It’s the Ideology,Stupid! In Macri’s Argentina: A Reportage

A first snapshot from the frontlines of ‘change’ in Latin America: cumbia music from the Casa Rosada, police repression against villeros and indigenous activists, and soul-searching amidst supporters of the ‘Victory Front’ in the face of defeat. Have we now moved from the ‘pink’ to the ‘yellow tide’?     

Stating the Difference: State,Discourse and Class Reproduction in Uttar Pradesh,India

Much development literature concerned with state–society relations operates with a simplistic state–people dichotomy. In contrast, this article focuses on the intersection between state and society and argues that this plays an important part in class reproduction in ‘civil society’. This issue is explored with reference to the role of the local state in class reproduction in the Indian countryside. The focus is on the means by which rural social groups negotiate access to the local state and discourses surrounding the state. The balance of colonization, co‐option and opposition that characterizes the relationship between dominant rural classes and local state officials/institutions is examined against the impact of the rise of a populist low class party. It is argued that the intersection between ‘class’ and ‘state’ is closer than even critical studies of state–society relations have posited. Moreover, the state can, within certain limits, be brought to serve interests other than those of the dominant classes.     

Freie GIS-Software

Angewandte Geographie hat oft mit Datenverarbeitung und speziell mit Geoinformationsverarbeitung zu tun. Geographische Informationssysteme werden seit über 30 Jahren im professionellen Umfeld eingesetzt –üblicherweise in der Form von herstellerabh?ngigen, an Nutzungsvereinbarungen gebundenen und mit (hohen) Lizenzkosten verbundenen Programmen (aktuelle übersicht: Buhmann/Wiesel 2001). In der Regel sind diese als propriet?r zu bezeichnenden Software-Pakete fachlich ausgereift. Es entstehen aber für den Nutzer auch einige Nachteile, z.B.: Die Programme k?nnen üblicherweise nicht beliebig für bestimmte Zwecke angepa?t werden; ein (teilweise aufwendiges) Lizenzmanagement behindert beliebige Verfügbarkeit auf allen Rechnern. Lizenzkosten fallen oft nicht einmalig, sondern periodisch an. Die Free Software Foundation ( FSF 2002 a) hat mit der F?rderung der Entwicklung Freier Software eine Alternative er?ffnet.     

Combined Pb–Sr isotopic analysis in provenancing late Roman iron raw materials in the territory of Sagalassos (SW Turkey)

In early Roman times, iron was likely supplied to the city of Sagalassos through the smelting of close-by hematite ores. In the early Byzantine period, magnetite–titanite placer sands in some instances could have been exploited for its iron. For the intermediate late Roman period, however, the source of the locally used iron was unknown. Pb and Sr isotopic analyses of iron ores from the area of Camoluk, just south of the territory of Sagalassos, and of late Roman iron artefacts from the antique city itself, reveal a very close resemblance. This makes the use of the Camoluk ores to supply Sagalassos with raw iron in the late Roman period likely. It is also shown that combined Pb and Sr isotopic analyses provides a powerful tool to distinguish chronological groups of iron provenance and a technique that can determine the nature and source of iron raw materials used.     

Environmental policy instruments and their effects on innovation

The influence of environmental policy on innovative behaviour of companies has so far received little attention in scientific discourse. Based on recent literature, the paper analyzes the impact of requirements, levies, permits, liability laws, and the EC‐eco‐audit regulation with respect to the generation of environmentally benign innovations. Most theoretical studies come to the conclusion that direct requirements provide little incentives for dynamic effects and that emission taxes and permits are better instruments to promote innovations. However, the empirical studies show that the dynamic effects of environmental policy instruments in practice partly differ from the ideal instruments analyzed in theoretical studies.     

The Environmental Performance of Participatory and Collaborative Governance: A Framework of Causal Mechanisms

Many have advocated for collaborative governance and the participation of citizens and stakeholders on the basis that it can improve the environmental outcomes of public decision making, as compared to traditional, top‐down decision making. Others, however, point to the potential negative effects of participation and collaboration on environmental outcomes. This article draws on several literatures to identify five clusters of causal mechanisms describing the relationship between participation and environmental outcomes. We distinguish (i) mechanisms that describe how participation impacts on the environmental standard of outputs, from (ii) mechanisms relating to the implementation of outputs. Three mechanism clusters focus on the role of representation of environmental concerns, participants' environmental knowledge, and dialogical interaction in decision making. Two further clusters elaborate on the role of acceptance, conflict resolution, and collaborative networks for the implementation of decisions. In addition to the mechanisms, linking independent with dependent variables, we identify the conditions under which participation may lead to better (or worse) environmental outcomes. This helps to resolve apparent contradictions in the literature. We conclude by outlining avenues for research that builds on this framework for analysis.     

Book reviews

D. J. Shepherd: Funerary Ritual and Symbolism. An Interdisciplinary Interpretation of Burial Practices in Late Iron Age Finland. BAR International Series 808. Oxford. 1999. ISBN 1 84171 113 6. 133 pages, 19 maps.

Vladimir N. Bulatov, Russkij Sever, Vols. 1–3. Archangel 1997–99. Izdatel'stvo Pomorskogo Universiteta. 352+352+336 pages.