Habermas and Iranian Intellectuals

In this paper, we discuss the impact of Jürgen Habermas' ideas on Iranian intellectuals who live in Iran. The upshot of the paper is that in present day Iran, where the society is going through a significant transitional period, various intellectual groups have reacted differently towards the ideas of the German philosopher-sociologist. While the orthodox left-wing (ex-Marxist) intellectuals and the conservative right-wing writers have, by and large, tended to ignore his views, a younger generation of the left-wing intellectuals and a number of the Muslim intellectuals with left-wing/socialist tendencies, have tried, each in their own ways, to ‘adopt’ Habermas' ideas in pursuit of their own projects/research programs.     

Review Article: Nationalisms,National Identities and Nation States: Gendered Perspectives

Books reviewed in this article: Nira Yuval‐Davis, Gender & Nation Lois West (ed.), Feminist Nationalism Rick Wilford and Robert L. Miller (eds.), Women, Ethnicity and Nationalism: The Politics of Transition Cynthia Cockburn, The Space Between Us: Negotiating Gender and National Identities in Conflict     

Exceptional preservation of a prehistoric human brain from Heslington,Yorkshire, UK

Archaeological work in advance of construction at a site on the edge of York, UK, yielded human remains of prehistoric to Romano-British date. Amongst these was a mandible and cranium, the intra-cranial space of which contained shrunken but macroscopically recognizable remains of a brain. Although the distinctive surface morphology of the organ is preserved, little recognizable brain histology survives. Though rare, the survival of brain tissue in otherwise skeletalised human remains from wet burial environments is not unique. A survey of the literature shows that similar brain masses have been previously reported in diverse circumstances. We argue for a greater awareness of these brain masses and for more attention to be paid to their detection and identification in order to improve the reporting rate and to allow a more comprehensive study of this rare archaeological survival.     

Politicisation but not Responsiveness: Preferences and Experiences of New Zealand Councillors

This article reports the responses of New Zealand local government councillors concerning their preferences for, and experiences of, council officer employment; and the values councillors perceive that council officers adopt in their dealings with councillors. This study received responses from slightly fewer than one hundred councillors in New Zealand local government out of 247 and therefore, the results presented here should be viewed as indicative only because of the small sample. Nevertheless the survey found that 54 per cent to 77 per cent would prefer to have influence over council officer employment, with council officers displaying deference to the authority of councillors. Councillors prefer to have frank and fearless advice but they prefer not to be under pressure from council officers to accept that advice. This ensures that they obtain the type of support they need to carry out the tasks and responsibilities that have been conferred on local authorities; and they – the councillors rather than council officers – remain in control of the council affairs.     

Factors Influencing Location Selection of Warehouses at the Intra-Urban Level: Istanbul Case

Depending on the worldwide developments in the industry and services sectors, the increased significance of the logistic sector is continuing. In parallel to this tendency, the need for warehousing as one of the basic activities of logistics has increased and the warehouses have returned to the important function areas for urban sites. In recent years, warehouses are demanded in the real estate market just like houses and offices. In the literature, although there are many supply chain studies focused on location selection of warehouses, there is a lack of studies discussing the behaviour of warehouse location at the intra-urban level. The article investigates the factors affecting the location selection of warehouses and their degree of importance in Istanbul as a case area by using a logistic regression model. It was found that location-specific factors are effective on the location selection of warehouses in the Istanbul metropolitan area, and warehouse location follows a certain economic rationality at the intra-urban level.