Region, culture and society: understanding antiquity from the field

Approaches to the finds, monuments and settlements of past and present landscapes in different parts of Europe, and the contributions of their regional archaeological traditions, are briefly evaluated from a historical perspective. The point of departure is the work of the Dane, Ole Worm, in the early seventeenth century, on the whole of Denmark and Norway. Worm pioneered systematic large-scale topographical recording of monuments, and so provided data for the earliest archaeological distribution maps. Another Dane, N.F.S. Sehested, in the mid-eighteenth century, led the development of intensive small-scale regional studies. In conclusion, the methods of large scale active survey (e.g. in the Mediterranean) are reconsidered, and the particular role of Communist Eastern Europe in pioneering early large-scale excavation is emphasized.     

Escaping Violence,Seeking Freedom: Why Children in Bangladesh Migrate to the Street

In Bangladesh, as in many developing countries, there is a widespread belief amongst the public, policy makers and social workers that children ‘abandon’ their families and migrate to the street because of economic poverty. Ignoring and avoiding mounting evidence to the contrary, this dominant narrative posits that children whose basic material needs cannot be met within the household move to the street. This article explores this narrative through the analysis of detailed empirical research with children in Bangladesh. It finds that social factors lie behind most street migration and, in particular, that moves to the street are closely associated with violence towards and abuse of children within the household and local community. These findings are consistent with the wider literature on street migration from other countries. In Bangladesh, those who seek to reduce the flow of children to the streets need to focus on social policy, especially on how to reduce the excessive control and emotional, physical and sexual violence that occur in some households. Economic growth and reductions in income poverty will be helpful, but they will not be sufficient to reduce street migration by children.     

Issue Definition, Conflict Expansion, and Tort Reform: Lessons from the American General Aviation Industry

This article examines the concepts of issue definition and conflict expansion through an analysis of the debate over tort reform in the general aviation industry. More specifically, the article studies the efforts of the general aviation manufacturers to define the issue of tort reform in ways that strengthened their unlikely coalition with important consumer groups and minimized opposition from organized labor, which typically sides with the plaintiffs bar in the tort reform debate. The case is intriguing because it provides more than just a snapshot of the industry's efforts. The analysis begins by examining some of the manufacturers' less successful strategies and traces the evolution of their campaign, which culminates in the rather clever use of issue definition and conflict expansion strategies for which the trial lawyers were unprepared to match. In the end, effective use of these strategies overcame what appeared to most observers to he a classic political mismatch.     

The Emergence of Complex Metallurgy on the Iranian Plateau: Escaping the Levantine Paradigm

Models for the development of metallurgy in Southwest Asia have for a long time been focussed on research carried out in the lowland regions of the Levant and Mesopotamia. These models do not take into account the different developmental trajectories witnessed in the resource-rich highlands of Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Iran. In this paper, the beginnings of the use and production of metals in Iran will be juxtaposed with a cursory overview of the lowland model (the ‘Levantine Paradigm’) in order to highlight these differences. By synthesizing data from a number of current research projects exploring the early metallurgy of the Iranian Plateau, this paper demonstrates how at least one of the highland regions of Southwest Asia was at the very forefront of technological innovation from the seventh through the second millennium BC.      

Exhibiting atomic culture: the view from Oak Ridge

In the aftermath of World War II, residents of “nuclear cities” like Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Los Alamos, New Mexico, where America's atomic weapons were produced struggled to interpret the nation's atomic history as well as their own stories, for themselves, for tourists and for other visitors. Once literally hidden cities, they remain steeped in Cold War culture and ideology, yet they face uncertain futures as weapons production needs change, hazardous waste dangers become more apparent and homeland security is threatened. “Atomic museums” established at these and other sites have become focal points of such dilemmas. Their evolving interpretations of America's atomic heritage play a significant role in shaping public understanding of the Bomb.     

Inevitability,masculinity, and the American military tradition: the committee on the conduct of the war investigates the American Civil War

This essay examines the work of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, a joint select committee of investigation formed by Congress during the American Civil War. During its tenure in the 37^th and 38^th sessions of Congress, the Committee investigated almost every aspect of Union military operations; however, its principal concern was the examination of Union military defeats. Members of the Committee on the Conduct of the War were influenced by the notion of inevitable Union victory. As self‐made men who had achieved a degree of success in the emerging market economy of nineteenth‐century America, Committee members exemplified the period's predominate concept of masculinity. Also skeptical of military science and distrustful of the United States military academy at West Point, the Committee showed a marked preference for volunteer soldiers and officers throughout the war. Believing that West Point generals who endorsed strategic maneuver were cowardly and disloyal, Committee members were frequently critical of regular army officers in their investigations. Confusing the rhetoric of ‘hard war’ with military competence, the Committee's disdain for military education caused it to endorse incompetent military leadership and advocate mediocre generals for high command.