Fruit and seed biomineralization and its effect on preservation

Mineralised fruits and seeds are frequently found in archaeological sediments but their chemical nature has not been often examined. The nature and the origin of these archaeobotanical remains have to be investigated to understand their taphonomic history. Fruits or seeds can be mineralised not only by replacement mineralisation but also by biomineralisation during the plant life. The mineral components of three fossil fruits sampled on the Pleistocene site of Dmanisi were analysed and compared with their modern analogues. Analyses were carried out by means of an environmental scanning electron microscope, equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray device and by means of a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. Biogenic carbonates and/or biogenic silica were identified in the fossil and modern fruits of some taxa. Comparison between fossil and modern specimens has shown that molecular reorganisation occurred in carbonate and in biogenic silica during fossilisation, through diagenetic processes. The resulting stable mineral structures confer an exceptional preservation to fruits in sediments. Taking into account these taphonomic specificities (transformation and differential preservation), the chronological and palaeoenvironmental aspects of the mineralised fruits are discussed.     

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.     

Systematic position of two Early Devonian sinistral heterostrophic gastropods from the Garra Limestone,New South Wales

Two Early Devonian gastropod genera, Garraspira gen. nov. and Anoriostoma from the GarraLimestone, with sinistrally heterostrophic shells, share several shell features and are placed in the new tribe Anoriostomatini within the subfamily Agnesiinae. In contrast to the other members of the latter subfamily these genera represent a lineage in which the apertural slit was lost during evolution. This fact supports the opinion that the presence or absence of the apertural slit does not necessarily have significance for high-level taxonomy. Morphology of the gerontic whorl in Anoriostoma sinistra and Garraspira imtsitata suggests their limited mobility during the last ontogenetic stage.     

The fuzzy limits of self-reliance: US extended deterrence and Australian strategic policy

As a close US ally, Australia is often seen as a recipient of US extended deterrence. This article argues that in recent decades, Australian strategic policy engaged with US extended deterrence at three different levels: locally, Australia eschews US combat support and deterrence under the policy of self-reliance; regionally, it supports US extended deterrence in Asia; globally, it relies on the US alliance against nuclear threats to Australia. The article argues that in none of these policy areas does the Australian posture conform to a situation of extended deterrence proper. Moreover, when the 2009 White Paper combines all three policies in relation to major power threats against Australia, serious inconsistencies result in Australia's strategic posture—a situation the government should seek to avoid in the White Paper being drafted at the time of writing.     

Towards New Paths for Regional and Territorial Development in Rural Areas

Abstract

The aim of this article is to shed some light on issues of territorial development and of rural development and to identify what links and opposes them. Indeed, everything pushes towards joining these two dimensions, which for a long time seemed disconnected. On the one hand, the policies targeting rural areas explicitly include the territorial dimension, while the distinction between rural and urban is getting blurred. In the meantime, decentralization, subsidiarity, the regionalization of agriculture, short circuits and local foods take place in parallel with the generalization of an urban model. Finally, we find that regional sciences are paying increasing attention to rural and agricultural dimensions, while studies concerning rural questions are starting to consider territorial issues. The first section of the article provides a critical presentation and attempts to define and distinguish the notions of development, territory and the rural. The second section addresses questions of regional and territorial development by presenting the main theories and public policies and concludes with a discussion about the possibilities of reconciling the theories and the policies. The third section follows the same structure, applied to the question of rural development, from analyses to grass-roots policies.     

“Les jeunes des banlieues”: neighborhood effects on the immigrant youth experience in France

This paper explores the impact of the spatial context on populations of immigrant descent in French segregated suburbs, focusing on the youth. The phrase “jeunes des banlieues” (suburban youth) has become a whole concept in itself, capturing the variety of challenges raised—and faced—by immigrant youth in segregated neighborhoods. Our study was a follow-up to the Trajectories and Origins (TeO) Survey conducted by the French National Institute of Demographic Studies from September 2008 to February 2009. It is based on a series of in-depth interviews and a systematic observation survey about the neighborhood. Our results clearly show that neighborhood matters in how young people experience their school system, their interactions with the police, and the way they perceive themselves and their own environment. Outside perceptions of the neighborhood also shape individual and social identities. Overall, high concentrations of immigrants negatively impact the experience of young people of immigrant descent.     

Une Histoire de L’universalité des Matrices Mathématiques

International matrix theory of the 1930s is influenced by multiple phenomena and may be analyzed by looking at how local practices were globalized via pathways which manifested a short-term reappropriation between the two world wars of work developed over the long term. This article interrogates the constitution of the universality of matrix terminology and focuses particularly on phenomena of the collective circulation of texts which present cultural aspects proper to networks with complex identities.