Nature and Fictitious Capital: The Historical Geography of an Agrarian Question

Capitalism is produced in part through its own production of nature, but it has been argued that nature also poses certain obstacles to capitalist development. Political economists and rural sociologists have argued that in certain instances agriculture, as a form of production based in nature, has proven resistant to capitalist transformation. The Mann–Dickinson thesis still stands as one of the best such formulations. This essay argues for turning the Mann–Dickinson thesis on its head so as to ask how it is that an obstacle for one set of capital comprises an opportunity for other capitals. The essay therefore examines agriculture as a nexus of nature and circulating capital. It argues that what has been construed as a primary obstacle (the disunity of working and production time and the cumulative effects thereof) has been poorly appreciated as comprising a distinctive opportunity for capitalist investments and appropriations through the credit system. Credit, by no means an exogenous or anachronistic force, develops along with production and constitutes a social relation of production along with other such relations. These contentions are borne out in a critique of the nature-as-obstacle argument and then in a discussion of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century agriculture in the United States, especially in California. In the latter discussion, I focus on the role of credit as the system that mediates the relations between nature and capital in and between different space–times. Credit, I argue, was necessarily constituted spatially and was contingently tied to the rise of agrarian formations in the American West.     

The Early History of the Neuroscience of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Research on the neurobiology and pharmacotherapy of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown exponentially since 1980. A reasonable question is whether this research has improved our understanding and treatment of ADHD. This article describes relevant developments that took place roughly between 1900 and 1970. During this time, the efficacy of stimulant therapy for the disorder was established and the symptoms of ADHD were linked to many possible nervous system disorders including in the brain-stem, reticular formation, diencephalon, basal ganglia, frontal lobes, and cortex. In 1970, the catecholamine hypothesis of ADHD was proposed. It is concluded that early theories about the neurobiologic basis of ADHD anticipated core ideas of modern theory.     

Adipocere Inside Nineteenth Century Femora: The Effect of Grave Conditions.

Adipocere has, infrequently, been reported from archaeological contexts normally on the external surface of bodies. In contrast to those cases, this study focuses on a white, powdery and greasy substance found inside two right human femora during sampling. These samples were obtained from two identified individuals buried in the late 19th century, who were exhumed from a rock‐cut and a brick‐lined grave in a steeply sloping graveyard with wet soil conditions. Both individuals were buried in coffins. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to test the composition of the substances, and both were found to conform to the spectrum of adipocere. This is likely to be a breakdown product of the fats in bone marrow in an anaerobic, moist environment mediated by bacteria. None of the other individuals (n = 6) buried in similar graves displayed evidence of adipocere; this includes those whose femora were in a similar state of preservation (n = 4). Contemporaneous data on precipitation for the month of burials do not highlight any obvious trends, but one of the individuals was found in a water‐logged grave. The similar preservation of other femora buried in brick‐lined graves highlights the interplay of multiple factors in the formation and degradation of adipocere. More importantly, it demonstrates differential preservation, which may impact on DNA and other biomolecular research. Furthermore, this adds to the limited data currently available on adipocere found in archaeological contexts. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hacking the master code: cyborg stories and the boundaries of autism

In this paper, we consider how the use of Internet technologies by individuals on the autism spectrum (AS) may contribute to recoding the spatial, sociopolitical, ontological, and epistemological boundaries commonly assumed to delimit autistic from non-autistic lifeworlds. Drawing on the work of Donna Haraway, we argue that the responses of AS individuals to a survey about online communication suggest these individuals are engaged in a form of cyborg writing, admixing constraints and opportunities in a way that opens alternative, polycentric, and indeterminate but nonetheless important political possibilities for people on (and off) the AS.     

Conserving Hong Kong’s Heritage: The Case of Queen’s Pier

The case of Queen’s Pier in Hong Kong provides the context for a discussion of conceptions of heritage, the purposes it serves and the dilemmas surrounding conservation in modern Asian societies committed to economic growth. Efforts to save the historic pier from destruction are recounted and the perspectives of those with an interest are examined. Built heritage is shown to have socio‐cultural, political and economic functions and its contribution to defining identity is especially important in times of change and uncertainty. Circumstances in Hong Kong reflect its unique history and current status, but the issues emerging from the analysis have a wider relevance. The fundamental tension between development and conservation is highlighted, together with the challenges of reconciling these two forces in a satisfactory manner.     

Heritage,Identity and Tourism in Hong Kong

Once a part of the Chinese Empire, Hong Kong then became a British colony and changed its status again in 1997 to that of a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. The implications of this history for heritage and cultural identity are discussed with particular reference to their representation and promotion as tourist attractions. Hong Kong is seen to be using its unique heritage in a time of transition and uncertainty to assist in defining a distinct identity that is partly expressed through tourism. There are, however, certain potential conflicts of meaning and interpretation amongst the interested parties that have still to be resolved. The experience of Hong Kong provides an insight into the dynamics of the relationship between identity, heritage and tourism that are especially complex within the context of decolonisation.     

The Spaces of Parking: Mapping the Politics of Mobility in San Francisco

Abstract:  Recently a "mobility turn" has entered critical geographic discourse. This mobility turn recognizes that mobility is at once physical movement and contains social meanings that are manifested in a politics of mobility. In this paper I contribute to this emerging line of inquiry by exploring how the politics of mobility is manifested in localized urban processes. Mobility, as with the broader localized urban process, is political and ideological, and this is particularly true with contemporary debates about automobiles and parking in cities. I explore parking as an example of the broader contestation of urban space, using a case study of San Francisco, California. There are three broad factions in San Francisco's parking debates—progressives that advocate for less parking, neoliberals that advocate that market-based pricing determine the amount of parking, and neoconservatives that advocate for more parking. Throughout the paper, I provide thoughts on the relationship between parking, space, ideology, and the broader urban process.