Changing partnerships: Firms and the French state

Lindblom's hypothesis that in market‐oriented systems businessmen predominate over statesmen is tested in relation to the way French firms have switched partners since the 1980s. Instead of a dirigiste—style special relationship with government, they have formed multinational partnerships. The implications of the new competitive context, under the pressure of delocalisation panic, are considered, prior to the examination of the effects of nationalisation and privatisation on the national identity of firms. The virtual bankruptcy of Crédit Lyonnais is examined as an example of state‐dependent capitalism, and the impact of EC competition policy is considered. The partial industrial disengagement by the French government in favour of market competition reinforces the applicability of Lindblom's hypothesis to the relations between firms and state in France.     

Face to Face with Phineas Gage

We present here a reproduction of a daguerreotype of Phineas Gage that came into our possession more than 30 years ago. It is, as far as we know, the only image of this famous patient. We describe how we identified the subject in the image, describe how daguerreotypes are made and set out our comparisons of the image with the Phineas Gage life mask and tamping iron held in the Warren Anatomical Museum, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine.     

Distinguishing between archaeological sheep and goat bones using a single collagen peptide

We describe a method of isolating and analyzing a single collagen peptide able to distinguish between sheep and goat bone collagen. The 33 amino acid peptide from both sheep and goat collagen was sequenced and shown to differ between the two species at two positions. Analysis of a range of caprines indicated that the sequence changes occurred between the divergence of the Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) and the ibex (Capra ibex) and that the proposed goat marker is diagnostic of all Capra species and breeds. The survival of these markers in archaeological bones was tested using a set of 26 ovicaprid specimens from Domuztepe, a Neolithic site in south central Turkey. These markers were used to test the osteological determination of 24 of the Domuztepe bones, and determine the species for two immature specimens. The collagen-peptide method has advantages over other non-morphological methods of sheep/goat distinction because of the long-term survival of collagen over other biomolecules such as ancient DNA. The results also highlighted the problems in relying upon one morphological criterion, in this case on the distal radius, to distinguish between sheep and goat bones.     

Using Enthesis Robusticity to Infer Activity in the Past: A Review

In bioarchaeological studies, entheseal change is commonly used to infer patterns of activity in past populations. This category of skeletal modification includes both pathological changes (enthesopathies) and changes in size, shape and surface complexity (robusticity). Despite the recent impetus to reassess the use of enthesopathies as markers of activity, robusticity has received little critical attention. In this review, we reassess key assumptions that underpin the use of robusticity in activity studies, drawing on anatomical, physiological, biomechanical and sports medicine literature sources. We find that, whilst there is some evidence to support the assumption that variation in enthesis robusticity reflects different activity patterns, little is known about the process through which this variation is produced. Presently, the stimuli (dynamics of muscle use or muscle size) for entheseal adaptation are ill-defined, a situation that limits our interpretive abilities. Consideration of bone functional adaptation principles and of the relationship of entheses to soft tissue also highlights how other factors, such as age, sex and genetic background, may influence enthesis robusticity and obscure activity-related adaptation. Understanding how these factors influence enthesis robusticity helps define how robusticity studies should be controlled, but further research is required to clarify how these factors interact with activity in robusticity development and the precise relationship between activity and robusticity. Ultimately, this review emphasises the complexity of entheseal structures and their morphological development. Any interpretation of activity from enthesis robusticity should be approached with caution, but in some circumstances, the endeavour may be ill-advised.