The NATO-Warsaw Pact competition in the 1970s and 1980s: a revolution in military affairs in the making or the end of a strategic age?

The NATO-Warsaw Pact military competition at the heart of the Cold War was also the incubator of a ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’ (RMA) in Europe in the 1970s and 1980s, which predates the better-known American concept of RMA of the 1990s.     

The Flemish diamond: urban network in the making?

The network concept has become quite well‐established and is used in a wide variety of disciplines. The application of the concept in the context of spatial planning seems rather vague though. This article focuses on the gap between the normative network concept, as used in the Flemish Diamond, and everyday factual reality. A discourse analysis of the performance of the concept at lower planning levels shows a wide variety of reading and use of the original concept. It is argued that only the careful selection of a strategic project for the Flemish Diamond, which could attract the interest and sympathy of a very diverse range of actors, might be able to bridge the gap. To increase the performance of the concept, principles for network management as a multi‐level activity are formulated.     

The Ciempozuelos Necropolis skull: a case of double trepanation?

The focus of this study is the analysis of a trepanation performed on the skull of an adult male from the famous Bell Beaker necropolis of Ciempozuelos (Madrid) excavated at the end of the 19^th century. The unusual characteristics of the pottery and other associated grave goods gave rise to the use of the name ‘Ciempozuelos’ to define the regional Bell Beaker style; this refers to similar finds from other sites on the Meseta of central Spain. Although trepanations from Chalcolithic contexts in the Iberian peninsula are not infrequent, they are unusual in Bell Beaker inhumations. Furthermore, this skull is exceptional not only for the type of trepanation performed, but also for the subsequent cranial deformation apparently resulting from the operation, as well as evidence of a second subsequent trepanation which indicates a very short post‐surgical survival period for the individual. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factory ‘nuns’: the ethnicization of migrant labor in the making of Tibetan carpets

Many debates over migrant labor politics in contemporary China rely upon essentialist notions of ethnic identity. In contrast, I identify migrant labor politics as transnational processes through which women migrants from rural Tibet become ethnic workers. Drawing on post-colonial theories of ethnicity and on feminist literature on global capitalism, this article analyzes the uses of migrant laborers in a globalizing Tibetan carpet industry. First, I investigate the making of Tibetan carpets and the essentialist construction of ‘carpet weavers’ employed by Tibetan–Nepalese carpet factory owners, carpet dealers in New York City, and various participants in Lhasa, including party cadres, international non-government organizations (NGOs), and overseas investors. I argue that the functioning of the international carpet business relies upon the ethnicization of migrant labor, in which labor subjugation involves creating ethnic subjects and ethnicized boundaries. This form of labor commodification is driven by both an economic logic and a moral imperative for preserving or regenerating ‘ethnic culture.’ Second, through the lens of gender, I look closely at the ethnicization of migrant labor in post-socialist Lhasa, analyzing its significance for the labor force in the carpet industry. The women carpet weavers, who mostly come from Tibet's rural areas, I found, strive to reconcile their desires for female autonomy with labor positions that reduce them to strangers in the city. Some women attempt to overcome their experiences of alienation while actively engaging in the reproduction of the patriarchal family as well as in labor hierarchies at work.     

Mothers in the making? Exploring liminality in cyber/space

This paper makes a case for cyberspace and geographical space coexisting simultaneously as an interconnected dyadic cyber/space combining the virtually real and the actually real. Based on empirical evidence from a study examining the role of the Internet in the life of new mothers, we investigate the simultaneity of online/onsite experiences through an exploration of cyberspace as a performative liminal space, one where the women 'tried out' different versions of motherhood. We suggest that liminality, as a concept that can denote both a space and time of 'betweenness', is a useful tool in the virtual geographers 'conceptual handbag' as it enables a more lively understanding of cyberspace. But although cyberspace can result in the production of new selves, these selves have residual attachments to embodied experiences and practices. This suggests that new theorizing about cyber/space must combine a consideration of liminality with everyday corporeality.     

Critical review of desalination in Spain: a resource for the future?

There have been significant territorial changes in the Spanish Mediterranean in the last few decades because of the important growth of residential tourism functions. The Spanish National Hydrological Plan ( 2001 ) and, to a greater extent, the Action for Management and Use of Water Programme ( 2004 ) advocated large‐scale desalination of seawater to guarantee a supply for urban, tourism, and even future agricultural demands. The paralysis of urban development planning caused by the financial crisis (2007/08), together with the downward trend in the consumption of drinking water in the last decade, highlighted a capacity to produce desalinated water that was far superior to actual needs. This study reviews the current context in which desalinated water is produced in Spain, weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of this method of water management, and considers the potential role that this non‐conventional source of water could play as a strategic resource in the future. The main findings of the study are that desalination is not a panacea; rather, it should be considered in terms of technological parameters tailored to the circumstances of each geographical and socioeconomic environment.     

Negotiating the regulation of the structural funds: Italian actors in EU regional policy‐making

The role of Italy in the reform process of the regulations concerning EU regional policy has traditionally been weak. Since 1998, however, Italian actors in Brussels started to play an increasingly more central role. Looking at the 1998 Regulation, we analyse the internal and external factors that explain this improved performance and conclude that this change might lead to an even more active and creative role being adopted by Italian institutional actors in the current negotiations which will lead to the reform of the regulation of the Structural Funds for 2007–13.     

The last ‘never again’? Srebrenica and the making of a memory imperative

Abstract

Controversy overshadowed preparations for the twentieth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, as conflict arose over the adoption of a number of commemorative resolutions: while motions in the Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the United Nations Security Council were blocked, the US House of Representatives and the European Parliament did adopt declarations. The article outlines how the memory of Srebrenica was de-contextualized from particular interpretations of the past and re-contextualized in favour of universal frames of interpretation. Starting from the interpretations pertaining to Srebrenica from the early 1990s, processes of dealing with the massacre in reports have made it possible to process the lessons learnt from the experience as a narration of progress. In parallel with efforts to establish legal accountability and a local memorial for the massacre’s victims, there has been a series of resolutions commemorating Srebrenica contributing to the formation of a Srebrenica memory regime. That regime mirrors the Holocaust-based global cultural memory imperative, a set of norms and rules of behaviour that was re-actualized and expanded on by Srebrenica as a symbol for the unfulfilled hope of a final ‘never again’. The commemoration of Srebrenica has become a universal ethical imperative that has spread far beyond the actors involved in the 1995 events. The 2015 controversy has to be understood as a (local) act of resistance against the recognition of Srebrenica as genocide and against the selective character of the Srebrenica memory regime.     

Regional Concentration of the Knowledge-based Economy in the EU: Towards a Renewed Oligocentric Model?

This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Knowledge-based Economy spatial distribution across the European Union (EU) regions (NUTS II), linking recent research approaches on innovation and structural change with approaches to regional economics. As a means of conducting this research, we classify economic activities according to six sectors based on their knowledge/technology intensity. Our results show that the higher the knowledge/technology content of the economic activity, the higher the concentration level of the activity. We find that some service activities (those considered knowledge intensive) have similar concentration levels to those operating in high or medium tech manufacturing. With regard to specialization, the most outstanding result is the strong presence of high and medium knowledge intensive service activities in metropolitan/capital regions. In general, our results reinforce the notion that an oligocentric model persists in Europe, with the southern German regions leading high and medium tech manufacturing, the south-east of England leading in high knowledge-intensive services, and with the mid-core model exemplified by the European metropolitan archipelago (particularly capital cities) in both northern and southern Europe.     

Images of the defeated: a good death in late Bronze Age Greece?

Abstract

Warriors engaged in combat are characteristic images of Late Bronze Age Greece, depicting both the victors and the defeated. An examination of Early Mycenaean and Mycenaean images of the defeated, and of the presentation of the deceased by their funerary offerings, suggests that a death in battle was not perceived as a disgrace. Furthermore, a display of respect towards the fallen enemy may have enhanced the victor. The surviving images from Late Bronze Age Greece celebrate skill in warfare, both for the victor and also for the defeated. The images suggest that death in battle was considered to be a good death throughout the Late Bronze Age on the Greek mainland, whether victor or loser.     

Rib fractures in the archaeological record: a useful source of sociocultural information?

Investigation of palaeopathological fractures has been shown to provide important information on past societies. However, despite the fact that rib fractures are amongst the most commonly recorded types of fractures in archaeological bone, little attention has been paid to them. Although there will be sites with badly preserved ribs, making their study difficult, this will not always be the case. Recent clinical investigations have highlighted the potential significance of rib fractures with regard to morbidity and mortality, and their importance in relation to health is now appreciated. This study investigates rib fractures in 352 adults from St. Martin's churchyard, Birmingham, England. The crude prevalence of rib fractures was found to be 15.6% and the true prevalence rate 2.3%. The majority of the fractures occurred in males, and those buried in vaults were less likely to have a fracture than individuals from earth‐cut graves. In 11 individuals the fractures were healing at the time of death, and in these cases death was probably related to one of the complications that are frequently linked to fractured ribs. Certain types of accidents may have been linked to these more serious fractures, as 70% occurred in the same anatomical area. Other rib fractures were associated with pathological conditions, such as osteomalacia and osteoporosis. Overall, the study of the rib fractures in this collection provided valuable information that aided interpretation of the lifeways of individuals investigated. It is argued that where preservation permits, studies of fractures in archaeological bone should include ribs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The importance of difference in the making of transnationality: biographies and networks of the Benedictine mission in Tanganyika (1922–65)

The Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien were the first Roman Catholic mission house in imperial Germany. During the heyday of European imperialisms, colonialisms and Christian missions the monastic community began its engagement in ‘German East Africa’. To enable and promote its proselytization efforts in the imperial colony until the end of the Great War, the Missionary Benedictines had to respond to shifting political conditions and to rearrange their networks as and when required. This orientation became even more pronounced during the renewal of the Benedictine Mission in the British mandated territory of Tanganyika up until the Second Vatican Council and the political independence of Tanzania. From 1922 to 1965 at least 379 members of the Congregation lived and worked in Tanganyika. Their biographies were closely linked to the complex transboundary system of their religious community. This article will portray them as a highly institutionalized group of transnational actors. It argues that to maintain its activities and organizational structures, the leaders of the Benedictine Mission established a dynamic multi-level network connecting a variety of scales, spaces and actors. To ensure its continued existence under constantly changing conditions they constituted a hierarchic system of difference and diversity.     

Pontius’ Vita S. Cypriani and the making of a saint

The development of ancient biography into a Christian literary genre is a central theme of the article. The Vita S. Cypriani, allegedly written by thî deacon Pontius, forms the basis of this study, which examines Pontius’ methods not only of collecting but also of presenting his material. The writing of this first Christian Life is shown to be inspired by the tria genera of school rhetoric. This is exemplified by the Vita in question where the author, besides eulogizing and defending St. Cyprian, seeks to edify his audience.     

Agency in a Postmold? Physicality and the Archaeology of Culture-Making

Architecture embodies human agency in all of its dimensions and effective scales. Specifically, the wooden posts of Mississippian peoples in the American mid-continent were simultaneously spatial, material, and corporeal dimensions of the process of cultural construction and contestation. Our reconsideration of the lowly postmold is based on the principle of physicality that, in turn, alters the ways in which we pose research questions and interpret archaeological data. A historical-processual methodology involves three procedural fundamentals: identifying practical variability, comparing genealogies of practices, and tacking between lines of evidence at multiple scales of analysis.