Grave‐goods from the long chamber tomb “Dibba 76/1” (Fujairah,UAE): a first inventory

The aim of this paper is to present the rich set of finds collected inside the grave Dibba 76/1, in the Emirate of Fujairah, during a season of rescue excavation conducted under the direction of S. Ali Hassan in 1994. The recovered grave‐goods include pottery, soft‐stone vessels, metal finds, personal ornaments, coins, and other items. Although comparable with other corpuses of material excavated in south‐eastern Arabia, the material of Dibba 76/1 stands out for the inner variety of the different artefacts’ classes and their remarkable chronological heterogeneity. The study of the grave‐goods suggests that Dibba 76/1 was reused over several centuries, showing a strong continuity in the funerary destination of this specific place from the end of the Wadi Suq period (2000–1600 BC) to the first phases of the late pre‐Islamic period (250 BC–AD 400), and the full integration of the area of Dibba in the succession of the various cultural facies known during this long time span.     

‘Mucho malo for fascisti’: Languages and Transnational Soldiers in the Spanish Civil War

This article explores the linguistic experiences of transnational soldiers, using the Spanish Civil War as a case study. It argues that communication difficulties provoked by linguistic diversity within the Republican war effort and particularly within the International Brigades, caused the high command to move from a utopian, internationalist policy to a more pragmatic approach. The article evaluates the role played by language intermediaries in this evolving policy and in the wider Republican war effort. Finally, it argues that soldiers grassroots experiences of language contact forged new linguistic forms which underlined a strong sense of shared purpose and identity.     

Giving women a voice on decision-making about water: barriers and opportunities in Laikipia,Kenya

In more than 75% of households around the world in which water needs are fulfilled by retrieving water, women are typically tasked with this critical responsibility. This is true in Kenya, and the challenges women in rural areas of the country face are compounded by a lack of reasonable access to safe water by 56.5% of rural households. More than 25% of the population must travel at least 30?minutes to collect water, and 70% of all diseases in the country are water-borne (Kameri-Mbote and Kariuki 2015). Given their role as the primary household decision-maker about water, women have an astute understanding of water availability, access, quality and household use, and women’s perspectives would enhance decision-making in groups that address water resource management. However, women have historically been marginalized from participation in such processes for numerous reasons related to lack of empowerment, leadership, and voice, and the practicalities of the demands on her time that prevent her from having discretionary time to devote to civic processes. In this study, we interviewed 153 women living in three different watersheds in the Laikipia region of central Kenya about their views on water resource management, and interest in participation in water resource user associations (WRUAs) as members and leaders. Our results are consistent with prior research in that marginalization of women from WRUA participation is steeped in entrenched normative beliefs and behaviors about women’s roles and her domestic responsibilities, a lack of money to participate, and a lack of time given her other responsibilities.     

Gender relations in Bedouin communities in Israel: local government as a site of ambivalent modernity

In this article, we examine the perceptions towards women and gender relations maintained by male, local authority officials within two Bedouin towns in Israel. As such, the current research lies at the intersection of local politics, gender, space and culture. We argue that analysis of these perspectives provides insights into the ambivalent nature of modernity: into the tension between the desire to preserve the traditional role of women in maintaining the family, and the recognition of the powerful potential of women to act as agents of change. Based on an analysis of personal interviews, the study traces the ways in which both power and vulnerability impact the attitudes and perspectives of these men officials. By applying narrative analysis, gendered power structures are examined within Bedouin society in the context of the local authority – zooming in on the narratives provided by the male authority officials. The findings reveal that the officials maintain a series of ambivalent and conflictual attitudes towards the role of women. Bearing in mind their potential impact on the quality of women's daily lives in local public spaces, it seems vitally important to account for the entire matrix of tensions and vulnerabilities that impact the municipal policy instruments at their disposal. The findings are relevant beyond the Bedouin communities in Israel and may serve as a platform for a wider discussion of the dilemmas of minority women in rapidly changing cultural environments, and ambivalent modernity.     

Analysis of Heavy Metals in Smoke Deposits in the Limewash of the Royal Artillery Factory of Seville (17th Century): Contributions to the Location of the Furnaces

The Royal Artillery Factory of Seville in Spain originated from pre‐existing private bronze foundries dating from the 16th century. The paper analyses the stratigraphy of wall cladding in the areas traditionally known as the ‘Old Foundry’ and the ‘New Foundry’, through its characterization by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometry (SEM‐EDX), micro‐X‐ray fluorescence (μ‐XRF) and micro‐X‐ray diffraction (μ‐XRD), in order to analyse the metal deposits that have accumulated since the 17th century. The data obtained allowed the verification of the available historiographical information and the location of the original bronze smelting furnaces. The analysis of patinas deposited on the overlapping layers of lime also confirmed that neither the raw materials nor the composition of the alloys used presented any substantial changes.     

The Ebb and Flow of Indigenous Rights Recognitions in Conservation Policy

At the 2003 World Parks Congress, diverse conservation actors called for the end of exclusionary approaches to conservation; recognition of customary forms of environmental protection; and restoration of losses to indigenous peoples whose lands were incorporated into protected areas without meaningful consent. A primary means to achieving such reforms has been the development of rights‐based approaches to conservation, expressed at the time as the better integration of human rights into the planning and management of protected areas. This article reviews the suite of publications that followed the 2003 Congress, each identifying the need for rights‐based approaches in conservation. All reviewed materials seek to operationalize human rights into conservation planning, but the review indicates a pattern of support for, then retreat from, and even a possible ‘backlash’ against, indigenous rights. The review also finds important differences in organizations’ ideas about who is responsible for protecting the environment versus who is responsible for protecting human rights. The authors draw from these findings a caution against the subversion of the original intention of rights‐based conservation to definitions that more fully serve conservation organizations’ own ends, based on the presumption that benefits (including rights) from environmental protection will eventually trickle down to people.     

Les mots de l’histoire (1925–1945)

Sans résumé Ses recherches portent sur l’histoire des idées du XVIII ^e au XX ^e siècle, sur la méthodologie philosophique et l’épistémologie. Elle a récemment publié, sous sa direction, Comparatismi e filosofia, Naples, Liguori, 2006. à propos du recueil Les Mots de l’histoire. Le vocabulaire historique du Centre international de synthèse, édition établie, présentée et annotée par Margherita Platania, trad. de l’italien rév. par Catherine Rutili, Naples, Bibliopolis, 2000, 497 p. (Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici, Serie Testi, XIV). Ce texte est issu d’une conférence prononcée le 3 mai 2002 au Centre international de synthèse, à Paris (H?tel de Nevers, salon de Madame de Lambert).     

"A wealth of historical interest": the medical artifact collection at the University of Western Ontario

Along with a teaching collection, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, began accepting medical artifacts for a historical museum in the early 1920s, although it never developed into more than an unofficial collection until the 1970s, when it was transformed into the Medical Museum and Archives at the University Hospital. In the 1990s, the artifacts were dispersed among several local institutions. The remaining objects at the university have been now reorganized as the Medical Artifact Collection. While these objects were once used to educate students about the practice and philosophy of medicine, they are now used to teach students about local, medical, Canadian and public history.