Did Ancient Egyptian Ships have Keels? The evidence of Thonis‐Heracleion Ship 17

This paper presents the debate over the presence or absence of keels in the construction of Egyptian ships of the dynastic period. It contains an analysis of ship representations and models dating to the 18th–20th dynasties of the New Kingdom (c.1539–1077 BC) that provide evidence for the introduction of keels in Egyptian shipbuilding, and new archaeological material from excavations at Thonis‐Heracleion that sheds more light on the question.     

The Ballast Trade: An Economic Driver In Seventeenth- And Eighteenth-century Newcastle Upon Tyne

The domination of the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne by the coal industry during the seventeenth- and eighteenth - centuries is well known. Many ships arriving to collect a cargo of coal did not carry cargo but carried ballast, often in the form of sand or gravel. Over many years a vast quantity of ballast was deposited along the banks of the river, often spilling into the water, causing obstruction to river traffic. The management of ballast became a major pre-occupation for the Burgesses of Newcastle and a complex organisation evolved to manage the problem. Ships masters paid fees to the town to deposit ballast at ballast staiths which was then conveyed to the ballast hills at some distance from the river. The cumulative amount of these fees provided a substantial income both to the town and the Ballast Conveyors who leased and ran the ballast staiths, resulting in significant competition between the leading citizens in the town to obtain a lease to work a ballast shore. The ballast trade and its associated social, political and business networks played a very important and previously little understood role in the economy of Newcastle during this period.     

Status,Estate, or Profession?

This article focuses on how social stratification was performed in everyday practice in 1730s Sweden. By studying the titles people were given in the court material of three communities – Uppsala town, Lagunda härad, and Sala town with its silver mine – three factors defining social categorization can be identified: status, estate, and profession. Only people who rose above the commoners were entitled, which means that all titles denoted status. Some titles were shared by different social groups that had little in common, and therefore cannot be said to mark anything other than status. Other titles were exclusive to definable groups. Among those, some were given to groups whose exclusivity was based on legal and fiscal privileges, rather than education or competence. They were simply feudal corporations, or estates. In other groups – all defined by occupations – the members had completed specialist education that included formal exams. In those, social stratification was the result of professionalism.     

Job’s Enemies in 30,17-18

Verses 30,17-18 in Job’s final speech are notoriously difficult for interpretation. Typically offered understandings of these verses by modern exegetes cannot be anchored in the text, and appear to be too simplistic for the Jobian context. The purpose of this paper is to understand vv. 17-18 from the perspective of the contradictory objectives that the ailing Job and his fearful community have. It is being argued that a cogent understanding of these verses can be obtained if it is assumed that they deal with Job’s closest circle of intimates (apart of his three friends) and his tragic disappointment in them, perhaps because of their effort to isolate him and prevent contagion. Such reading can be obtained by assuming only the revocalizations of just two words (????, ??????) in the MT.     

STATUTE LABOUR ON ONTARIO TOWNSHIP ROADS, 1849–1948: RESPONDING TO A CHANGING SPACE ECONOMY

Statute labour has been neglected in the existing literature on roads in 19th- and early 20th-century Canada, despite its being the fundamental mechanism of township road construction and maintenance. This paper clarifies the operation and role of statute labour, discussing its advantages and disadvantages. Analysis of the historical geography of the declining use of statute labour in later-19th- and early-20th-century Ontario argues that factors of local politics and the increasing strength of regional political institutions such as the Good Roads Association and the provincial government bureaucracy must be placed alongside more obvious technological explanations. Just as statute labour became increasingly inadequate in meeting the local road transport needs of a changing space economy by the turn of the century, individual action and local municipal politics found themselves increasingly constrained by the strengthening of the administrative and financial power of higher levels of government – part of the process by which rural Ontario became integrated into a regional and provincial economy. Parmi les études sur les systèmes routiers au Canada aux 19^ème et 20^ème siècles il n'existe que très peu de discussions sur la corvée – malgré le fait que la corvée était le mécanisme principal de la construction et de l'entretien des routes municipales. Cet article clarifie le fonctionnement et le rôle de la corvée, par une discussion sur ses avantages et ses désavantages. Nous examinons, du point de vue de la géographie historique, le déclin de la corvée qui est survenu au tournant du 20^ème siècle en Ontario, à cause de certains éléments politiques dans les municipalités et à cause de la force croissante d'institutions politiques régionales telles que « The Good Roads Association » et la bureaucratie du gouvernement provincial. Ces facteurs ont eu sur les systèmes routiers un effet aussi important que les changements technologiques. La corvée est devenue de plus en plus insuffisante pour maintenir les routes municipales de l'économie dynamique au début du 20^ème siècle, et en même temps, les individus et les conseils municipaux locaux ont perdu beaucoup de leur pouvoir face au pouvoir administratif et financier des échelons supérieurs gouvernementaux. Néanmoins, c'est par ce processus que l'Ontario rurale s'est intégrée aux économies régionales et provinciales.     

在总结历史经验中理解和构建科学理论体系

中共十七大报告中关于经济问题的论述把经济规律与我国改革开放的实践历程相结合,充分体现了理论来自实践又指导实践的历史唯物主义的科学方法。十七大报告关于经济方面的论述有六个新提法:经济"发展"方式替代了经济"增长"方式,体现了对实践经验的总结和理论认识的深化;注重协调、调控和规划,体现了经济体制转轨进程中宏观调控的新特点;翻两番由"总量"到"人均",体现了经济发展水平与经济发展目标的新阶段;关注初次分配中的公平,要提高劳动报酬在初次分配中的比重,体现了收入分配领域在发展变革中的新动向;在过去提"工业化、城镇化、市场化、国际化"的同时增加了"信息化",首次在党代会报告中写入"廉租房制度",体现了生产力与城市化发展的新要求;将区域经济发展与国土开发联系起来,首次提出"推动区域协调发展,优化国土开发格局"和"主体功能区定位",体现了区域经济发展的新阶段与新思路。     

The Mollö Cog Re‐Examined and Re‐Evaluated

As part of a research project on medieval trade and maritime transportation in the former Norwegian province of Bohuslän, western Sweden, a dendrochronological analysis of the so‐called Mollö cog was undertaken. The wreck, which was first salvaged in 1980, was previously dated by ¹⁴C analysis. Since this provided a nearly 400‐year time‐span for the building of the vessel, a more precise dating was considered essential. In conjunction with dendrochronological sampling, several features not previously reported were recorded. This paper presents the find, the research history and the results of the dendrochronological investigation. © 2012 The Authors     

The Nordic Shrimp Industry: state entrepreneurship,intellectual and industrial structures,c. 1895–1950

This paper focuses on the emergence in the 20th century of a fishing industry based on northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. Development in these countries exhibited noteworthy common features that are examined and compared in this paper, which emphasizes the intellectual, political and industrial conditions that facilitated the expansion of the fishing fleets and processing industries. The diffusion of knowledge and technology was a necessary condition for the industry's establishment, both at a national and an inter-Nordic level. Central to these transfers of knowledge was the interaction between scientists and fisheries experts and fishermen and industrialists.