Nabataean finds from Thaj and Qatif

Ties between the Nabataean area of northwestern Arabia and southern Palestine, and the northeastern portion of the Arabian peninsula have been discussed for some years. The material evidence of such ties is meagre, but nonetheless important. Two Nabataean coins from Thaj and one from Qatif are presented here, along with a painted Nabataean sherd from Thaj. Their implications are treated briefly.     

Strontium isotope analysis in ancient glass from South Asia using portable laser ablation sampling

In order to carry out strontium (Sr) isotope analysis, glass artefacts from South Asia were sampled with portable laser ablation (pLA), a relatively novel sampling technique that leaves damage invisible to the naked eye. Subsequently, thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) was used to obtain Sr isotope ratios after sample dissolution and separation. In this study, the goal was twofold: to determine whether the measurements of Sr isotope ratios were impacted by using a portable laser as a sample tool; and to assess the pertinence of using Sr isotope ratios to provenance Indian glass. Despite a deterioration in the precision of the measurement of the Sr isotope ratios for artefacts sampled with pLA compared with the traditional sampling method, the Sr isotope ratios of certain Indian glass are so different that this does not affect their separation but a comparison of data sets obtained using standard methods and pLA might be challenging.     

Anticipating the Next Half‐Century of Geographical Analysis

Prompted by a series of panel sessions at a recent American Association of Geographers annual meeting entitled “A Globe‐Shaped Crystal Ball: The Next Fifty Years of Geographical Analysis,” participants were asked to speculate on the future of the journal, which of course has broader implications for spatial and geographic analytics. In what follows, I provide my thoughts on the journal as a reader, contributor, referee, and former editor of Geographical Analysis. The major points touched upon include the following. First, application to address substantive concerns will come to dominate the field. Second, the spatial data deluge will continue unabated, but will lead to important advances because of better detail and less abstraction of reality. Third, analytical methods will evolve specifically for big data. Fourth, the point‐and‐click revolution will result in ever more use of spatial analytics, but also will lend itself to greater and more widespread abuse of these methods. Fifth, addressing assumptions and theoretical foundations of long utilized approaches will revolutionize a new generation of spatial analytics. Sixth, geographic uncertainty and bias will be more than an afterthought, and methods will emerge to support meaningful analysis. Finally, spatial optimization will have increased prominence in fundamental analysis, particularly associated with establishing and evaluating significance.     

When leadership traits meet historic success: Hassan Rouhani and the nuclear deal of 2015

This study aims to show how dispositional characters of political leaders are affected by situational developments during the time‐in‐office. Although newly emerging literature of leadership traits demonstrate that significant events alter leaders’ traits, they mainly focus on the measurement of shocking events on dispositional features, leaving the effect of achievements underexplored. The Iranian nuclear deal of 2015 is one of the most significant successes in the last decade of world politics. Gambling his political career on nuclear talks by promising the Iranian people to solve Iran's decades‐long isolation, President Hassan Rouhani played a momentous role in negotiating the deal. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was globally recognized as a success of Rouhani's leadership. Using the Leadership Trait Analysis (LTA), this article will show the role of Rouhani's personality in the realization of the historic nuclear deal and measure the effect of such a success on Rouhani's leadership traits.     

A STUDY OF CHINESE PORCELAIN RAW MATERIALS FOR DING,XING, GONGXIAN AND DEHUA WARES*

The raw material used largely determines the type and quality of porcelain produced. Twenty-three raw materials used for making Ding, Xing, Gongxian and Dehua porcelain bodies were studied using principal component analysis. Results show that for Dehua wares, only one raw material was used. For Ding wares, although there were many possible raw materials, the use of one alone is unlikely. Lingshan clay was the main raw material but it has to be mixed with other raw materials: Pinjiawa clay, quartz, feldspar and dolomite. The Xing pieces can be divided into three groups and Gongxian wares into two groups, which are discussed in detail.