Tanūnapāt: Kalos,Philos, and the Vestiges of Trace

This essay probes the aniconic and iconic elements that pervade Indian visual culture and, more specifically, the aniconic impulse that has structured, for nearly two millennia, the cultivated indifference of Indian, especially Sanskrit, reflective traditions toward the plastic arts. Over the last hundred years, inquiries have concentrated largely on the historical and formal aspects of Indian temples, idols, and images. These attempts, however, are based entirely on the conceptual-theoretical frameworks of the Western tradition. By drawing on Sanskrit reflective traditions, I analyze the relations between symbol, icon, desire, and the body, in order to show the epistemic contrasts between the European and the Indian reflective traditions and their implications for differential modes of being.     

Revolution is the New Black: Graffiti/Art and Mark-making Practices

In recent years there has been a strong resurgence in the production and visibility of graffiti/art in Australian cities. This paper considers what we may learn about this practice by adopting an archaeological approach to its study. The results yield interesting insights into two contemporary phenomena of graffiti/art production that offer intriguing links to Australian rock art. The study considers the significance of contemporary mark-making and explores how this practice may inform our approach to rock art research.     

论志书主编的统揽作用

志书主编在志书编纂过程中具有统揽作用,主编的认知水平和工作能力决定志书的形成过程和质量。志书主编必须具有独立的思想和对整部志书的驾驭能力,从一开始就要介入编修工作的每个阶段,超前谋划,把编纂思路和修志意图贯穿到整部志书的编纂过程中。志书主编要切实履行职责,做编辑人员的主心骨,统一思想,提高认识,使每个编辑明白主编的工作思路和意图,以形成上下合力的一个有机整体,体现志书合二为一的编纂思想,确保志书行文规范的统一和志书的编修质量。     

Can conditional cash transfers promote delayed childbearing? Evidence from the ‘Second Honeymoon Package’ in rural Maharashtra,India

In 2007 the District Health Services in Satara District, Maharashtra, India, undertook an innovative programme, ‘the Second Honeymoon Package’ (SHP), which aimed to reduce the rate of population growth by offering conditional cash transfers (CCTs) to newly married couples who agreed to postpone their first birth by two or three years. The approach differed from India's traditional family planning programme, based mainly on female sterilisation, by promoting ‘non-terminal’ contraceptive methods, such as condoms and pills. The SHP ended prematurely in 2010 without being fully evaluated, leaving unanswered the question of its impact and potential for scale-up.

This paper addresses this question by investigating the perceptions and experiences women and couples who participated in the programme, as well as the views of local health staff. We use quantitative data from a 2010 survey of 1355 SHP participants, in which the third author was involved, and new qualitative data from a total of 26 programme staff and participants, collected by the first two authors in 2015. Participants’ perceptions of the programme indicate that the SHP had many positive attributes, despite some major challenges. We conclude with recommendations for improving and scaling up programmes of this kind in India and elsewhere.     

Possible neurofibromatosis in a Scythian period individual from the cemetery of Aymyrlyg,Tuva, South Siberia

The article presents evidence of possible neurofibromatosis in a female cranium discovered in a Scythian period (7th–2nd century BC ) context from the cemetery complex of Aymyrlyg, Tuva, south Siberia. The diagnosis of neurofibromatosis has been suggested on the basis of enlarged orbits, signs for the presence of a soft tissue tumour in the left orbit, facial abnormalities and the survival age of the individual. Neurofibromatosis is a congenital condition which, to the best of the authors' knowledge, has previously been described in only one other instance in the palaeopathological literature. Differential diagnoses includes angiomata, dermoid cysts and developmental glaucoma. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Caste and the Desire for Belonging

Questions of power and competition have figured prominently in the expanding debate about Dalit assertion. This article moves beyond the rhetoric of caste wars to engage with the affective and emotional dimension of caste. The focus is on the urban environment, where caste unity is challenged by the centrifugal forces of urban living. The article demonstrates how Khatiks in Bhopal are reunited through a festival culture that straddles class differentiation, factional politics and generational gaps. The emerging formation signifies the continuing strength of caste sentiments in the city and demonstrates how Dalits create arenas for publicly declaring pride in their heritage both within and beyond the political arena.