Global production networks and the extractive sector: governing resource-based development

This article explores the opportunities a GPN approach providesfor understanding the network configurations and regional developmentimpacts associated with extractive industries. The article elaboratestwo core claims: (i) that the application of the GPN analyticalframework provides a way to make progress in a stalled policydebate regarding the linkages between resource extraction andsocio-economic development (popularly known as the ‘resourcecurse thesis’); and (ii) that the encounter between GPNand a natural resource-based sector introduces distinctive issues—associatedwith the materiality and territoriality of extractive commodities—that,to date, GPN has not considered fully. The article examinesthe global production network for oil as an empirical case ofhow extractive industries can provide (limited) opportunitiesfor socio-economic development.     

Positional issues, valence issues and the economic geography of voting in British elections

A body of research has built up in recent years linking thechanging geography of party support in British elections tovariations in the country's economic geography. Consistent withthe economic vote model, government support has been shown tobe higher than average in affluent areas and lower than averagein poorer areas. However, the great majority of such studieshave concentrated on elections between 1979 and 1997, a prolongedperiod of one-party rule. This article argues that this meansexisting research cannot differentiate between the very differentpredictions of positional and valence approaches to economicvoting since both suggest identical outcomes during Conservativeadministrations. By contrasting a period of Conservative rulewith a period of Labour rule, however, the article providesa test of the competing claims of the positional and valencearguments for an understanding of Britain's electoral geography.     

对国史研究中争论较大的几个问题的思考

在中华人民共和国史的研究中,有很多问题一直争论较大,有的问题也很敏感。但既然这些问题已经成为历史,就应该把它作为科学研究的对象进行研究,力争得出科学的结论。     

两张英藏晚清广州洪兵舆图成图时间再考——兼及舆图成图时间考证的“断限逼近法”

成图时间考证是传统舆图研究中最初步最重要的工作,本文利用“断限逼近法”重新考察两幅清代广州洪兵舆图的成图时间。通过对新发掘档案的梳理,判断将F.O.931/1079图的成图前限推至咸丰四年六月二十四日的结论尚不成立,而F.O.931/1892图的成图断限则可由原来的八月三十日至九月初五日进一步推断为九月十一日至十二日。     

Ancient soil resources of the Usumacinta River Region,Guatemala

In this study we present the results of a combination of methods used to identify possible agricultural activity of the ancient Maya in the Usumacinta River Basin in Guatemala. These methods included stable carbon isotope analysis of bulk soil organic matter, soil profile investigations and a spatial model of gentle slopes and well-drained soils to identify favorable agricultural conditions. Stable carbon isotope analysis of bulk soil organic matter in particular offers potentially direct evidence of agricultural activity. The δ¹³C results suggest that there is a strong signature of C₄ plants, such as maize and tropical grasses, throughout the study area. Further, the current soil conditions and extent of relatively gently sloped areas are favorable to agriculture. Overall, the results are supportive of the hypothesis that the area, located between the polities of Piedras Negras and Yaxchilán, was agriculturally important to surrounding areas.     

Metropolitan Scurvy in the Shadow of the Cook Voyages

Recent scholarship on scurvy in 18th-century Britain has focused on the disease in the context of voyages of exploration, especially those bound for the Pacific Ocean. Using materials from quack physicians, print culture and popular song, this essay contends that the problem of scurvy was just as acute in metropolitan London and elsewhere in Britain. By studying representations of the disease and its markets at home in Britain, it aims to shed new light on the treatment and perception of the disease at sea, particularly during the voyages of James Cook (1768?79).     

The Rolt Memorial Lecture 2015: Defining the Vintage Car: L.T.C. Rolt,the Vintage Sports Car Club and the Rise of Motoring Heritage

This paper examines the role played by the engineering historian, biographer and pioneer of canal and railway preservation, L.T.C. Rolt, in the development of an appreciation of motoring heritage. It concentrates on his involvement with the Vintage Sports Car Club in the 1930s, in which he played a key role in defining what a vintage car was. It examines the way in which this helped develop many of the themes that ran throughout his writing and gave him the practical skills needed in his later campaigning for the preservation of industrial heritage.

It also looks at the way in which Rolt's views on the car's impact mirror those held by others, and at the difficulties this posed to someone who was passionate about engineering and yet was horrified by the consequences of industrialisation. His advocacy of the vintage car was the beginning of his lifelong campaign to uphold craftsmanship and skills and to commemorate the role of the engineer and the craftsman in Britain.     

Did Children in Medieval and Post‐medieval Poland Suffer from Scurvy? Examination of the Skeletal Evidence

Late‐medieval and post‐medieval writings report that scurvy was a widespread condition in medieval and early historical Poland. Archaeological and historical data indicate that the diet of children was based on foods poor in vitamin C and contained small amounts of raw plant products. Also, historians emphasise that in medieval and post‐medieval Poland, there were seasonal fluctuations in food availability, frequently accompanied by poor harvests. Both resulted in long periods of poor nutrition, which affected children most severely. The aim of this study was to investigate skeletal manifestations of scurvy in subadult remains from medieval and post‐medieval Poland. Following standards described by Ortner and colleagues, anatomical sites pathognomonic of scurvy in subadults (<17 years) were assessed for abnormal porosity and hypertrophic bone among skeletons excavated from three sites: Ostrów Lednicki (dated to the 11th–14th centuries AD), Cedynia (10th–14th centuries AD) and Słaboszewo (14th–17th centuries AD). In total, 3.6% of all examined children were found to bear traces of vitamin C deficiency. The prevalence of scorbutic lesions was 4.5% for Cedynia, 2.6% for Ostrów Lednicki and 3.6% for Słaboszewo. The majority of affected children were less than 7 years of age. Scurvy was likely more widespread in the living populations than it appears from the calculation of skeletal markers, because some individuals might have recovered or died before obvious traces became apparent. Also, in some children, scurvy might not have reached an advanced stage, identifiable in the skeletal material. The prevalence of scurvy reflects not only dietary patterns but also food storage and preparation techniques adopted in the Polish territories during the Middle Ages, which contributed to low intakes of vitamin C. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

论美国早期汉学研究

美国汉学兴起于19世纪中叶,起步虽晚,但发展迅速。早期美国汉学研究有两个显著的特征：一是以来华传教士为主体。裨治文、卫三畏是其中主要代表。他们精通中文,熟悉中国历史文化,汉学研究水平之高、程度之深、范围之广是前所未有的。二是注重中国现实特别是关注中国近代化问题的研究,从而开启了美国汉学注重现实的先河,使汉学研究摆脱了欧洲汉学古典规范的束缚。但早期美国汉学也存在着缺乏专职性和研究群体单一性的严重不足。