ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS AS A TOOL FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS*

Artificial neural networks (ANN) offer a supplement to traditional classification algorithms applied to archaeological data. Because of their flexible architecture, non-linearity and independence from the distribution of the underlying data, neural networks have unique advantages for such applications. In particular, ANN models are well suited for use with the sparse data sets common in archaeological work. Combining multivariate techniques with networks for data validation, pre-processing and classification exploits the merits of both and provides a comprehensive approach to the analysis and classification of archaeological data.     

OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES,COLONIAL LAW AND ISLAM-PHOBIA

Edward Said's works have been instructive in helping to understand the expanding influence of the West over the Orient, and the increasing apprehension this caused within colonialism. Western education was introduced to enlighten indigenous peoples, but at the same time it sowed the seeds of competition with Western hegemony. The expansion of the Netherlands East Indies in the course of the nineteenth century triggered Islamic-inspired resistance among the indigenous population, which in turn unsettled many colonial officials' peace of mind. The ongoing encroachment of the Dutch into the Malay kingdom of Riau-Lingga was one of the causes for a stricter adherence to a more orthodox form of Islam by the indigenous ruling elite. When Raja Ali Haji, a well-respected member of this elite, send in a request for funds to acquire a school building and printing facilities while referring to a government Code of Policy, Resident Netscher, the ambitious head of the regional colonial administration, must have been quite astounded. Netscher's own initiatives to establish a government school for the elite had recently been crushed, and here was a dignitary, suspected of inarticulated defiance of colonial policies, who had the nerve to request the help of the government to establish facilities that would probably aim eventually to oust government officials from the region. Surely, he would not let this (aspirant) babu take over his region! At the same time, this request shows how this Malay intellectual explored the possibilities provided by, and negotiated the boundaries set by, the colonial government.     

南宋四川铁钱背文数码考释

南宋四川铁钱钱背数码的含义,历来有 不同的解释,今略陈管见,供大家商榷。 史载:“淳熙……七年后,因盗铸者多, 遂令诸监逐年于背文上铸年数以别之,其弊 遂止。”① 四川铁钱背文铸数码,利州绍兴监最先 开始,所铸造的绍熙元宝、庆元通宝、嘉泰 元宝、开禧元宝4种铁钱,背文采用数字编 码,为从四六至六二。显然不能以该币铸造 于该年号的纪年来解释。 对于川钱背文的数码,过去中外学者作 过多种猜测。日本学者平尾聚泉认为:“蜀 地所铸之庆元钱,……背穿下有横书五一、 五二、五三、五四、五五、五六者,右侧之 五字,系当五,为钱值。…     

TOIL AND TROUBLE: THE REFORM OF THE LABOR LAW

Reform of the labor law has been proposed to alleviate allegedly defective procedures and remedies in the present law. In spite of the fact that numerous violations and abuses of the existing law have taken place over the last several years and that the provisions of the existing law have been inadequate to prevent these violations and abuses, Congress has been unable to pass meaningful reform measures to deal effectively with those inadequacies. The present law allows for long delays in the settling of cases involving alleged unfair labor practices and has become, in the minds of many, a sham which does not protect the rights of workers and, indeed, allows employers to engage in unfair labor practices with very little fear of the consequences. Proponents of labor law reform argue that changes are needed to furnish adequate guarantees that the existing labor law will be effective. The lively debate in Congress over the issue of labor law reform demonstrates that it is one of the most controversial and important questions facing the nation today. Some argue that unless effective reform measures are adopted, workers will continue to labor under the existing ineffective system.     

A COMPARATIVE-GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF URBAN TRANSPORT NETWORKS IN MOSCOW AND LENINGRAD

A graph-analytic technique is used to compare the public transport networks in Moscow and Leningrad. The technique makes it possible to identify gaps in the public transport systems of the two cities and to suggest remedial measures. In general, the public transport system of Leningrad is found to be better integrated than that of Moscow. The transport network of Moscow is more heavily dissected than that of Leningrad, lacks enough lateral connections between outlying city areas (as opposed to linkages between outlying areas and the city center), and generally lags in providing electric ground transportation (street cars and trolley buses) to newly developed residential areas.     

THE ECONOMIC LAW OF MARKET AREAS: A FURTHER DISCUSSION*

ABSTRACT. The Economic Law of Market Areas, so named by Fetter, is concerned with the division of a territory between two competing centers. It is argued that this Law can be conveniently examined in terms of six cases, each of which is specified by a combination of differentials in freight rates and prices at the two centers. The locational significance of each case is considered, along with the form and dimensions of the market-area boundary between the two centers. Three of the cases are each shown to subsume a special case. It is further shown that for any case except one, a reversal of the differentials between the two centers, while resulting in a symmetrically-equivalent outcome, requires a different (and usually substantial) respecification of the case.     

STONE AXES OF THE CHANNEL ISLANDS: NEOLITHIC EXCHANGE IN AN INSULAR CONTEXT

Summary. The petrology of stone axes found in the Channel Islands is examined. Recent research has resulted in the identification of an axe production centre at Le Pinacle, Jersey, and axes produced there have been recorded on Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. The Channel Island assemblages also include axes of Type A dolerite, flint, jadeite, eclogite and fibrolite, produced at known centres on the European mainland: together, these 'exotic' axes account for around 32% of the total Channel Island sample. A marked fall-off is noted between Jersey and the other islands in terms of the occurrence of these imported axes, and this can perhaps be explained in relation to factors affecting navigation. The social significance of inter-island and island/mainland interaction is explored.