Culture,emotional transnationalism and mental distress: family relations and well-being among Taiwanese immigrant women

Immigrant women's vulnerability to mental distress has been recognized in the literature and yet the socio-cultural causes of their distress have rarely been explored. On the basis of a case study of Taiwanese immigrants residing in Chicago, this article illustrates the dynamic contexts within which Taiwanese immigrant women's distress is produced at home and explains the social and cultural factors that engender the women's distress. In this article I argue that Taiwanese immigrant women frequently shift back and forth between Taiwanese and American cultural norms in an effort to apply effective behavioral guidance and justifications to interactions with their spouses, children and in-laws. The term ‘emotional transnationalism’ is used to describe the psychological experience associated with transnational cultural practices. Distress is often generated as these women struggle with feelings of ambivalence and contradictions that confront them in their search for cultural identities. The severity of distress is largely determined by the power hierarchies between women and those with whom they interact. Married women's status as subordinate to their in-laws creates more negative experiences than any other status.     

晚唐五代宋时期敦煌石窟贤愚经变研究

敦煌石窟依据《贤愚经》绘制的故事画,在早期洞窟中就已经出现了,如第275、254、257、285、296等窟,这种现象一直延续到隋代。初唐至吐蕃占领时期,此类故事画在洞窟中消失。而到了晚唐五代宋时期,依据《贤愚经》绘制的屏风画出现在第85、98、108、146、55等洞窟壁画的下方,形成了完整意义上的贤愚经变。本文从艺术特色、内容取舍等方面对敦煌石窟中的贤愚经变进行了比较,并尝试分析贤愚经变入绘洞窟的原因及作用。     

Multiagent Systems and the Dynamics of a Settlement System

In order to simulate the evolution of a system of settlements with a dynamic model, many processes must be integrated: the spatial aggregation of population, the complexification of urban activities, and the increasing hierarchical differentiation of settlements. The model must also simulate the progressive structuration of the settlement system through a growing variety and enlarged range of interactions between its elements. “Multiagent systems” provides a flexible modeling method for dealing with the multiple spatial interactions of cooperation and competition and relations that generate and regulate the evolution of a settlement system. Its principles are described and applied to building an evolutionary model, including a simulation tool. The model combines economic and spatial rules to produce birth, growth, decline, and functional diversification of the towns. The “urban transition” from an agrarian settlement system toward a hierarchical system of trade- and manufacturing-oriented towns and cities can be simulated.     

《集古录跋尾》的文献学考察

今本<集古录跋尾>凡十卷,有跋尾四百二十篇,其内容"不独为玩好而已"(<集古录跋尾>卷八<唐韩愈黄陵庙碑>,以下引用此书只标明卷数、篇名),"因并载夫可与史传正其阙谬者,以传后学,庶益于多闻"①.可见,订正史传、补充史料确是其集古题跋的宗旨和核心内容.顾炎武曰:     

从地理空间到复合式空间——信息网络影响下的城市空间

分析了城市在地理空间、网络空间上存在的相互依赖关系以及这二者之间复杂作用关系,说明网络空间并非地理上城市空间功能的简单延伸,也并非现实空间的简单镜像;信息社会的城市空间是一种地理空间与网络空间相互依存、相互交织的复合式空间。城市空间仍然具有重要的地理学意义,地缘上的差异以新的方式体现出来。     

Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Spacing Between Bone and Tooth Collagen and Hydroxyapatite in Human Archaeological Remains

Spacing between stable isotope values in bones and teeth is a valuable tool for examining dietary influences and diagenesis. This study examines carbon and oxygen isotope values from collagen and hydroxyapatite (structural carbonate and phosphate) in archaeological human bones and teeth to derive species‐specific correlation equations and isotope spacing values. The δ¹³C_collagen and δ¹³C_{structural carbonate} in bone and dentin collagen show a strong correlation (R = 0.87, 0.90, respectively) with an average Δ¹³C_carb‐coll spacing of 5.4‰. The consistency of this isotope spacing with other large mammals and in humans with both low and high protein intake (as indicated by enriched δ¹⁵N values) suggests a similar allocation of protein‐derived carbon and whole diet‐derived carbon to collagen and structural carbonates, respectively, as other terrestrial mammals regardless of absolute meat intake. The δ¹⁸O_{structural carbonate} and δ¹⁸O_phosphate show the strongest correlation in enamel (R = 0.65), weaker correlations in dentin (R = 0.59) and bone (R = 0.35), with an average Δ¹⁸O_carb‐phos of 7.8‰. This isotope spacing is slightly lower than previously reported for large mammals and limited available data for humans. The results potentially indicate species‐specific fractionations and differing access to body water and blood‐dissolved inorganic carbonates in the presence of collagen formation. The use of correlation between δ¹⁸O_{structural carbonate} and δ¹⁸O_phosphate to determine diagenetic state is not recommended. The strength of this correlation observed in bones and teeth is variable and alternate indicators of diagenetic state (i.e. C:N ratios of collagen) provide more robust and independent evidence of isotope preservation despite presence/absence of a strong isotope correlation. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Iceland and the Nordic Model of Consensus Democracy

The Nordic countries – including Iceland – have been portrayed in the political-science literature as consensual democracies, enjoying a high degree of legitimacy and institutional mechanisms which favour consensus-building over majority rule and adversarial politics. In this explorative article the author argues that consensus politics, meaning policy concertation between major interest groups in society, a tendency to form broad coalitions in important political issues and a significant cooperation between government and opposition in Parliament, is not an apt term to describe the political reality in Iceland during the second half of the 20th century. Icelandic democracy is better described as more adversarial than consensual in style and practice. The labour market was rife with conflict and strikes more frequent than in Europe, resulting in strained government–trade union relationship. Secondly, Iceland did not share the Nordic tradition of power-sharing or corporatism as regards labour market policies or macro-economic policy management, primarily because of the weakness of Social Democrats and the Left in general. Thirdly, the legislative process did not show a strong tendency towards consensus-building between government and opposition with regard to government seeking consultation or support for key legislation. Fourthly, the political style in legislative procedures and public debate in general tended to be adversarial rather than consensual in nature.