Do temporal size differences influence species identification of archaeological albatross remains when using modern reference samples?

Zooarchaeological remains have been identified to species, using identification criteria based on specific morphological variations among modern specimens. However, temporal size changes in bones, due to micro-evolution and/or phenotypic plasticity, could distort identification of archaeological remains according to these criteria. We developed species identification criteria for North Pacific albatrosses (Short-tailed, Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses) using both mensural- and DNA-based analysis and actually identified many archaeological remains from a site using these criteria. Our mensural-based criteria could accurately discriminate the modern Short-tailed Albatross from modern Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses and indicated that the archaeological remains included both Short-tailed and Laysan or Black-footed Albatrosses. DNA-based criteria, however, suggested that all remains were Short-tailed Albatross. The most plausible explanation for this inconsistency would be misidentification using mensural-based analysis, due to temporal size changes in bones or existence of birds from extinct population(s) or breeding region(s) with mensurally different bones from recent birds. This is the first study that suggests temporal size changes in bones may distort the species identification of archaeological remains according to modern size variations. Further studies are required to judge if this pattern is unusual or not.     

红外光谱在文物保护中的应用介绍

文物信息的提取与研究对于揭示古代遗物包涵的人类社会、文化等历史信息有着举足轻重的作用:一方面可以了解古代的工艺技术特征,探寻文物制作技术起源及其发展历程;另一方面可以进行病害调查分析,为保护文物提供有价值的信息。本工作以红外光谱技术为出发点,细致梳理了目前红外光谱在文物保护中的应用,包括无机质文物中青铜器、土壤、颜料、珠宝玉石,有机质文物中纸张、丝织品、彩绘胶料、有机残留物,以及保护材料。提出该技术具备应用范围广、特征性强、无损或微损样品、不受样品物态限制等优势,但同时不适合分析含水样品、定量分析时误差大、解析图谱时依靠经验等局限性。揭示显微红外光谱技术在无损分析文物方面的广大前景,为文物保护研究与实践提供参考和借鉴意义。     

Audience perspectives on the European dimension in Aarhus 2017 events: impacts of EU cultural policy

Abstract

The EU’s cultural policy of creating a recognisable, common European identity is exemplified by the EU’s cultural programme, European Capitals of Culture (ECOCs), whose official purpose is to highlight similarities and differences across European cultures to generate a greater sense of European identity among the citizens of Europe. To date, there has been little qualitative investigation of how ECOC attenders perceive the representation of European culture in the events and what they think about using ECOC events to promote Europeanisation. In this article, I use the methodology of intercept interviews at four Aarhus 2017 events to explore these two aspects. Findings indicate that the inclusion of European culture in Aarhus 2017 events often went unnoticed by the event attenders, and there was uncertainty about what European culture might actually comprise. Instead of perceiving ECOC events as promoting Europe, event attenders tended to interpret Aarhus 2017 events within a local, national or international framework, with ECOC events perceived as promoting tolerance and intercultural understanding. The findings are discussed in relation to the value of ECOC as a political-cultural initiative for generating European citizens’ identification with the EU.     

影响现阶段我国国家利益建构的因素

在影响中国国家利益建构的各种变量中，国内环境所面临的机遇与挑战起着基础性的作用，其它变量的作用都要经过这一环节；国际环境与国际机制构成中国国家利益建构的舞台与背景；中国国际地位的提高及其对自己的定位则是中国国家利益建构中的内在因素和主观因素。     

Axial Force Estimation in Historical Metal Tie-Rods: Methods,Influencing Parameters,and Laboratory Tests

This research focuses on estimating the axial force of historical metal tie-rods by means of non-destructive testing (NDT) which provides useful information for calibrating structural models. The first part of this work describes the behavior of tie-rods, emphasizing the key role played by cross-section stiffness, which is usually neglected in the case of cables. Particular attention is then given to common effective parameters and dynamic aspects in terms of acquiring the set-up and which modal parameters to examine.

For new insights into methods for assessing historical tie-rods and evaluating the reliability of analytical and numerical predictions, laboratory tests on four samples with typical cross-sections were carried out on historical metal tie-rods. A set of 224 configurations, including various methods of excitation, boundary conditions, and stress states, were analyzed. In addition to laboratory parameters, this analysis also includes details of sensor positions and number of modes to be examined, and proposes a simplification for less time-consuming tests on-site.     

草酸钙晶体形态在中国传统手工纸纤维鉴别中的应用

纤维鉴别是纸质文物、古籍与档案保护中必要的基础工作,对于修复方案的制定、修复材料的选择等具有重要的指导意义。草酸钙晶体是植物中普遍存在的一种后含物,其形态与植物种群具有密切关系。本工作以具有代表性的传统手工纸为研究样品,综合使用衰减全反射傅里叶变换红外光谱法、X射线衍射法、扫描电子显微镜、光学显微镜和偏光显微镜观察等多种仪器分析手段,系统研究各类纸纤维中草酸钙晶体的形态特征,进而探讨草酸钙晶体形态在中国传统手工纸纤维鉴别中的应用价值,以进一步完善现有纤维鉴别方法体系。     

MOVING CENTRAL KNOWLEDGE TO A NORTHERN PERIPHERY: EXPLORING LOGICS OF PUBLIC SECTOR JOB RELOCATION IN SWEDEN

Through the means of Swedish relocation politics, the capital of Stockholm has been constructed as a governing centre with the ability of giving something to a periphery thought of as unable to survive on its own. The relationship between centre and periphery, furthermore, produces images of what kind of knowledge can be located to “central” or “peripheral” regions. In this article I research the move of a knowledge‐intense government agency from Stockholm to Östersund, a smaller inland town in the north. The data were collected through an ethnographic case study of a government agency. I adopt a discourse theoretical approach that provides a clear ontology of identity and processes of identification. This enables research on how ideological images of places create geographical identity positions. The aim of this article is to explore how groups of professionals at the government agency identified with geographical identities dependent on whether they were seen as experts or generalists. In conclusion, identity positions became important for how the relocation was organized. The establishment of the two identity positions functioned to stabilize the social environment during the move, a time when many things at work seemed to be in turmoil. At the same time the positions worked to exclude other ways of identifying with (work)place, and in this way sustained asymmetrical relations of domination and subordination between centre and periphery.     

Radio – Ulnar Weight Index — is it a Useful Criterion for Sex Identification of the Human Skeleton?

Sex identification of human long bones has been studied by several investigators. Measurements of the radius and the ulna have also been reported as an indicator of sex by reference to separate parameters and/or to combinations of the parameters of a single bone. This study was designed to determine whether the radius and the ulna can provide reliable information for the sexing of human bones, as can the lower leg bones, if the forearm measurements include the weight index of the two bones as a parameter. The materials consisted of the dried radii and ulnae of 20 recently deceased Japanese males and 20 similar females. Almost all the dimensions exhibited statistically significant sex differences. The radio–ulnar weight index did not, however, differ between the sexes. In discriminant analysis, the rate of correct sex discrimination based on distances between various pairs of points was not improved by the inclusion of the radio–ulnar weight index. Therefore, the radio–ulnar weight index cannot be recommended as a parameter for the sexing of human bones.