Global finance and the German model: German corporations, market incentives, and the management of employer-sponsored pension institutions

Where there was a settled political geography of state power and responsibilities, the remarkable growth of global finance has put enormous pressure on national economic, political and social institutions. Furthermore, the looming crisis facing many continental European social security systems has raised many doubts about the long-term viability of the German model compared to its Anglo-American rivals. In this context, large German corporations have sought ways of sustaining their global competitiveness by, in part, restructuring their national and regional commitments. To illustrate, in this paper we concentrate on the nature and organization of German employer-sponsored pension institutions in relation to Anglo-American management practice. Two issues drive the analysis. One has to do with an emerging coalition between corporate management and shareholders with respect to the market value of the firm. The second issue has to do with the allocation of risk and uncertainty between the social partners when negotiating the financing and final value of promised retirement income. The institutional framework of collective decision-making common to many of Germany's largest firms is under pressure; three models of investment decision making relevant to pension assets and liabilities are used to illustrate this point. In doing so, we suggest that the German model is more fragile than commonly realized. We also suggest that Anglo-American management practices have penetrated and affected German corporate (national and regional) institutions and regulations. The social market lauded by advocates of stakeholder capitalism is changing rapidly, at least in the sphere of large firms and global finance.     

A Revision to the U.S. Southwest Archaeomagnetic Master Curve

Recently, two problems have been recognized with the United States Southwest archaeomagnetic master curve (Eighmy, 1991; LaBelle & Eighmy, 1997; Sternberg, 1989). One of these problems, the damping problem, is inherent to the moving window method of curve construction proposed by Sternberg (1989). The other is due to the fact that the small number of independently dated virtual geomagnetic pole determinations available for the period between 900–1100 are not representative of secular variation during this period. The analyses presented here confirm the existence of these two problems and suggest that they distort the curve by less than 1·0° and between 1·0° and 2·0° respectively. Based on these findings, a new curve is proposed for the U.S. Southwest.     

Indigenous Research and Archaeology: Transformative Practices in/with/for the Ngarrindjeri Community

The relationships between Indigenous peoples and archaeologists in Australia have consisted of conflict, consultation and collaboration. The literature looks at very little the roles and challenges met by Indigenous archaeologists and the issues that arise as a result of working between two different knowledge systems. This paper therefore will discuss the question of how archaeologists could modify their practice for better answering the Indigenous communities and treats this particular question by presenting my own work among the Ngarrindjeri nation of southeast South Australia. By the means of a lived experiment of conducting research with/in/for my community, I will consider the effect of the personal identity related to community stories while also examining how the knowledge of the interior can be at the same time complex but very significant for the development of archaeology.

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Resumé Par le passé, les rapports entre les aborigènes et les archéologues en Australie se sont avérés conflictuels, consultatifs et collaboratifs. Même si les aborigènes ont été impliqués dans la recherche archéologique, les chercheurs non-aborigènes ont été à l’avant plan dans le développement de méthodes et de techniques concernant la discipline archéologique à défaut d’avoir des aborigènes formés à cette discipline. Cet article se veut une contribution au développement actuel de recherche sur les méthodologies employées en archéologie par l’intermédiaire d’une discussion sur l’expérience d’un étudiant Ngarrindjeri récemment gradué en archéologie et qui travaille avec les communautés. Même si le cas présenté ici utilise la question hautement contentieuse et politique du rapatriement, l’objectif de cet article est de refléter les pratiques adoptées qui amènent à la transformation significative des procédures pour les archéologues Ngarrindjeri qui travaillent dans/avec/pour leur communauté afin de soutenir les efforts de protection de notre patrimoine culturel.

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Resumen Las relaciones entre los pueblos indígenas y los arqueólogos en Australia han sido de conflicto, consulta y colaboración. La bibliografía sobre el tema no tiene muy en cuenta los roles y los desafíos con los que se enfrentan los arqueólogos indígenas y las cuestiones que surgen como resultado de trabajar entre dos sistemas diferentes de conocimiento. Este artículo, en consecuencia, discutirá la cuestión de la manera en que los arqueólogos podrían modificar sus prácticas para dar una mejor respuesta a las comunidades indígenas; el artículo trata esta cuestión particular al presentar mi propio trabajo entre la nación Ngarrindjeri al sudeste del sur de Australia. Por la experiencia vivida al conducir una investigación en/con mi comunidad, consideraré el efecto de la identidad en relación a las historias de la comunidad a la vez que examinaré de que forma en conocimiento interior puede ser a la vez complejo pero muy significativo para el desarrollo de la arqueología.

     

The Art of Taphonomy and the Taphonomy of Art: Layer IV,Molodova I,Ukraine

Level IV of Molodova I, an open-air Middle Paleolithic site in the Ukraine has been described by some researchers as a possible source of evidence for early symbolic behavior. We examined bone objects from this layer that were identified by Ukrainian researchers as exhibiting possible Neandertal produced engravings including two anthropomorphic figures. While we have determined that there is no evidence of symbolic activity at Molodova I, the database we have created, with its systematic recording of traces left by taphonomic agents on faunal remains, provides a better understanding of the overall site taphonomy.     

New light on early caprine herding strategies from isotope analysis: a case study from Neolithic Anatolia

The measurement of stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopes of caprine bone collagen from the Neolithic sites of Çatalhöyük and Aşıklı Höyük in south-central Anatolia have allowed examination of exploitation and herding practices of sheep and goats. The isotope values from protodomestic caprines at Aşıklı Höyük suggests that these animals were consuming very similar foods to each other and were all confined to the same or similar environments with no access to C₄ plants. At Çatalhöyük, the results show how the caprine management strategy develops from the strategy seen at Aşıklı Höyük into a more varied practice at an early stage as the site grows with an increasing dietary contribution obtained from C₄ plants. No change in diet is isotopically discernible at Aşıklı Höyük. Interestingly, no distinction could be made between the diets of sheep and goats at either site. Therefore, such studies are a useful method of examining the development of early herding or management strategies of caprines in the Near East.     

国家起源的理论

千百年来,国家起源一直是伟大哲学家和思想家们关注的一个话题,从亚里士多德、孟德斯鸠、霍布斯、卢梭、弗格森、孔德到摩尔根、马恩和列宁,都有过经典性的系统论述。时至今日,在新资料、新方法、新技术的支持下,在吸收过去理论成就的基础上,国家起源更成为当今国际学术界的三大课题(人类起源、农业起源和国家文明起源)之一,并且产生了很多既有实证性又有理论性的研究成果。卡内罗在这篇经典文章中,对当今各种理论流派做了比较详细的概括总结。就他自身而言,是持强制论或者说战争论的观点,认为战争是国家兴起的主要动力。他甚至认为,世界各地的历史学和考古学证据都毫无二致地证明战争是早期国家形成的根本原因,战争以这样或那样的形式在国家兴起中起到了决定性作用。当然,他也认为,战争并非国家起源的唯一因素。尽管战争可能是国家兴起的必要条件,但却不是充分条件。国家的兴起还需要一些特殊条件,经过一些具体的过程,例如自然的限制、社会的限制、资源的集中、政治的演化等等。卡内罗的战争论虽然是一家之言,但由于它对历史的继承和现实的尊重而有巨大的合理性,对包括中国在内的国家文明起源研究有重大影响,而且今后仍然有十分积极的意义。本文写作于1970年,从时间上看观点已显陈旧,但是作为国家起源理论的一种重要流派,仍然值得介绍和回顾。