The Effort to Reverse Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina: The Limits of Returns

Two American-based geographers examine the international community's efforts to reverse ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina since the end of the war in 1995. The paper, based on extensive field work and semi-structured interviews, first examines the geography of the nearly one million refugees and internally displaced persons who have returned to their pre-war domiciles in Bosnia-Herzegovina. They then identify and discuss limits to the reversal of ethnic cleansing imposed by demographic, institutional, geopolitical, and economic factors. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: I31, O15, O19. 7 figures, 1 table, 60 references.     

The Sharing of Knowledge to Gain a Competitive Advantage by Small Businesses in Africa: Some critical comments

The application of knowledge management methods by small businesses in Africa can contribute to the continent's growth rate. Africa's wealth lies in its human resources, and in its indigenous knowledge. Investing in the intellectual development of African people, and preserving their indigenous knowledge is an important route towards sustainable development. If small African businesses learn to apply knowledge management methods — particularly the SECI model in order to preserve and use their indigenous knowledge in their local markets, they will indeed reach new horizons of competitive advantage and market profitability.     

The 'folded flan' coinage of eastern Arabia: Some preliminary comments

In recent years a small number of peculiar coins has emerged from the southern shores of the Persian/Arabian Gulf imitating Athenian tetradrachms of the old style and sharing the oddity of being struck on a flan that had been folded before striking. This paper contains an overview of the pieces known so far and attempts to present some preliminary conclusions, while still awaiting a comprehensive study of this and related ancient coinages of the Arabian peninsula.     

关于《宋史》中的若干问题

本文主要是对中华书局校点本《宋史》中的一些史实进行考辨,同时对《宋史》中的个别标点错误予以纠正。《宋史》是记录宋代史事的最权威资料,但山于其编纂仓促,流传时间亦久,难免有些失实之处。本文作者长期研究宋代文献,其作此文的目的,也是为使《宋史》中的某些讹误得以廓清。     

眼睛的神话--从彝族的一目神话、直目神话谈起

一 彝族、纳西等族的一目或独目神话 西南少数民族的神话中常出现一个主题:最初的人类在体质上与今天的人类有明显的差异,相传那些先人在洪水前后逐渐淘汰、繁衍与现代人无异,成为我们的祖先;这个主题在彝语支等藏缅语族诸民族中最为明显。     

The tyranny of the definite article: Some thoughts on the art of intellectual history

This essay argues, following an insight of Burckhardt, that the philosophy of history is a ‘centaur’, and that it has a tendency to hinder rather than to encourage the practice of history. It challenges many of the presuppositions of Bevir's study, demonstrating that The Logic of the History of Ideas is not, in any meaningful sense, an historically minded work. The ‘logic’ of the essay looks to the arts, especially literature and music, as providing genuinely illuminating parallels to the discipline involved in the practice of intellectual history. History cannot be understood as a process of philosophical abstraction; pertinent examples are of its essence, and plurality is therefore central to its richly textured nature. It still has much to learn from the reflexive procedures of anthropology. By examining the idea of ‘tradition’ the essay demonstrates that ‘the past’ is never dead, and that the relationship between texts is a living process: the intellectual historian is him/herself an artist, and his/her task is no less demanding than that of the creative artist, and it is always humblingly provisional.     

The tyranny of the definite article: Some thoughts on the art of intellectual history

This essay argues, following an insight of Burckhardt, that the philosophy of history is a ‘centaur’, and that it has a tendency to hinder rather than to encourage the practice of history. It challenges many of the presuppositions of Bevir's study, demonstrating that The Logic of the History of Ideas is not, in any meaningful sense, an historically minded work. The ‘logic’ of the essay looks to the arts, especially literature and music, as providing genuinely illuminating parallels to the discipline involved in the practice of intellectual history. History cannot be understood as a process of philosophical abstraction; pertinent examples are of its essence, and plurality is therefore central to its richly textured nature. It still has much to learn from the reflexive procedures of anthropology. By examining the idea of ‘tradition’ the essay demonstrates that ‘the past’ is never dead, and that the relationship between texts is a living process: the intellectual historian is him/herself an artist, and his/her task is no less demanding than that of the creative artist, and it is always humblingly provisional.