Ivory towers? The commercial activity of British professors of engineering and physics, 1880–1914

Abstract

The involvement of British academic scientists in commercial work has been often discussed by historians of science and technology. However a systematic study of this activity is still lacking. Focussing on the period 1880 to 1914, I examine the engagement in consulting, patenting and entrepreneurial initiatives of a segment of that community, namely engineering and physics professors. I discuss the institutional context in which it occurred and their motivations. The survey highlights that the majority of the engineering professors examined were involved in consulting and patenting, and a significant number of them pursued also entrepreneurial activities. As for the physics professors, only a few followed the example of their engineering colleagues, but did so vigorously. I argue that far from being reluctantly brought into the market for knowledge, the engineering as well as the physics professors who engaged these extra-academic activities eagerly sought to partake in the commercialization of the products of their scientific work.     

<<史记>><<汉书>>校读札记

《史记》和《汉书？是我国历史上两部重要的史书,但在漫长的流传过程中,两书均出现了一些讹误。本文通过对它们相关部分的比勘,校读出了两书中存在的一些错误,分析了致误的原因,有助于更好的利用这两部书进行古籍研究和整理工作。     

<<春秋>>说例

古人解《春秋》,多以孔子作《春秋》的前提,目的是深入领会圣人垂教后世的褒贬大义,由此归纳出种种所谓义例。但《春秋》是否确曾经孔子改作,无从证实;前提既不可靠,由此得出的义例则更是想当然而已。其实,只须抛开成见,仔细阅读《春秋》,就可看出它就是鲁国历代官史官原始记录的汇编,但其中确实存在着能够贯通全经的记事原则和用字规范,是真正的《春秋》体例。本文仅从七个方面归纳了《春秋》的记事原则和用字规范,并对     

<<韩非子>>校勘商榷

自清末至今,《韩非子》一书了出现了多种校注本,均是以影宋乾道本为底本,用其他版本对其进行校勘,纠正了不少讹误,但也存在着误校的现象。误校的原因有二;一是不知字词古义,二是不明通假。本文对部分误校的字词提出了商榷,做了较为详细的考证。     

<<学林>>点校商榷

王观国《学林》对经史诸书的笺释注疏排比异同,考证得失,颇多胜解,有较高学术价值。笔者经析其文意,查对经史原文,发现中华书局本之点校谬谬误百出。本文对其中尤明显之错误提出数条,并加辨正。     

‘Mightier Than Marx’: Hassoldt Davis and American Cold War Politics in Postwar Ivory Coast

ABSTRACT

Using the travels of Hassoldt Davis in Ivory Coast to explore the global Cold War in French West Africa in the 1950s, this article argues that the main line of confrontation in the postwar era did not always pit Americans against Russians. In many instances, the struggle for the mind and soul of Africans was between the Americans and the French. The study highlights the role of everyday technology in the expansion of the American informal empire. By focusing on Davis and the significance of low-tech artifacts, the article suggests that in our scrutiny of Cold War science/technology, we need to supplement the study of the various production regimes of consumer goods with a comparable research on consumption and how they mediated the daily battles of the era. Such approach not only underscores the historical reality of the ‘social life of things’, but also gives agency to non-state actors as both users of Cold War technoscience and as participants in the politics that informed its mobilization on the world stage. Besides bringing Francophone Africa in the historiography of US–Africa relations, the article demonstrates a convergence of vision among American consular agents, US transnational corporations and an idiosyncratic travel writer.     

杜道坚<<老子>>注略论

本文以不同时期有不同的“老子”这一老学发展的共同规律为背景,较为系统地阐述了宋元之际著名的道教学者杜道坚的老学著作《道德玄经原旨》与《玄经原旨发挥》中的主要思想,认为其中的核心内容“皇道帝德”说反映了宋元时期以儒家的政治道德学说解释《老子》已达到了一个新的高度,由此也可以具体真切地看出该时期老孔同归,儒道交融这种思想发展的历史总趋势。     

<<原本玉篇残卷>>引<<说文>>与二徐所异考

本文仅就《原本玉篇残卷》即朝梁陈间顾野王所撰之《玉篇》篇写本的部分原貌中,所征引许慎《说文》的一些例证,来校勘今传世的大小徐本《说文》乖离许氏原书本真之弊,并随文偶尔略作分析,由此说明其价值之重。     

<<搜神记>>校勘札记

《搜神记》向为世人所重,近十几年有多种整理本问世,近十几年有多种新整理本问巨,汪楹校注本以精审著称,成为后出各本的底本、参校本,但汪本可商之处不少,吴金华、张觉及笔者发表了多篇校补性的文章。今又续得若干条,集为一篇。本文虽是讨论《搜神记》整理本中存在的词语考释、校勘、标点等问题,但也约略可见古籍整理工作中普遍存在的一些问题。     

<<异苑>>词语校释琐记

《异苑》是一部南朝小说,叙事平实流畅,口语性较强。本文是阅读《异苑》的读书札记。计１５条,就词语的校勘和训释两方面的问题谈了自己的看法。     

传世藏书本<<方言>>校勘献疑

本文拟从古文献整理研究的角度,对传世藏书本《方言》提出一点意见。该本是最新的《方言》点校本。事理者在总结前人成果的基础上,采用新式标点,使用简体字,对这部旧本错误很多的古籍进行样理,为今天的读者提供了一定的方便。但是其中仍有一些值得商讨的地方。第一,该本对前人成果的利用还不够充分,以致在校点方面出现了一些疏漏。第二,该本在校勘体例上未能一经贯之,以致出现了失校,误校以及改动底本而不出校记等现象。     

<<谢tiao集>>版本渊源述

在六朝别集大多亡佚的情况下,通过研究《谢ｔｉａｏ集》各种版本各自的成书情况及内容上的特色,来说明从宋代到清代《谢ｔｉａｏ集》的演变过程,并指出它们如实地反映每个朝代对谢ｔｉａｏ诗文及六朝文学的评价。     

<<海经>>新笺(中)

本文是在袁珂《山海经校注》一书的基础上,旁罗古籍,并参以出土的甲、金、竹、帛文献资料,对其中的《海经》部分的一些事物、语词作了新的解释,对原经文的脱衍论误及通现象一一予以订正和指明,以恢复古经之原文,疏通文意,使之明晰可读。同时对《校注》中不正确的说法提出了个从的见解。本文共分上、中、下三篇,上篇已发表于《三籍整理研究学刊》１９９８年第２期。     

<<秦汉金文汇编>>释文订补

孙尉祖、徐谷甫两位先生编著的《秦汉金文汇编》是继容庚先生《秦汉金文录》、《金文续编》之后的又一部专门收录秦汉铜器铭文与文字的专书。该书所收铭文的释文中存在不少问题。本文对其中的部分问题进行了订补。这些问题包括误释者２３则,缺释、漏释者１０则,衍文者３则,释文不一致者３则,其他问题５则。