Reviews

Shi^cite Islam: Polity, Ideology, and Creed , Yann Richard, trans. Antonia Nevill, Oxford, U.K. and Cambridge, U.S.A.: Blackwell, 1995, pp. 217, chronology, glossary, bibliography, index.

Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk‐Ilkhanid War, 1260–1281 , Reuven Amitai‐Preiss, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995, xv + 272 pp.

The Bukharans: A Dynastic, Diplomatic and Commercial History 1550–1702 , Audrey Burton, Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1997, 664 pp.

Cahiers d'Asie Centrale, No. 1/2 (1996): Inde‐Asie centrale. Routes du commerce et des idées , Tashkent: l'Institut Français d'études sur l'Asie centrale/Aix‐en‐Provence: Editions Edisud, 1996, 366 pp.

The Diary of H.M. Shah of Persia during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873 , trans. from the Persian by J.W. Redhouse, London, 1874, reprinted 1995, with a new introduction by Carole Hillenbrand, Bibliotheca Iranica. Reprint Series No. 2, Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, Calif., [xvi] + xi + 427 pp.

Presse und Öffentlichkeit im Nahen Osten , Christoph Herzog, Raoul Motika, and Anja Pistor‐Hatam, eds., Heidelberg: Heidelberger Orientverlag, 1995, viii + 183 pp.

The Army and the Creation of the Pahlavi State in Iran, 1910–1956 , Stephanie Cronin, London: Tauris Academic Studies, 1997, 296 pp., 3 appendices.

The Republic of Armenia, Volume III: From London to Sèvres, February‐August, 1920; Volume IV: Between Crescent and Sickle: Partition and Sovietization , Richard Hovannisian, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996, xx + 534 pp., xii + 496 pp.

Majlis va Intikhabat: az Mashrūtah ta Payan‐i Qajar , Mansoureh Ettehadieh (Nezam‐Mafi), Tehran: Nashr‐i Tarikh‐i Iran, 1375/1996–97, 368 pp.

L'Iran au XXe siècle , Jean‐Pierre Digard, Bernard Hourcade, Yann Richard, Paris: Fayard, 1996, 459 pp.

The Shi^cis of Iraq , Yitzhak Nakash, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994, xiv + 312 pp., cloth and paperback.

Debating Religion and Politics in Iran: The Political Thought of Abdolkarim Sorush , Valla Vakili, New York, N.Y.: Studies Department, Occasional Paper Series, no. 2, The Council on Foreign Relations, Inc., 1996, 56 pp.

Tanker Wars: The Assault on Merchant Shipping during the Iran‐Iraq Conflict, 1980–1988 , Martin S. Navias and E. R. Horton, London and New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers, 1996, ix + 244 pp., including appendix, notes, index of ships, and general index. Cloth.

The Turbulent Gulf: People, Politics and Power , 2nd ed., Liesl Graz, London and New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers, 1992. 311 pp., including notes, appendices, bibliography, and index. Paperback.

The Topkapi Scroll: Geometry and Ornament in Islamic Architecture , Gülru Necipo?lu, with an essay on the geometry of the muqarnas by Mohammad al‐Asad, Santa Monica: Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, 1995, xiii + 395, plates, plan, bibliography, index, $160.00.

Techniques et ressources en Iran du 7e au 19e siècle , Parviz Mohebbi, Tehran: Institut Français de Recherche en Iran, 1996.

Suppressed Persian: An Anthology of Forbidden Literature , Paul Sprachman, Costa Mesa, Calif.: Mazda Publishers, lviii + 111 pp., $29.95.     

Renewable Electricity in the EU: Are We Meeting the Targets?

This paper analyses differences in the degree to which European Union countries have achieved the renewable electricity (RES-E) targets set by the European Commission for each Member State for 2010. After defining an RES-E target achievement (TA) indicator, both conventional and novel techniques are used to examine the main features of its distribution, including the degree of inequality, external shape and intra-distribution dynamics, for the 1996–2006 time period. The analysis demonstrates that disparities in TA have been strongly reduced and that intra-distribution mobility was very high.     

Regional Productivity Distribution in the European Union: Which are the Influencing Factors?

The aim of this paper is to analyse some relevant aspects on productivity distribution in the European Union at regional level. Firstly, the paper examines its external shape and intra-distribution dynamics. Subsequently, an analysis of the factors that might be behind the productivity distribution and its dynamics is carried out. The results, represented by means of a relatively new visualization tool, highlight the role played by factors such as geographical location, compensation per employee and investment per employee in explaining this issue.     

“Now let me share this with you”: Exploring Poetry as a Method for Postcolonial Geography Research

Abstract: In this article we attempt to “seize back the creative initiative” to uncover whether poetry might be a useful postcolonial research method. In exploring the possibilities and limitations of poetry as a means of re‐representing and interpreting data collected through in‐depth qualitative interviews, our conclusions are ambivalent: we are attracted to poetry but troubled by it too. For instance, poetry does hold promise through its ability to imaginatively project thoughts and ideas, opening up space so new perspectives can emerge. However, as academics we are always complicit in the knowledge creation process (albeit to varying degrees), and so the representative qualities of poetry are never unproblematic or straightforward. Thus although poetry does have potential as a method for postcolonial geography research, we are making a cautious and careful appeal for its use. We use the case of ecotourism research conducted in Boabeng‐Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana to explore these ideas.     

Estimating meagre (Argyrosomus regius) size from otoliths and vertebrae

This study presents a method for predicting meagre (Argyrosomus regius) body size (total length) from otoliths and vertebrae recovered from archaeological sites. The method involves regression equations calculated from a reference collection of 36 meagre skeletons and 113 meagre otoliths (sagitta) and allows the simultaneous estimation of original body size and minimum number of individuals (MNI) from archaeological bone structures. We selected the following measurements to predict meagre body size: greatest dorso-ventral height, greatest mediolateral breadth, and greatest anteroposterior length of the vertebrae centra; maximum anteroposterior length, medial anteroposterior length, and dorso-ventral height of the sagitta. Our results show that the original body size of meagre can be accurately predicted from many bone measurements (r² range: 0.921–0.992). We exemplify the use of the regressions in the assessment of size variation and MNI of meagre from four Portuguese Mesolithic sites. We show that regression results provide additional insight into the significant role that this fish played in the subsistence of coastal fisher-hunter-gatherers, who targeted medium-sized animals but were also capable of acquiring rather larger specimens.     

An Index of Social and Economic Development in the Community's Objective-1 Regions of Countries in Southern Europe

In this article we calculate an indicator of social and economic development using the DP₂ distance method to measure the disparities in Objective-1 regions of southern European countries for 2006. In addition to per capita income, socio-economic components such as health, education, employment, scientific and technological development and infrastructure provision have been incorporated into the index. We examine the issue of whether the Europe Union regions included in the Convergence Objective achieved a lower level of development than the regions no longer covered in this objective for the 2007–2013 programming period by establishing a territorial classification based on the value yielded by the variables of the DP₂. Our indicator constitutes a novel contribution insofar as it was constructed using a large number of variables. In essence, we show that not all the regions of the Convergence Objective presented a lower level of economic and social development than those that lost this consideration between 2007 and 2013 and the opposite.