Diet and the aetiology of dental calculus

The aetiology of dental calculus formation is not fully understood, but it is known that a number of factors play a role. Generally, anthropologists have overlooked the role of other causative factors in the formation of dental calculus, attributing it almost exclusively to diet, particularly protein consumption. Anthropologists have also oversimplified the role of diet in the formation of dental calculus. This may be due to a general paucity on research on dietary effects on calculus formation, as well as a lack of integration between anthropological and non‐anthropological data. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modernizing Democracy: Constructing a Radical Reform of the Planning System?

This paper evaluates the Labour Government's programme of modernizing local government and assesses the impact on the delivery of the town planning service. Four key elements of this strategy have been identified: a programme of democratic renewal, a new ethical framework, the promotion of best value in local service provision, and a revised local government finance system. The paper anticipates how these new ideas on sharpening the performance of local government will impact on the English planning system which is also coming to terms with the creation of two new regional agencies. New opportunities for democratic governance and alliance building are thus being generated. The paper argues that the accretion of rules over time and the conflicting demands on the planning system will act to circumvent the intentions of the present Government to reinvigorate citizen participation.     

In search of Wales: travel writing and narratives of difference, 1918–50

Travel writers since the eighteenth century have sought to portray Wales as a place of «difference» with its own culture, history and legends woven into the landscape. Their texts were later to inspire twentieth-century travellers. These later travellers also drew on the academic work of geographers, anthropologists and archaeologists such as H.J. Fleure, Cyril Fox and E.G. Bowen who wrote extensively and influentially on their ideas of identity and race grounded in the landscapes of Wales. One recurrent theme throughout these popular travel narratives, like H.V. Morton'sIn Search of Wales , was that of a Celtic history and culture, evident both in landscape and in the people. Travellers» books recorded journeys punctuated by visits to the monuments of this Celtic past with its hill-forts and standing stones, and by encounters with the peoples of Wales. The literature of travellers and academics combined to create a particular form of text for Wales that in turn became the language for the promotion of tourism and for the images and experiences of Wales that could be taken away by those who came to visit.     

Narratives of Genetic Selfhood**

This essay considers the mid-twentieth century adoption of genetic explanations for three biological phenomena: nutritional adaptation, antibiotic resistance, and antibody production. This occurred at the same time as the hardening of the neo-Darwinian Synthesis in evolutionary theory. I argue that these concurrent changes reflect an ascendant narrative of genetic selfhood, which prioritized random hereditary variation and selection through competition, and marginalized physiological or environmental adaptation. This narrative was further reinforced by the Central Dogma of molecular biology and fit well with liberal political thought, with its focus on the autonomous individual. However, bringing biological findings into line with this narrative required modifying the notion of the gene to account for various kinds of non-Mendelian inheritance. Hans-Jörg Rheinberger's reflections on narrative and experiment are valuable in thinking about the friction between the postwar ideal of genetic selfhood and actual observations of how organisms adapt in response to the environment.     

Cleric or Conman,Curate or Crook? Understanding the Victorian Draper

This article analyses contemporary perceptions of the Victorian draper. While neglected in academic literature, drapers were central to the public imagination, facing criticism for dishonesty in trade and condemnation for taking advantage of the vulnerable female shopper. Placing the focus firmly on the purchase of material goods, rather than shopping as a visual experience, the article argues that, while there was some truth in the negative characterisations, drapers operated in an industry that was rife with fraud and adulteration, made possible by an unregulated market. A strong belief in laissez-faire meant that individual failings were highlighted and condemned, without confronting the failings of the free market itself. The drapers’ own response was to provide an alternative portrayal of themselves, as ministering to women and serving them in an almost religious capacity. They, too, for the most part ranged themselves firmly against regulation, despite the harm that a free market did to their trade and the assaults on their character that resulted. As a consequence, both the public and the draper continued to suffer at the hands of an unregulated market.     

The complex landscape of contemporary fathering in the UK

Distinguishing between fatherhood as a social construction and fathering as a social practice, this paper presents empirical evidence from the UK concerning the complex landscape of contemporary fathering. The paper focuses on the spatial and temporal dynamics of fathering, particularly following moments of rupture and transition such as family break-up or bereavement. Based on narrative interviews and ethnographic observation, including the co-production and analysis of video data, the paper identifies three key issues: the diversity of contemporary fathering practices, the complex emotional geographies of lone fathering and the relationality of fathering both in terms of the research participants and their female partners (as fathers and mothers) and inter-generationally (between the research participants and their own fathers). The study supports previous research on the ‘awkward spaces’ of fathering with a particular emphasis on moments of transition and their complex social and emotional geographies.