A first note on the excavations at UAQ38, a new Neolithic site in the Emirate of Umm al-Quwain

At the end of 2018, the first season of excavation was carried out at the shell midden site of UAQ38. The site occupies the top of a sand dune not far from UAQ36 and UAQ2, two other recently investigated Neolithic shell middens. Several well-stratified anthropogenic levels were excavated at UAQ38, which can be dated mainly to the 5th millennium BC, although the recorded artefacts suggest a possible older date for the lowest levels. Food waste, post-holes, fireplaces, and burnt shell dumpings attest to human activities that took place at the site over a rather long period of time. Here the stratigraphic sequence will be presented, together with a first overview of the artefactual assemblage. The collected data will be concisely discussed in order to fit the site within the typology of Neolithic settlements that can be proposed for the area. UAQ38 is so far the only Neolithic site along the northeastern coast of the UAE for which stratified charcoal is available for dating.     

Simple strategies for improving inference with linked data: a case study of the 1850–1930 IPUMS linked representative historical samples

Abstract

New large-scale linked data are revolutionizing quantitative history and demography. This paper proposes two complementary strategies for improving inference with linked historical data: the use of validation variables to identify higher quality links and a simple, regression-based weighting procedure to increase the representativeness of custom research samples. We demonstrate the potential value of these strategies using the 1850–1930 Integrated Public Use Microdata Series Linked Representative Samples (IPUMS-LRS)—a high quality, publicly available linked historical dataset. We show that, while incorrect linking rates appear low in the IPUMS-LRS, researchers can reduce error rates further using validation variables. We also show how researchers can reweight linked samples to balance observed characteristics in the linked sample with those in a reference population using a simple regression-based procedure.     

长三角城市群城市发展质量测度及时空演变格局

基于复合指标视角,全面认识和提高城市发展质量,是推进长三角城市群实现高质量一体化发展的有效途径。论文从经济、社会、科教、设施、环境等5个维度出发构建城市发展质量评价指标体系,定量测度城市发展质量,分析2008—2018年城市发展质量时空演变格局。结果显示：①长三角城市群城市发展质量加速提升,但仍然存在差距,且各项城市发展质量呈现非均衡性;②上海市发展质量平均得分最高,三省一市平均得分差距不断缩小,表明长三角城市群城市发展质量具有显著的绝对收敛趋势;③城市发展质量平均中心经历了分散→集聚→分散的动态演化过程,其中经济发展质量平均中心位移最大,科教发展质量平均中心位移最小。移动轨迹大多呈现“先西后东、整体向西,先北后南、整体向北”,说明城市发展质量提升速度西部高于东部,北部高于南部。     

The sound of music heritage: curating popular music in music museums and exhibitions

A significant amount of previous academic research into popular music museums centres on critiques of the content, design and layout of predominantly authorised institutions. Throughout much of this research, authors consistently criticise the use, or rather, the perceived misuse, of music played within music museums, arguing that the music itself, rather than artefacts, constitutes the most significant part of popular music exhibition. This article seeks to counter this trend by exploring the challenges of incorporating recorded sound into popular music exhibits as understood by curators and exhibit designers. Utilising interviews conducted within 14 authorised and DIY museums devoted to popular music, the researchers demonstrate a distinct contrast between current academic critiques of music use in these museums and the attitudes of the people who create them. The result is a varied discussion surrounding sound in the museal space, including issues of sound bleed, technology and the creation of balance between artefacts and sound. This account draws attention to curators’ intentions of telling the story of popular music history by engaging with both the visual and aural memories of museum patrons, and suggests a new understanding of the purpose underpinning popular music museums in modern contexts.     

谈我国纸质文物保护的科技需求

我国纸质文物数量众多而保护难度较大。纸质文物因其特殊的本体材料、性能,病害原因多样、易于损毁,特别是民国纸质文物损坏现象严重。纸质文物保护需要建立完善的文物数据库和检测体系,以现代科学方法展开劣化机理研究,结合不同地区气候条件,以本国传统产纸技术、修复体系为根基,引入国际先进技术,达到长期、稳定保存纸质文物的目的。     

The platform business model and business ecosystem: quality management and revenue structures*

A platform is a two-sided market. It is an environment established to allow multiple groups such as suppliers and consumers to exchange their views for fair transactions. Platforms evolve through the connection and interaction of participants, and act as ecosystems of coexistence that can provide values and benefits to all participants. Care must be taken in building such a business ecosystem to successfully stabilize the platform model. This research indicates how a business ecosystem can be constructed by analysing quality management and revenue structures – core elements in any platform business model with a distinct group of users on either side. Through 12 case studies using 30 in-depth interviews and 2 focus group interviews, this research suggests the conceptual framework, ‘12 different types of quality management and revenue structure strategies’. These will serve as the conceptual framework from which to build platform business model ecosystems.     

Evaluating inputs to models of hominin raw material selection: map resolution and path choices

Selection of an appropriate scale is an important decision in study design in many branches of science, since perceived patterns often change with the scales of spatial extent or resolution of an analysis. In previously published work, we created a resource selection model to determine the importance of several independent variables for the selection of lithic materials by hominins at a Middle Palaeolithic site in southern France. Two of these independent variables (calories exerted and difficulty of the terrain covered in travel from source to site) were calculated using elevation data extracted from maps. In the present paper, we examine the differences in model performance when the variables ‘Calories’ and ‘Difficulty’ are calculated using 1) three base maps for elevation that differed in map resolution (from finest to coarsest: a 1:25,000 topographic base map, SPOT DEM, and SRTM DEM), and 2) two different methods for determining the route from source to site (straight-line route and least-cost route; both methods exclude areas with slopes >60% from travel). Our best model was the one that used data calculated using the topographic base map; however, the SRTM DEM-based data produced models of essentially equal quality. Regardless of map scale, models that used data calculated using a straight-line route always outperformed models that used data calculated using a least-cost route. This supports our previous finding that a straight-line route is a more appropriate measure for the path from lithic source to site than a least-cost route. We conclude that the map resolution of each of the base maps used here is appropriate for analyses involving spatial data pertaining to Neandertal activity because this type of data is essentially always coarse-grained.     

The Impact of Energy,Transport, and Trade on Air Pollution in China

A team of U.S.- and China-based geographers examines the relationship between China's economic development and its environment by modeling the effects of energy, transport, and trade on local air pollution emissions (sulfur dioxide and soot particulates) using the Environmental Kuznets model. Specifically, the latter model is investigated using spatial econometrics that take into account potential regional spillover effects from high-polluting neighbors. The analysis finds an inverted-U relationship for sulfur dioxide but a U-shaped curve for soot particulates. This suggests that soot particulates such as black carbon may pose a more serious environmental problem in China than sulfur dioxide. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: C50, F10, Q43, R40. 4 figures, 3 tables, 47 references.     

浅谈初中体育教学

我国目前正在全面实施素质教育,这是现阶段我国基础教育发晨和改革的总趋势。本文就中学体育教学的现状和存在弊端及改革体育教学提出一些建议,对于全面实施素质教育有着积极的现实意义。