Who is entitled to ‘earn sovereignty'? Legitimacy and regime support in Abkhazia and Nagorno‐Karabakh

Abkhazia and Nagorno‐Karabakh are internationally unrecognised political entities, or so‐called de facto states, that have emerged as a result of the incomplete and contested state‐formation of their parent states and of the secessionist movements that emerged in the power vacuum of the post‐Soviet space. In addition to examining the conventional reliance on the self‐determination principle, usually followed by a call for international recognition (as often practised by emerging sovereigns), this article aims to survey whether these political entities have proved that they embody ‘rightful authority’ as such and whether they ‘have earned their sovereignty’. In other words, it attempts to examine the self‐determination claims in Abkhazia and Nagorno‐Karabakh based on legitimacy criteria that are widely accepted for liberal democratic societies using an analysis of the respective issues as they were represented in focus‐group discussions in these two regions.     

Scientific investigation of the paint and adhesive materials used in the Western Han dynasty polychromy terracotta army,Qingzhou, China

A royal tomb of early period of the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C–8 A.D) was excavated by archaeologists in Qingzhou County, Shandong Province in 2006. Over 2000 polychromy terracotta soldiers, horses, chariots, servants etc. were unearthed from the tomb. All the terracotta figures are one quarter or one sixth as large as the livings, most of them were painted with well designed patterns. In order to gain complete information about the materials and techniques used for the polychromy on the terracotta army, five samples from the painted areas were taken. In addition, one sample from the area to adhere one leg to the ploychromy horse body was also obtained. The analytical techniques applied include XRF, FTIR, Py-GC/MS and GC/MS. Chinese purple, cinnabar, lead red and ochre were used as pigments, while animal glue was identified as binding medium and adhesive in the polychromy terracotta army in the Han Dynasty. The results definitely will provide new evidence about the materials and technologies used in Han Dynasty. Especially, the binding medium identified is different in comparison with Qin Shihuang's terracotta army (259–210 BC).     

山东青州香山西汉墓彩绘陶俑胶接材料研究

本文利用x射线荧光、红外光谱、热裂解气相色谱质谱（Vy-GC-MS）和气相色谱质谱（GC-MS）,对山东青州香山西汉墓出土彩绘陶俑紫色、红色和褐色彩绘层中使用的胶接材料,以及取自马腿与马身粘接处的胶接物进行了分析。分析结果显示彩绘颜料以及马腿粘接物中的有机物均为动物胶。此研究结果为同一时期此类陶质彩绘文物的胶接材料研究提供了很好的借鉴。     

MODELING SPATIAL AUTOCORRELATION IN SPATIAL INTERACTION DATA: AN APPLICATION TO PATENT CITATION DATA IN THE EUROPEAN UNION*

ABSTRACT Spatial interaction models of the gravity type are widely used to model origin–destination flows. They draw attention to three types of variables to explain variation in spatial interactions across geographic space: variables that characterize an origin region of a flow, variables that characterize a destination region of a flow, and finally variables that measure the separation between origin and destination regions. This paper outlines and compares two approaches, the spatial econometric and the eigenfunction‐based spatial filtering approach, to deal with the issue of spatial autocorrelation among flow residuals. An example using patent citation data that capture knowledge flows across 112 European regions serves to illustrate the application and the comparison of the two approaches.     

Neural Network Modeling of Constrained Spatial Interaction Flows: Design, Estimation, and Performance Issues

In this paper a novel modular product unit neural network architecture is presented to model singly constrained spatial interaction flows. The efficacy of the model approach is demonstrated for the origin constrained case of spatial interaction using Austrian interregional telecommunication traffic data. The model requires a global search procedure for parameter estimation, such as the Alopex procedure. A benchmark comparison against the standard origin constrained gravity model and the two–stage neural network approach, suggested by Openshaw (1998), illustrates the superiority of the proposed model in terms of the generalization performance measured by ARV and SRMSE.     

A technological crossroads: Exploring diversity in the pressure blade technology of Mesolithic Latvia

A long‐standing debate in archaeology concerns the sources of technological diversification among prehistoric hunter‐gatherers. This includes the study of the emergence and spread of pressure blade technology in Northern Europe during the Early Holocene. Until now, there has been little technological study of lithic collections from the East Baltic region, and our knowledge of the development and spread of this technology in the area is inadequate. This article presents for the first time a technological analysis of lithic assemblages from seven Early and Middle Mesolithic sites in the territory of present‐day Latvia, offering new possibilities for discussing pressure blade technology and research objectives connected with it. Furthermore, variation in elements of this technology is explored in relation to raw‐material characteristics through experimental flint knapping. Finally, the factors influencing diversity in craft traditions, as well as large‐scale communication and shifting spheres of interaction within Northern Europe during the Mesolithic, are discussed.     

Telephone Communication Patterns in Austria: A Comparison of the IPFP-based Graph-Theoretic and the Intramax Approaches

Two alternative methodological approaches (the IPFP-based and the intramax procedures) to the problem of pattern identification in spatial interaction data are compared and evaluated in this paper. After a general discussion of the major characteristics and shortcomings of these methodologies, the paper presents the findings of a case study relying on telecommunication data measured by the Austrian PTT in 1991, in terms of erlangs. The results clearly illustrate the superiority of the intramax approach in the context of medium-sized and relatively centralized flow systems.     

Altpersisch taumani “kräfte”

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Masculinity,place and a binary discourse of ‘theory’ and ‘empirical investigation’ in the human geography of Aotearoa/New Zealand

This paper discusses a binary discourse of ‘theory’ and ‘empirical investigation’ in the human geography practised in Aotearoa (New Zealand)[1]. I attempt to illustrate the way in which such dichotomous thinking articulates with the social construction of a hegemonic masculinity to effect a specific geographic understanding of the world. I suggest that this theory/empirical investigation binary gives rise to at least three significant problems in geographic research: a gendered and hierarchical structuring of geographic thought, a devaluation of the feminised term in the binary, and unworkable ‘mobile positioning’ of the researcher.