The Demographics of Dystopia: The Muslim City in Asia’s Future

This essay argues that UN projected population growth will not only lead to more Muslims in Asia’s cities in a purely numerical sense, but also to more Muslim cities in a proportional and cultural sense through the continuation of existing trajectories of ‘de-cosmopolitanization’. Urban life will be deeply affected by this increasing shift from cities that are not merely majority Muslim, but are also increasingly Muslim in moral, social or political terms. Inevitably such changes will affect the lives of urban citizens, none more so than women. The essay then asks whether population growth will allow these cities to maintain their ‘globalizing’ trajectory of increasing interconnection. Having framed its analysis around the ‘hard’ outcomes of demographic change, the analysis then turns to ‘soft’ outcomes by tackling the question of the likely contours of the increasingly divergent versions of Islam produced by the competitive religious economies of the modern Asian city.     

A decline of ‘friends and neighbours voting’ in Ireland? Local candidate effects in the 2011 Irish ‘earthquake election'

‘Friends and neighbours voting’, that is, the propensity of voters to support local candidates, is a characteristic of a number of contemporary democracies. The Republic of Ireland is one of the settings where this phenomenon has been explained and documented very comprehensively. In this paper, we study local candidate effects in the most recent Irish general election, held in 2011. We show that during this unusually volatile election, fought in the shadow of an EU/IMF ‘bailout’, ‘friends and neighbours voting’ persisted but was attenuated in comparison to what has been observed in the past. This was most pronounced in the case of the historically dominant party – Fianna Fáil – and (in a weaker form) for its all-time rival – Fine Gael. We describe the changing electoral strength of these two and other Irish parties in terms of fluctuating local candidate effects.     

‘Aristocracies of thought’: social class in the early folklore of Yeats and Hyde

The years 1888–89 saw the production of two influential collections of Irish folklore: Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by William Butler Yeats and Leabhar Sgeulaigheachta by Douglas Hyde. These works broke strongly with the unscientific and patronising tone of the Buchmärchen tradition in Ireland and established a new theory of folklore. In this theory, Yeats and Hyde distanced peasant narrators in an attempt to secure literary and, ultimately, aristocratic origins for their tales. As a result, Hyde and Yeats, despite their Ascendancy upbringings, could view themselves (and not the peasant narrators) as the legitimate inheritors of folklore narratives. The very stories collected, however, challenge this power dynamic. Stories such as ‘Monachar agus Manachar’ directly critique the perceived unjust division of labour and profit in rural Ireland in a way that parallels the act of folklore collection. The tales themselves resist the rhetorical frameworks of their Ascendancy collectors.     

‘The machine should fit the work’: Organisation and Method and British approaches to new technology in business

‘Organisation and Method’ (O&M) was a discipline promoted in Britain in the first half of the twentieth century as a way of improving the efficiency of administrative enterprises. O&M practitioners were influential actors in the implementation of various information technologies in British businesses. When computers became the new technology, their introduction was seen as a natural adjunct to O&M work. The O&M practitioners understood the connections between the individual tasks to be done, the final outcome desired, and the technologies available. The practice of organizational ‘insiders’ acting as the dedicated mediators of technological introduction resulted in some remarkable successes in computer introduction in Britain in those years. Eventually the O&M approach would be superseded by purely technical experts, arguably to the detriment of user satisfaction.     

For Science,Salvage, and State: Papua New Guinea’s Earliest Colonial Museums

In recent years, growing attention has been paid to the complex relationship between museums, collecting and colonialism in the Southwest Pacific. This paper contributes to this wider body of research by presenting a baseline study of Papua New Guinea’s two earliest museums: an Economic Museum built in 1907 and an Anthropology Museum initiated in 1907, but not built until 1914. Both museums were financed and run by government departments within the newly established Australian Territory of Papua. Both were imbricated in contemporary colonial agendas aimed at mapping, classifying and, ultimately, exploiting the natural and human resources of the colony. However, their histories also reveal significant differences in the personal and political agendas of their respective founders, Miles ‘Staniforth’ Smith and Hubert Murray, who in 1907 were in direct competition for the position of inaugural lieutenant-governor of the Territory. In the internecine rivalries of the day their respective museums provided each of them with a platform to publically demonstrate his aptitude and vision for governing the new colony.     

Appendix: deconstructive commentary

Abstract

A ‘short and thin’ model for work experience has been devised at Middlesex University. The reasons for adopting this approach are discussed, and its benefits and drawbacks are identified. The challenge of designing a work experience for a technological area such as GIS that also meets the academic requirements of a non‐vocational degree programme is also discussed.     

An Assessment of the Role of an Open Shelter in Reducing Soiling and Microbial Growth on the Archaeological Site of the Bishop’s Palace,Witney, England

Two sets of twelve Portland limestone tablets were attached to carousels outside and under the open, lightweight shelter at Bishop’s Palace (Witney, England) for 18 months to assess the influence of shelters on soiling and microbiological growth on stone. At the start, and at 6-month intervals, tablets were analysed using microscopy (optical and SEM), colour measurement (spectrophotometry), weight change measurement and salt content determination (ion chromatography). Concentrations of NO₂ and SO₂ were also monitored for a month using diffusion tubes. In addition, results were compared with those obtained by the UK National Materials Exposure Programme (NMEP) on chemical weathering rates. Differences in soiling and biological growth on sheltered and unsheltered samples, and their influence on limestone decay were established. The shelter is likely to reduce biological growth by modifying the micro-environmental conditions. However, it may also exacerbate dust deposition, which might increase decay rates in the long-term.     

现代化进程中的古城保护与复兴——苏州古城保护30年调研报告

苏州古城保护30年调研报告试图回答这个历史难题,报告以苏州古城为专题,力求站在改革开放的大背景上,沿着历史的步伐,对30年保护史进行一次全面宏观总结,分析和研究苏州古城保护与复兴何以能实现“双赢”？何以能“苏州经验与世界同享”？其中提出了一系列观点、论点、结论和经验、问题、建议.     

Between rejected socialism and desired capitalism: social sciences’ discourse on the transformation in Poland

The transformation of the socialist societies of Central and Eastern Europe has been commonly described as a transition from a planned economy to a market economy and from a (semi)authoritarian system to a liberal democracy. According to this perspective, the implementation of new political and economic institutions was supposed to free the – so far suppressed – nature of all societies to become capitalist democracies. Such a vision of transformation dominated Polish public and academic discourse. It has been challenged by critics, who emphasized that transformation is an ambiguous process taking place at the level of social life rather than a macro-institutional level. Nevertheless, new concepts often reproduced characteristics of the rejected approach – a tendency to build dichotomous models based on simplified images of a pathological socialist legacy on one hand and of desired capitalist order on the other. Only recently a shift in the transformation discourse might be observed. The best examples are studies employing ethnographic methods, which focus on the level of everyday practices, and study how systemic changes were experienced by social actors. The article is an analysis of the social sciences’ discourse on transformation in the context of the broader public discourse in Poland. It depicts the transitology paradigm and its critique evolving from institutional and cultural perspectives. The focus is on concepts of homo sovieticus, ‘winners and losers’, learned helplessness and the like. Finally, the implications of ethnographic approaches are discussed. The case provokes questions about the role of social scientists in the vital processes of their own society.     

Interest,Trade and ‘Character and Circumstances': John Campbell's (1708–1775) Earlier Work

John Campbell's (1708-1775) commercial theory in his early work demonstrates that he held more sophisticated views on British colonialism than previously thought. Campbell draws upon complex influences, which include Charles Davenant's notion of free trade and his ‘Old Whig’ arguments against corruption; Daniel Defoe's ‘new Whig’ arguments for progress and John Locke's arguments on industry and property; and Bolingbroke's Tory arguments for emphasizing common interest. By blending these ideas, Campbell offers a distinctive commercial theory that prioritizes the recognition of the interest and circumstances of all nations and peoples within an unconstrained and reciprocal exchange of commodities in order for the home nation simultaneously to resist corruption and flourish.     

关于牛河梁第二地点一号冢墓葬出土玉器的解读——东北古夷玉巫教探析

牛河梁第二地点一号冢分为东西两区,共26墓,其出土玉器分别代表牛河梁猪灵、鸮灵、云灵崇拜的原生玉巫教与黄帝"云纪"、少皞"鸟纪"等众多玉巫教的各支派系的联合体,并未形成统一的、集权的顶级发展阶段的巫教。同时,牛河梁又是东北古夷玉巫教的圣地。     

Student Employability and its Implications for Geography Curricula and Learning Practices

The nature and mission of universities have changed over the past two decades. The move towards mass education with decreased levels of state support has come with greater levels of accountability to stakeholders, including students, employers and the state itself. Graduates are expected to exhibit greater degrees of employability: that is they are more likely to gain and maintain employment, and to progress in workplaces and build careers. In this paper, we discuss the varying mixes of geographical knowledge, technical competencies and personal attributes that graduates require, before examining the implications on the design of geography curricula and learning practices.     

Burst of the property bubble and Hong Kong’s changing land and housing policies post-1997

Momentous events have characterized the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region since its founding in 1997. Among these were drastic and repeated changes in housing and policies, shifting from one emphasizing the role of the state to one purportedly relying primarily on market forces, and then back to a more proactive stance of the state. Associated with these changes were roller-coaster movements in residential prices and housing completions. These developments took place in the context of phenomenal upheavals within and beyond Hong Kong: the Asian financial crisis and the burst of Hong Kong’s property bubble; the contestation of Hong Kong’s autonomy under “one country, two systems”; and the flooding of “hot money” consequent upon repeated rounds of quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve of the United States to counteract the global financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the Great Recession that followed.     

从“北方谈话”到“‘三中全会’主题报告”——邓小平与中国改革开放决策的酝酿

从1978年9月访朝归来到12月举行党的十一届三中全会,从"北方谈话"到"‘三中全会’主题报告",邓小平不仅明确提出了改革开放的时代课题,而且多方面地阐明了为什么要实行改革开放、要在哪些方面改革开放和如何实行改革开放等重大问题,实际完成了中国改革开放决策的酝酿,为"三中全会"最终作出实行改革开放的伟大决策,做好了充分的思想理论准备。回顾我国改革开放决策的酝酿过程,重温邓小平当时关于改革开放的论述,对在新的历史起点上全面深化改革开放具有多方面的意义。