Fang Hsiao-Ju 方孝需 in the Light of Early Ming Society

The ancient names huangniao, canggeng and several related terms, usually thought to represent the oriole, appear in Zhou and Han texts, for example in Shijing, Erya, Shanhaijing, and various commentaries. The present article comments on these names. It shows that there was an early stage in which a difference was made between canggeng and huangniao, while in later times, from the Han period onwards, these distinctions gradually disappeared. The article also suggests that, originally, canggeng probably stood for Oriolus chinensis, i.e., the black-naped oriole, while huangniao may have meant several other birds; later on, however, all terms were used for O. chinensis.     

Stafne's Defects in a Sample of Adult Thai Mandibles in the Khon Kaen University Osteology Collection,Thailand

Examination of 311 adult dry‐bone mandibles from Thailand revealed 8 examples of Stafne's defects in the region of the submandibular salivary gland. This study revealed that some radiographic studies may under report the actual frequency of shallow or early‐stage Stafne's defects that lack sclerotic rims.     

Congenital absence of the ulna with humeroradial synostosis in a prehistoric skeleton from Moundville,Alabama

An archaeologically-derived example of congenital absence of the ulna and humeroradial synostosis in a prehistoric North American adult female from Moundville, Alabama is presented. That a physically deformed individual could survive to adulthood attests to her ability to physically adjust to the handicap, as well as society's acceptance, support, or at the very least its indulgence, of persons with potentially crippling deformities. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Misaligned Social Policy? Explaining the Origins and Limitations of Cash Transfers in Sudan

This article examines whether the transitional government in the wake of the December 2018 Sudanese revolution succeeded in realigning social policy with public demands. The article focuses on the evolution of cash transfer programmes from the 2012 cash programme under the Ingaz regime to the transitional government's programme 2021. While the recent programme was popularly viewed as a ‘World Bank programme’, its originators were in fact Sudanese professionals. Similarly, the Ingaz regime experimented with cash transfers before seeking out World Bank technical support. In this sense, cash transfers cannot be seen as an external imposition, as domestic actors have favoured them across different regimes. Yet, their appeal may still reflect the ‘choicelessness’ that Thandika Mkandawire associated with structural adjustment, as in both cases cash transfers were introduced as part of broader economic reform. Sudan's case is distinct in the sense that its domestic policy makers did not begrudgingly accept cash transfers but were enthusiastic instigators of them. The article traces the origins of this enthusiasm within Sudan's recent political history and explores the way in which alignment with international mainstream policy making locks Sudan into a bind. The country urgently needs to reverse the fragmentation of social policy along geographic and racial lines, yet these programmes do little to overcome such regional and racial inequalities. Thus, even after a popular revolution displaced the prevailing political settlement and called for radical change, policy makers remain misaligned to public demands.