La Philosophie Analytique ou les Promesses d’Une Pensée Technologique

This article focuses on the origins of analytical philosophy. It argues that the conditions under which it was thought out were similar to the conditions necessary for critical thinking - like the scientific inquiry that served as its model, analytical philosophy was based on the distinction between syntax and semantics. Resulting from logical analysis, this distinction was later essential to all systems of representation - works of art, human action, intellectual endeavours. This evolution reveals a major concern - the need for a technical tool for the critical mind.     

Fluid dynamics and fluid‐structural relationships in the Red Lake mine trend,Red Lake greenstone belt,Ontario, Canada

The Red Lake mine trend, a deformation zone in the Archean Red Lake greenstone belt that hosts the world‐class Campbell‐Red Lake gold deposit, is characterized by abundant foliation‐parallel iron‐carbonate ± quartz veins with banded colloform‐crustiform structures and cockade breccias overprinted by silicification and gold mineralization. There is an apparent incompatibility between the cavity‐fill structures of the veins and breccias (typically developed at shallow crustal depths) and the upper greenschist to lower amphibole facies metamorphic conditions recorded in the host rocks (indicating relatively deep environments). This, together with the development of veins along the foliation plane, represents an enigmatic problem that may be related to the interplay between fluid dynamics and stress field. We approach this problem through systematic study of fluid inclusion planes (FIPs) in the vein minerals, including the orientations of the FIPs and the pressure–temperature conditions inferred from fluid inclusion microthermometry. We find that fluid inclusions in the main stage vein minerals (pregold mineralization ankerite and quartz and syn‐ore quartz) are predominantly carbonic without a visible aqueous phase, whereas many inclusions in the postore stage contain an aqueous phase. Most FIPs are subvertical, and many are subparallel to the foliation. High fluid pressure coupled with the high wetting angles of the water‐poor, carbonic fluids may have been responsible for the abundance of brittle deformation features. The development of subvertical FIPs is interpreted to indicate episodic switching of the maximum principal compressive stress (σ₁) from subhorizontal (perpendicular to the foliation) to subvertical (parallel to the foliation) orientation. The subvertical σ₁ is favorable for the formation of foliation‐parallel veins, as fractures are preferentially opened along the foliation in such a stress regime, the origin of which may be linked to the fluid source.     

A PROVENANCE STUDY OF FRENCH LIMESTONE BASED ON VARIABLE SELECTION FROM COMPOSITIONAL PROFILES

The present study shows how multivariate analysis and variable selection techniques can be used in archaeological provenances studies to improve classification performances. Neutron activation analysis (NAA), in combination with stepwise linear discrimination analysis (SLDA) (capable of simultaneously performing variable selection and classification), was applied to differentiate among limestone samples from different quarries across the north of France based on their compositional fingerprint. A hierarchical classification approach was followed, aimed at progressively assigning limestone samples to more specific sources of origin, from the broadest classification units (French regions) to the narrowest ones (individual quarries). The application of the stepwise variable selection procedure to extract the most discriminating compositional variables prior to each classification development allowed us to obtain a perfect separation between the limestone categories considered at every classification stage (all samples were correctly classified and predicted in all cases). The high‐quality results obtained were even more remarkable considering the relatively small number of significant variables selected in each case using the SLDA method. An illustrative example was provided in order to demonstrate that the classification strategy proposed can actually allocate an unknown sculpture to a particular quarry of origin.     

SHELL FRAGMENTATION AS A TOOL FOR QUANTIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF TAPHONOMIC PROCESSES IN ARCHAEOMALACOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF THE CANTABRIAN REGION (NORTHERN SPAIN)

This paper presents a quantification method for archaeological molluscs using fragmentation categories. By employing the data from nine prehistoric sites (13 000 to 5000 bp ; 15 700 to 5700 cal bp ) in Cantabrian Spain (northern Spain), it has been shown that traditional methods, based on one or two anatomical elements, systematically produce a loss in the minimum number of individuals (MNI) that is sometimes significant. This paper also proposes using fragmentation categories in the calculation of the fragmentation index. In addition, based on these indices, a reflection is made on the difficulty involved in associating the amount of fragmentation of the shells with the taphonomic processes that have occurred at the archaeological sites, especially in discerning which agents have caused the fragmentation.     

Compression and digestion as agents of vertebral deformation in Sciaenidae,Merlucidae and Gadidae remains: an experimental study to interpret archaeological assemblages

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory - Fish taphonomy from archaeological sites provides considerable useful information about human behaviours and environmental contexts as potential food...     

‘The Old Woman as Hare’: Structure and Meaning in an Irish Legend

This paper looks at the St Kitts and Nevis Mummies' plays as published in Folklore by Roger Abrahams (1968). It demonstrates that the texts were originally taken from a play published by the Victorian children's author Mrs J.H. Ewing. This play appeared in several editions, most notably in two series issued by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Mrs Ewing's text was itself compiled from three northern English chapbook texts and a version from Silverton, Devon. The relative contribution of these texts to Mrs Ewing's play, and the way she put them together, are both explored.     

Pakistan's foreign and security policies after the 2013 general election: the judge,the politician and the military

This article examines the consequences of Nawaz Sharif ‘s electoral victory in Pakistan's 2013 general election on the country's foreign and security policies. It analyses the relationships the new government is likely to entertain with the military institutions and the judiciary, and tries to identify the potential vulnerabilities of the new authorities. It concludes that the security situation will improve marginally, at best, and that a relatively smooth working relationship with the US, dictated by the constraints of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, can be anticipated. Relations with India are likely to constitute the real test of the political freedom enjoyed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vis‐a‐vis the military. The difficulty will be to calibrate the relationship to avoid provoking a backlash with the military.