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.     

Do municipal unions improve cost efficiency for the social function? A quasi-experimental endogenous stochastic frontier approach

Homogeneous national policies can generate heterogeneous effects on the territory. This paper aims to verify the impact of the entry of single Italian municipalities into an inter-municipal association on the unitary costs of the social services supplied to the local communities. Panel cost stochastic frontier model in the presence of endogeneity has been introduced based on two pillars: a counterfactual setting to verify the aggregation effects concerning a set of similar municipalities and the use of a cost efficiency estimation methodology which considers the endogeneity of output with respect to cost. The results of our analysis show that the effects of adopting associated forms of service delivery can be very multifaceted and diversified according to the typology and the degree of implementation of the Municipal Union itself. The analysis sheds light on the effects of municipalities' organisational choices, addressing the consolidation of small municipalities not in binary terms but also—and above all—suggesting that it is the type of union that impacts the possibility of convergence towards greater cost efficiency.     

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.     

Molecular and morphological analyses of avian eggshell excavated from a late thirteenth century earth oven

Using ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from eggshell of the extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) we determined the species composition and number of eggs found in a late thirteenth century earth oven feature at Wairau Bar (South Island, New Zealand) – one of New Zealand’s most significant archaeological sites. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA signatures confirmed this oven feature contained fragments of at least 31 moa eggs, representing three moa genera: Emeus; Euryapteryx; Dinornis. We demonstrate through the genetic identification of 127 moa eggshell fragments that thickness is an unreliable character for species assignment. We also present a protocol for assessing the preservation likelihood of DNA in burnt eggshell. This is useful because eggshell fragments found in archaeological contexts have often been thermally modified, and heat significantly increases DNA fragmentation. Eggshell is widely used in radiocarbon dating and stable isotope research, this study showcases how aDNA can also add to our knowledge of eggshell in both archaeological and palaeoecological contexts.     

Numerical Fragility Analysis of Vertical-Pile-Supported Wharves in the Western United States

This study develops seismic fragility curves for vertical-pile-supported wharves commonly found in the western United States. Nonlinear time-history analyses of a two-dimensional numerical model under two ground motion suites are performed. The results show that the jumbo container cranes increase by 10.8% in the wharf deck drift. By using the experiment-based limit states, the proposed fragility curves demonstrate that, at a PGA of 0.50 g, the probabilities of exceeding slight, moderate, extensive, and complete limit states are approximately 23.0%, 7.0%, 4.0%, and 3.0%, respectively, while at a PGA of 1.00 g, the exceeding probabilities increase to 44.0%, 19.0%, 14.0%, and 11.0%, respectively.     

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.