Expert knowledge and video-aided ethnography a methodological account

This is a report on a video-aided ethnographic investigation which targets expert knowledge in a hospital setting. Since such knowledge calls for gathering a qualitative sort of data, both intensive and situated, this paper offers an examination of the methodological implications of this investigation. Work environment digital video and computer-mediated observations with Transana? are adequate tools for the exploration of paramount concepts in the cognitive study of expertise, found in communicative sequences and embodied practices of situated agents.     

Maritime Archaeology in Uruguay: Towards a Manifesto

We report a collaborative maritime archaeological project in Uruguay, one of several Latin American countries where the subject is undergoing review in terms of the ways it is practised and managed. Uruguay is typical of many states where there has been a tension between a heritage-based approach in which the results of investigations are viewed as publicly owned, as opposed to the profit motive in which commercial and personal gain is the underlying ethic. This project was conceived both as a way of assisting the Uruguayan Heritage Commission in promoting the former approach as well as advancing a programme of research into the age of global exploration. This paper sets out the rationale of the initial field season and reflects on subsequent developments.     

Population: action for a new decade

This 48-page supplement reports on the world popultion situation and on the International Conference on Population held in Mexico City in 1984. Included are summaries of Conference recommendations, the text of the Mexico City Declaration on Population and Development, a World Population Chart, and reports on population studies. The main task of the 1984 Population Conference was to review the 1974 World Population Plan of Action and approve steps to update some of its goals in line with new issues that have emerged in recent years. The preamble to the 1984 recommendations states that the basis for an effective solution to population problems is socioeconomic transformation. It is noted, however, that even in the absence of socioeconomic development, family planning programs can have an impact on fertility levels. This report futher describes the debate on disarmament, abortion, economic policy, and occupied territories that took place in Mexico City. Also included is a glossary of terms used in population studies and a discussion on how the United Nations determines its demographic projections.     

盘龙城与《盘龙城》

本对《盘龙城》报告体例、遗迹、遗物以及附录分别作出了评述,除了肯定报告的优点之外,主要陈述了与报告编不同的看法,如：报告材料缺乏类型学分析,因此对于遗存时代的判断依据不足,有的甚至没有依据;报告对盘龙城作为一个整体聚落特点体现不够,对一些遗迹性质的判断容易引起争议;不少的数据、图像资料——有的是很重要的材料——存在问题。本对于研究引用盘龙城报告材料、判断盘龙城及其遗迹、遗物性质,应当有所帮助。     

Index to Volume 139

The procedures for critically assessing an excavation report are not widely discussed. Using the example of D.L. Clarke's model of the Glastonbury Lake Village, it is argued here that reinterpretation of a report on internal evidence alone is not possible. However in an adequately constructed report it should be possible to evaluate the logic by which observational data are handled, and to place the report within the context of those contemporary expectations within which the excavator worked. By this means the competence of the excavator may be assessed and the report accommodated within a more recently constructed understanding of the past.     

The International Geographical Congress (Stockholm)

Following are excerpts from a report read by Professor Salishchev on October 14, 1960, at a meeting of the Council of the Geography Faculty of Moscow University. The omitted part of Professor Salishchev's report is substantially the same as the report of the National Committee of Soviet Geographers, printed in Soviet Geography, April 1961, pp. 40–46. Professor Salishchev's report on the work of the Commission of National Atlases, of which he is chairman, is translated in full.     

The emotional geography of a mine closure: a study of the Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia

This paper engages with the literature on emotional geographies to report on a case study of the emotions surrounding the closure of a nickel mine in the shire of Ravensthorpe in the south-west of Western Australia in January 2009. Two themes from the affect-infused narratives of pre- and post-mine community members are outlined. The first, which challenges constructions of the closure as a purely industrial and economic concern, focuses on the intense feelings the shut-down invoked amongst participants. The second theme explores the way in which the owner of the mine, BHP Billiton, worked to suppress and regulate affective reactions to the closure and thus reveals the highly political nature of emotions.     

The excavation of a late-seventeenth-century water-mill at Caldecotte,Bow Brickhill,Bucks

The excavation of a watermill at Caldecotte, on the River Ouzel in the new city of Milton Keynes, Bucks., is described. It was probably a double mill with a central water- house containing two wheels separated by a sluice. On either side of the waterhouse were the mills and to the west a miller's house. Parallels from the lower Ouzel valley and the Netherlands are described.

The excavation was directed and the report written by Martin Petchey, with the exception of the section reconstructing the mills at Willen and Caldecote, Newport Pagnell, which is by Brian Giggins.     

Better a Broader Diagnosis Than a Misdiagnosis: The Study of a Neoplastic Condition in a Male Individual who Died in Early 20th Century (Coimbra,Portugal)

The paleopathological record of neoplastic conditions in the past is considered scarce. The detection of tumours in ancient populations is hindered by the quality and quantity of signs visible on the skeleton, the methodological approach, the preservation of remains, and by difficulties of differential diagnosis. The aims of this paper are to report the extensive and multiple osteolytic lesions observed in an adult male and to discuss the possible etiology of these lesions. The individual, a 71‐year‐old male who died in 1932, is part of the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection. Records indicate that he died of a ‘heart lesion’. The present study used macroscopic, radiological, and computerized tomography examinations to analyse the skeletal remains of the individual number 439. The type and pattern of the lesions detected, which were most prominent on the skull, were compared with both clinical and paleopathological diagnostic criteria for different nosologic groups. The differential diagnosis addresses problems expressed both in clinical and in paleopathological literature with regard to the difficulties in distinguishing metastatic tumours from multiple myeloma. The nature of the lesions represented by this individual precludes an exact diagnosis. Therefore, we employed a broader category, neoplastic condition, instead of choosing a more specific diagnosis that would likely have resulted in a misdiagnosis due to overlapping features on this individual's condition. Further investigations are necessary to establish more replicable indicators and to improve confidence in retrospective diagnosis of these types of conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

一部多学科合作的考古著作--读《龙虬庄》

随着考古信息量的增加与研究的深入,对考古报告的编排形式提出了新的要求。《龙虬庄》确立了江淮东部新石器时代化——龙虬庄化,编排形式上体现出化遗物和自然遗物并重的特点。报告对江淮东部古环境、遗址反映的经济形态、人地关系等进行了合理构建和研究。从其所揭示的大量信息来看,《龙虬庄》是一部多学科合作的新体例的考古学作。     

The fourth molar in a mandible found in a Jomon skeleton in Japan

A fourth molar in a mandible occurs very rarely, even in clinical surveys involving a large number of modern people. Having encountered a case with the fourth mandibular molar in a prehistoric skull in Japan, we would like to report on the macroscopic morphology of the case using X-rays, and to discuss the case with reference to literature concerning supernumerary teeth in the molar region.     

The Changing Fortunes of a Policy Entrepreneur: The Case of Ross Garnaut

Few people inside or outside government have had a greater impact on public policy in Australia than Ross Garnaut. His report in 1990 provided a blueprint for Australia's economic ‘engagement’ with Asia, whether or not one agreed with its underlying logic and analysis. The reception of his report on climate change in 2011 could hardly have been more different. Why is it that some ideas enjoy wide support from influential actors and are enthusiastically taken up by policymakers, while others struggle to gain traction, even when backed by government? This paper provides some possible answers to this puzzle by identifying factors that facilitate or obstruct the influence and impact of ‘policy entrepreneurs’.

在澳大利亚政府内外,对公共政策影响最大的人士莫过于郜若素了。他发表于1990年的报告,你同意其逻辑分析也好,不同意也罢,反正它都为亚澳经济关系提供了蓝图。他于2011年发表的环境报却得到迥然不同的反应。何以一些观点能够得到重要社会主体的广泛支持以及政策制定者的积极采纳,而另一些观点哪怕是有政府做后盾,也难得推广呢？本文通过寻找有利或有碍“政策专业户”发挥影响的因素,对这个问题作了回答。     

Masking and unmasking the sexual abuse of children: perceptions of violence against children in "the Badlands" of Ontario, 1916-1930

This article explores the legal and social understandings of incest in early-twentieth-century Canada, examining the way in which sexual abuse was identified in sensational court cases but ideologically masked in social consciousness. First, the legal treatment of incest is examined through court cases, with special focus on one case that animated a grand jury report on a rural area where incest and violence supposedly flourished. Second, the grand jury's legal, medical, and social assumptions about incest, reflecting eugenic priorities as well as class and gender prejudices, are surveyed. Third, the actual use of the grand jury report in subsequent cases is probed. The report became a generalized explanation for all kinds of familial violence placing blame for violence on poor, degenerate, and immoral parents but ignoring the structural problems of power and patriachy.     

在总结历史经验中理解和构建科学理论体系

中共十七大报告中关于经济问题的论述把经济规律与我国改革开放的实践历程相结合,充分体现了理论来自实践又指导实践的历史唯物主义的科学方法。十七大报告关于经济方面的论述有六个新提法:经济"发展"方式替代了经济"增长"方式,体现了对实践经验的总结和理论认识的深化;注重协调、调控和规划,体现了经济体制转轨进程中宏观调控的新特点;翻两番由"总量"到"人均",体现了经济发展水平与经济发展目标的新阶段;关注初次分配中的公平,要提高劳动报酬在初次分配中的比重,体现了收入分配领域在发展变革中的新动向;在过去提"工业化、城镇化、市场化、国际化"的同时增加了"信息化",首次在党代会报告中写入"廉租房制度",体现了生产力与城市化发展的新要求;将区域经济发展与国土开发联系起来,首次提出"推动区域协调发展,优化国土开发格局"和"主体功能区定位",体现了区域经济发展的新阶段与新思路。     

Legacy databases and GIS: a discussion of the issues illustrated by a case study of archaeological site data from southeast Alberta,Canada

Many institutions and agencies are currently faced with the issue of geographic information systems‐enabling legacy databases. The problems can be acute for data sets that have been compiled through many years, using different standards and levels of recording. To explore these issues further, we report on a data quality assessment undertaken in 2002 for a subset of the archaeological site database of the province of Alberta, Canada. Our work shows that positional ambiguities in the data set can be highlighted and corrected by relatively straightforward procedures. This case study also provides an indication of the amount of work effort that will be involved in validating or ‘cleaning up’ data sets so model results and analyses undertaken with them are more reliable.     

European coherence and regional policy? A Finnish perspective on the observed and reported territorial impacts of EU research and development policies

The present article focuses on recent analysis on the regional impacts of research and development (R&D) actions within the European Union (EU). Focus will be on exploring a report produced by the European Spatial Observation Network (ESPON), and essential viewpoints of the report will be studied from the Finnish perspective. The operating framework is based on social scientific methodology. The conclusions are based on the current evolution of the Finnish innovation and technology policy. Also thematic areas for further research programming and information needs are proposed.     

The Temple of Venus (Pompeii): a study of the pigments and painting techniques

We report here on a study of 57 fragments of wall painting excavated from the Temple of Venus (Pompeii). These samples were characterised by a wide range of analytical methods. Data showed that the palette is varied, although not so broad as that found in other buildings in Pompeii, and is consistent with pigments used elsewhere in Pompeii and in the Roman Empire. It is composed of: natural earths, minerals and rare artificial pigments. Paintings are made up of thin paint layers (0.01–0.10 mm thick) strongly adhering to the underlying preparation layer. Nonetheless, in some cases thicker layers (up to 0.40 mm) were recognised, often spread on other previous painting layers. Samples were also compared with the microstratigraphic criteria developed in Piovesan (2009) to distinguish wall painting techniques. This comparison demonstrated that both fresco and lime painting techniques were adopted.     

UNCERTAINTY AND THE HISTORY OF IDEAS

Intellectual historians often make empirical claims, but can never know for certain if these claims are right. Uncertainty is thus inevitable for intellectual historians. But accepting uncertainty is not enough: we should also act on it, by trying to reduce and report it. We can reduce uncertainty by amassing valid data from different sources to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of competing explanations, rather than trying to “prove” an empirical claim by looking for evidence that fits it. Then we should report our degree of certainty in our claims. When we answer empirical questions in intellectual history, we are not telling our readers what happened: we are telling them how strong we think our evidence is—a crucial shift of emphasis. For intellectual historians, then, uncertainty is subjective, as discussed by Keynes and Collingwood; the paper thus explores three differences between subjective and objective uncertainty. Having outlined the theoretical basis of uncertainty, the paper then offers examples from actual research: Noel Malcolm's work shows how to reduce and report uncertainty about composition, and David Wootton's work shows how to reduce and report uncertainty about beliefs.     

Foreclosure Risk and Community Health: Does Social Capital Have a Protective Effect?

This study draws upon the social determinants of health framework to model and test the extent to which a community’s social capital is health protective in the face of a substantial economic shock, namely the recent foreclosure crisis. U.S. county–level data are used to analyze potential moderating effects of social capital on health given a community’s foreclosure risk. We rely upon established social capital measures for U.S counties and merge them with county level foreclosure risk scores constructed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). While theorists suggest that social capital’s effect on health and other outcomes may be durable over time there have been few empirical tests of this. We interact established social capital indicators measured at two points in time with foreclosure risk to predict overall self-reported health. Our results provide strong support suggesting that high levels of social capital are health protective. Communities with high levels of social capital that are facing high foreclosure risks report significantly better aggregate health outcomes than comparable communities facing the same level of foreclosure risk, but lower levels of social capital.