The Evolution of American Farm Silos

The conspicuous silo on American farmsteads is the result of an evolving process to store ensilage effectively. From merely indoor stone-lined pits in the ground and exterior wooden rectangular and circular silos of the past, today's silos include the highly mechanical fiberglass and metal (Harvestore) structures. Ensilage has become an important aspect of agriculture, especially in the northeastern quarter of the United States and adjacent parts of Canada. The silo reflects the ongoing changes in agricultural production and in the American farmstead.     

The Place of the Dog: AKC Breeds in American Culture

The American Kennel Club (AKC), the primary registry agency for purebred dogs in the United States, had recognized 138 breeds through September 1995. An investigation of the source areas of these breeds reveals the cultural authority of Great Britain in organized dog breeding in the United States. Although Great Britain accounts for more than one-third of the AKC breeds, however, its importance has declined. Dogs from Asia account for more than one-fifth of the breeds recognized since World War II. Breed names that contain toponymic elements (such as Sussex Spaniel) usually reinforce the importance of the area in which the breeds were developed. An analysis of the patterns of geographic names reveals a pronounced emphasis on Western Europe, particularly Great Britain. A decline in the prominence of names from Europe has occurred. Asian name sources have become more important, and Australia and Africa have begun receiving attention. North America as a source of breeds as well as a source of naming has occupied a relatively minor role throughout the AKC's history. American breeders and promoters of purebred dogs have tended to look outward, especially toward Europe, for sociocultural forms.     

Metatourism: Dealing Critically with the Future of Tourism Environments

This essay links the virtually endless varieties of tourist developments which are proceeding in many parts of the world to the system of tourism. The finite nature of tourism environments is recognized and the losses which result when development demands are not balanced with the finite nature of the areas where tourism takes place are discussed. The argument is presented that to avoid such impending losses, perceptions about tourism need to be restructured along ecological lines. This new way of thinking about tourism and its development has been labelled metatourism. The sources from which this concept derives, and some of its implications, are considered.     

Analysis of resinous material present on an alabaster lid excavated from Nabataean Moa in the Arava valley

An alabaster lid with a resinous accretion burnt or stuck next to the handle and on the base was uncovered in the Nabataean rest stop in Moyat Aawad (Moa) in the Arava valley in Israel. The analysis of this resin sample utilising GC‐MS revealed several types of compounds. The chemical analysis revealed compounds typically present in pine tar and plant lipid material (probably oil). The use of pine resin, tar and pitch derived from plant resins is documented in antiquity, not only as a sealant or caulking material but also as medicines, antiseptics and ritual balms.     

The (Jean) Nouvel Other: Primitivism and the Musée du Quai Branly

The Musée du Quai Branly, located beside the Eiffel Tower in Paris, opened in June 2006. Constructed to house France's important collection of non-western art, the museum has been promoted as ‘decidedly post-colonial’ and a place of ‘reconciliation and sharing’. Historians have situated the creation of the museum within political debates over the restructuring of several of France's museums and, more broadly, the country's position in a post-colonial world, while focusing little critical attention on the building itself. The author argues that Jean Nouvel's architectural program for the Musée du Quai Branly—a ‘primitive shelter’ surrounded by a ‘sacred wood’—gives physical form to a primitivist aesthetic. The unproblematised binaries of self versus other and culture versus nature evident in Nouvel's design reveal a surprisingly unsophisticated theoretical standpoint. As a frame in which to view and understand the objects on display, the Musée du Quai Branly invites a primitivist—and colonial—reading of its collection.     

Dien Bien Phu—fifty years on

Although 2004 marks the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the end of France's colonial presence in Indochina, the war seems to have little resonance for the majority in today's France. Official commemorations of the anniversary, though muted in France, mythologise the battle as epic and legendary: the epitome of military honour and heroism. Veterans' memories, however, are evoked in terms of betrayal, abandonment and humiliation. What little debate exists over the war has stalled over the issue of whether the war would have been lost had its opponents not sought to scupper the French effort in Indochina.     

The Growth Cone as Seen Through Cajal's Original Histological Preparations and Publications

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) was first presented in a clinical setting in 1838. In this paper the presentation and treatment of a transient hemiparesis in a drummer in 1789 is discussed. This may have been an early case of MS and presents evidence against the theory that MS is an infectious disease beginning in the 19th century.