaeofaunal assemblages has been used for this study. It was concluded that the best estimator of cut mark frequency in any given assemblage is the percentage of cut-marked long bone specimens (probably due to its better preservation than other anatomical areas), which is determined by fragmentation and carnivore ravaging. Carcass size and tool type also play a major role in differences in cut mark frequencies. Fragmentation is also a key variable determining the abundance of cut-marked specimens. It is argued that general cut mark percentages are of limited value, given the number of variables that determine them, and that a more heuristic approach involves quantifying cut marks in a qualitative manner.     

A parasitological paradox: Why is ascarid infection so rare in the prehistoric Americas?

Ascaris lumbricoides (giant roundworm) and Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) are the most common intestinal parasites found in humans worldwide today and they almost always co-occur. However, we find two distinct patterns in archaeological material. In historical North American and Old World contexts, the association of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura is similar to the modern epidemiological picture. In contrast, the co-occurrence of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura eggs in prehistoric South America is rare. For prehistoric contexts, T. trichiura is the most common parasite found in archaeological material. Recently molecular biology techniques pointed to a subdiagnosis of roundworm infection in pre-Columbian South American populations. This is contrary to the modern epidemiological picture in which A. lumbricoides infection is predominant. This is a paradox, especially when one considers the number of eggs laid by female daily, 200,000 and 20,000 thousand per day, for A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura respectively. By reviewing the records of these parasites, this paradox is presented and explanations for the paradox are explored. Taphonomy, prehistoric behavior patterns and medicinal plant use seem to be most relevant to the explanation of the paradox. Nematophagous fungi is a less likely factor creating the near absence of A. lumbricoides eggs in the prehistoric New World.     

‘Home is home be it never so homely’: Reading Mid-Victorian Slum Interiors

This article considers representations of the ‘slum interior’ as complex cultural narratives produced by urban investigators of the mid-Victorian period, including Henry Mayhew, Thomas Beames and George Godwin. Much existing scholarship on nineteenth-century slum narratives has tended to emphasize the use of sensationalism, hyperbole and tropes of colonialism to describe the dire living conditions of the very poor, a feature particularly apparent in the works of the 1880s. By focusing on writings from the period 1849–1865, this article pays attention to earlier conceptions and projections of slum interiors which were conceived as not altogether abject or ‘other’, but as ambivalent spaces that both defied, and invoked, Victorian forms of domesticity. Through close readings of their textual and visual form, I show how the paradoxical and ambivalent spaces of the slum interior reconfigure in meaningful ways the conventional relations of domestic architecture, inhabitants and their objects.     

‘We have so many challenges’: Small-scale mining,Covid-19 and constant interruptions in West Africa

Currently, the impacts of Covid-19 are receiving significant global attention. This also applies to the extractive industries, where this global crisis is directing the gaze of policymakers, donors and academics alike. Covid-19 is seen as having far-reaching and disruptive consequences, especially in the case of artisanal and small-scale mining. While the authors consider this attention important, their work on artisanal and small-scale mining in Ghana – and West Africa more broadly – reveals that for many miners, Covid-19 is ‘just’ another interruption to their lives and lifeworlds which are chronically affected by interruptions of different scales, magnitudes and temporalities. As anthropologists have shown, foregrounding this structural condition – which is emblematic for the lives of many people, especially in the Global South – is key to questioning, understanding and contextualizing the current moment of ‘global’ crisis and must be an element of any policy and research emerging from it.     

Why so many wings? A re-examination of avian skeletal part representation in the south-central Northwest Coast,USA

Ten years ago, I summarized hypotheses for the abundance of bird wing elements in archaeological sites and rejected the hypothesis that differential preservation caused this pattern in the Pacific Northwest Coast (Bovy, 2002). I also noted that distal wing elements (relative to proximal wings) dominated several assemblages in the Gulf of Georgia sub-region. I re-examine this issue, focusing on behavioral hypotheses for the abundance of distal wings. Ethnographic evidence is used to formulate predictions for the cultural explanations, which are tested using data from the late Holocene Watmough Bay (45SJ280) site, where distal wings comprise 98% of the large duck assemblage (n = 4195). Diving ducks, dabbling ducks, geese, loons and grebes all have more distal wing bones than expected, and were likely caught using submerged nets. The most plausible explanation for the prevalence of distal wing bones is either that only the distal wings were transported back to the sites (perhaps attached to skins) and/or the distal wings were discarded separately during cooking.     

‘Not fullye so loftye’: excavations at the Royal Fort,St Michael’s Hill,Bristol

The Royal Fort was the largest of Bristol’s northern ring of Civil War forts. Designed by Prince Rupert of the Rhine’s Dutch engineer, Bernard de Gomme, and constructed between 1643 and 1645, it was maintained during the Commonwealth long after its founder was in exile and his cause lost. Despite the intensity of subsequent development, it has survived as a place name for over 350 years. Recent excavations at the fort site have revealed unprecedented information on the scale and topographical adaptations of fort buildings, which, to date, may be unique in the British Isles. Features post-dating the forts’ decommissioning and reclamation of the land, particularly for the 18th- and 19th-century pleasure gardens of the wealthy mercantile Tyndall family, include a previously unknown ice house and evidence for heated glasshouses.     

The so‐called scandinavian cultural boundary in northern Sweden in viking times ‐ Ethnic or Socio‐Economic?

Sammanfattning

Den s k skandinaviska kulturgränsen i norra Sverige under vikingatid ‐ var den en etnisk eller socio‐ekonomisk gräns? En studie utifrån det arkeologiska materialet.

Till Ångermanlands kustland och Storsjöbygden i Jämtland i norr finns nordiska ortnamn som går tilbaka till järnåldern. Man talar här om “den skandinaviska kulturgränsen”. Men den har också av vissa forskare uppfattats som en statisk, etnisk sydgräns för den samiska kulturen.

Forskningen har länge dominerats av den norske etnografen Yngvar Nielsens “immigrationsteori” av år 1889, att samema först under nyare tid skulle ha vandrat söder ut från Nordtrøndelag i Norge och Lappland i Sverige. Den då gängse uppfattningen bland såväl norska som svenska arkeologer var istället den att samema var urbefolkningen i norra och mellersta Skandinavien.

Nya undersökningar stödjer detta. Forntida samiska gravar (och boplatser) finns i inlandet betydligt längre söderut, tydligast på Vivallen i nordvästra Härjedalen med hittils 21 skelettgravar under flat mark, från åtminstone 1000‐ og 1100‐talen. Andra gravar söder om kulturgränsen tolkade som samiska eller tillhöriga fångstkulturen är de s k insjögravarna, brandgravar från första årtusendet e Kr.

Vad innebar då den s k kulturgränsen under vikingatid? För att söka underlag för en hypotes härom har jag gått igenom tydligt skandinaviska eller östliga brons‐och silverföremål från 8‐, 9‐ och 1000‐(1100‐) talen, och deras fyndomständigheter, allt från Sverige norr om den tänkta gränsen.

Många av de aktuella föremålen härrör från gravar, som genomgående tycks vara samiska. Nära kontakter med såväl öst‐ som västskandinavisk kultur liksom finsk kan förklara att ett område utmärks av brandgravar under rosen, ett annat av brandgravar under hög, övergående till skelettgravar, medan ett tredje har givit skelettgravar under flat mark. Att större delen av området saknar kända gravar kan bero på inhemska, ej närmare kända gravseder.

De aktuella gravgåvorna är dräktprydnader. Sådana tycks i sig inte vara etniskt betingade. En annorlunda användning av utifrån införda ting, jämfört med bruket i deras tillverkningsländer, förefaller däremot att kunna nyttjas som en indikation på samisk etnisk tillhörighet. Inte heller gravformer och gravskick visar sig bundna till en etnisk grupp. Ett undantag tycks vara (sydda) näversvepningar som utmärkt samiska gravar. Gravlägena förefaller däremot att vara indikator på samisk tillhörighet; de antagna samiska gravarna ligger i regel på näs, öar och holmar.

Den s k skandinaviska kulturgränsen i norra Sverige tycks därmed under vikingatid vara en gräns åt norr för dels nordisk bygd, dels ett mera påtagligt inflytande från östra Skandinavien (Sverige) på den samiska befolkningen i fångstmarken. Den var alltså delvis en socio‐ekonomisk gräns och en gräns inom samisk område, inte en sydgräns för den samiska kulturen.     

The feminization of governance in rural communities in Poland: the case of village representatives (sołtys)

The main aim of this article is to analyze the drivers behind the feminization of the position of village representative in Poland and to discuss the possible consequences of this process. This article is based on a qualitative empirical study conducted in 10 communes located in different regions of Poland and varied in terms of women's participation in local public life. The results of my research show that the most significant factors of the feminization of the function of village representatives are social and cultural changes, as well as weakening of this position in the current system of local administrative institutions. Research has shown no striking differences in terms of types of initiatives or modes of functioning by women and men. Of significance, on the other hand, is the diversity of views on gender equality and, in particular, the activities of women in local public life. In the communes characterized by a significant presence of female village representatives and commune councilors, the women's public activities are more accepted and appreciated than in the communes, where women in such positions were in a minority.     

The long‐haired kings of the Franks: ‘like so many Samsons?’1

As the paradigm of Germanic sacral kingship has lost its appeal, historians have begun to rethink the concept of Merovingian kingship. Most of the arguments once used in support of its alleged Germanic and pagan character have now been refuted. However, the meaning of their long hair has thus far proven difficult to explain. This article will argue that the Merovingian hairstyle took up Christian meaning shortly after their conversion, presenting them in the image of the biblical Samson. Consequently, their use of biblical analogies to legitimize royal power further challenges the once‐held dichotomy between Merovingian and Carolingian kingship.     

Building survey forms for heterogeneous urban areas in seismically hazardous zones. Application to the historical center of Valparaíso,Chile

ABSTRACT

Building survey is an essential data-collection procedure to feed large-scale seismic vulnerability assessment. The available strategies usually consider survey forms to gather information about the urban buildings. The application of the available survey forms poses important challenges for the case of the heterogeneous urban centers including different structural typologies. This work proposes four specific survey forms for traditional structural typologies constructed with masonry, reinforced concrete, mixed steel-reinforced concrete, and timber. The proposed forms request essential information on the parameters necessary for seismic vulnerability assessment, by evaluating the lateral-load resistant system, regularity, condition of conservation, and existing damages. The survey forms were applied to the study of 111 buildings of the historical center of Valparaíso, Chile. The proposed methodology was complemented with the use of Geographic Information Systems to obtain a complete database with the structural characterization of the most representative typologies for future works of large-scale seismic vulnerability assessment.     

‘There's only so much money hot dog sales can bring in’: The intersection of green school grounds and socio-economic status

In the interest of enhancing children's environments, many school grounds around the world are being ‘greened’ as asphalt and manicured grass are replaced with a diversity of elements and spaces, such as trees, shrubs, gardens, art, and gathering areas. Despite a growing body of research from a number of disciplines that is exploring the potential of these spaces, very little is known about how issues of socio-economic status (SES) influence school ground greening initiatives. In this paper, I explore what (if any) relationship exists between school ground greening and SES in a Canadian school board where approximately 20% of more than 500 schools have begun the greening process. A mixed methods approach was used: (1) 149 questionnaires were completed by administrators, teachers, and parents associated with 45 school ground greening initiatives; and (2) 21 follow-up interviews were conducted with administrators, teachers and parents at five greening projects across a range of SESs. Three significant, and arguably troubling, patterns emerged as a function of socio-economic status of the school community. Participants associated with schools across a range of SESs had different: (1) perceptions as to the importance/adequacy of green school grounds; (2) access to adult support; and (3) access to funding. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

“He hath not dealt so with any. nation”: Three Recent Books on Religion,Economy, and Society in Colonial Mexico

The Wages of Conquest: The Mexican Aristocracy in the Context of Western Aristocracies. By HUGO G. NUTINI. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994. Pp. xviii, 444.

Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Origins and Sources of a Mexican National Symbol, 1531–1797. By STAFFORD POOLE. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1995. Pp. 325.

The History of Capitalism in Mexico: Its Origins, 1521–1763. By ENRIQUE SEMO. Trans. LIDIA LOZANO. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993. Pp. 231.