EUROPEAN BRIEFING

This article explores alternative interpretations of the meaning and method of urban policy evaluation within the European Union (EU) Structural Funds. Using the EU URBAN Community Initiative Programme 1994-1999 it draws a distinction between 'instrumental' techniques that are primarily concerned with performance and efficiency measures and 'interpretative' approaches that stress the need to explore power relationships in the development and delivery of spending programmes. Empirically, it reflects on the interpretation of EU guidance and the MEANS (Means for Evaluating Actions of a Structural Nature) Collection to evaluate the Derry/Londonderry (UK) URBAN Sub-programme 1994-1999. The analysis concludes by emphasizing the need to ensure that urban policy evaluation is consistent with the broader social turn in the scope and content of regeneration programmes.     

NEUTRON TOMOGRAPHY AS A VALUABLE TOOL FOR THE NON‐DESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL BRONZE SCULPTURES

This paper explains, with the example of a Roman object (the ‘Mars from Oberweningen’, Switzerland), why neutrons can be used preferentially for the non‐destructive analysis of metallic objects of relatively large size. This method is superior to the conventional X‐ray tomography method due to the higher penetration ability in metals such as copper, tin and even lead. With this method, differing materials can also easily be differentiated. In this way, the inner and outer structures of objects can be observed with the help of tools based on mathematical algorithms. Slices at arbitrary positions and segmentation of different material clusters aid the understanding of manufacturing processes and can describe the present preservation status. This helps in selecting optimal and additional conservation measures in museums for further preservation. Beside the qualitative overview on structure and inner properties of the objects, quantitative information can be derived about material content and composition. This method and the subsequently needed facilities for this method are available at PSI for similar studies on demand.     

A Look Back at the Dred Scott Decision

Thank you for inviting me to deliver the 2009 Annual Lecture of the Supreme Court Historical Society. I am a great admirer of the Society's commitment to preserving the history of the Supreme Court and to increasing the public's awareness of the Court's contributions to our nation's history.     

Canadian foreign direct investment in the United States by type: mergers and acquisitions, greenfield, real estate, joint ventures and investment increases

This paper provides an overview of Canadian foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States by type. Mergers and acquisitions (M&As), greenfield investments, joint ventures, real estate purchases and increases to existing investments are compared spatially, through time (using a data set that consists of transactions from 1977 to 1994) and by industrial classification. Over this study's time-frame, direct investors from Canada were most likely to perform a real estate or M&A transaction in the United States (and least likely to be involved in a joint venture). The most consequential years for real estate purchases were the 1970s and early 1980s; whereas M&A and greenfield transactions have gained in proportionate importance through time. M&As, greenfield and investment increases were most often enumerated as manufacturing transactions, but mining and consumer and business services were also very common. A series of bivariate regression models established that growing state economies significantly increased M&A, real estate, greenfield and investment increase activity from Canada. Relative regional specializations (as given by location quotients) provided additional spatial information. M&As formed a pattern of specialization that emphasized the Great Lakes region and also the central portion of the US (roughly following the Mississippi River). Greenfield and investment increase transactions favoured states along the east coast and those adjacent to the Canada-US border. Real estate investors were most attracted to the US south and extreme west.     

Down and Out in Leiden and London: The Later Careers of Venceslaus Clemens (1589–1637), and Jan Sictor (1593–1652), Bohemian Exiles and Failing Poets

This paper addresses the later careers of two almost entirely forgotten Bohemian Neo-Latin poets, Venceslaus Clemens (1589-1637), and Jan Sictor (1593-1652). These men were among the many Protestant academics displaced by the Thirty Years War, but unlike some of their better-known contemporaries, Clemens and Sictor were abject failures. Nevertheless, their failure illustrates the miserable lot of the displaced continental academic in the period, unable to adapt fully to new and challenging circumstances. This aspect of the literary and intellectual impact of the Thirty Years War has been understandably underplayed, but stories of failure are nevertheless instructive and indeed essential for a balanced picture of the intellectual impact of war. This study employs archival and bibliographical evidence to reconstruct the biographies and fortunes of these two men as they tried their luck, with very limited success, in the Low Countries and England in the 1630s.     

The Reputation and Authority of the Speaker and the Speakership of the House of Commons, 1640–60

The speakership during the civil war and interregnum has received scant attention by historians. This article considers the occupants of the Speaker's chair as a group, making some observations about their age and background, including within its scope the short-lived and irregular speakerships of men such as Sir Sampson Eure and Henry Pelham. The popularity of the Speaker within the Commons is found to have depended much on his perceived competence and goodwill, while his reputation in the country at large depended greatly on the unpredictable cut and thrust of political opinion. The speakership of William Lenthall in the Long Parliament is examined in some detail and judged to be exceptional in a number of respects, not least in his grappling with the explosion in the number and power of executive committees. Lenthall's dealings with the press suggest that he was well aware of the uses of print as well as its potential for damage to his reputation. The contemporary allegations of venality aimed at Speakers are examined with respect to individual occupants of the office and are also set in the context of fee-taking by Commons' officials. While this period seems not to have been a particularly important one in terms of lasting procedural innovation in the chamber, it was significant in heralding the possibility of a separation between the person and office of Speaker. The article provides as an Appendix an authoritative list of Speakers in this period.