Darwin’s missing links

The historical process underlying Darwin’s Origin of Species (Origin) did not play a significant role in the early editions of the book, in spite of the particular inductivist scientific methodology it espoused. Darwin’s masterpiece did not adequately provide his sources or the historical perspective many contemporary critics expected. Later editions yielded the ‘Historical Sketch’ lacking in the earlier editions, but only under critical pressure. Notwithstanding the sources he provided, Darwin presented the Origin as an ‘abstract’ in order to avoid giving sources; a compromise he acknowledged and undertook to set right in later editions, yet failed to provide throughout the six editions under his supervision. Darwin’s reluctance to publish the historical context of his theory and his sources, particularly sources which were also ‘precursors’, may be attributed as much to the matter of intellectual ownership as science, or even good literary practice. Of special concern to Darwin were issues of priority or originality over ‘descent with modification’ and especially over Natural Selection. Many later historians have argued that Darwin was unaware of the work of his precursors on Natural Selection. Darwin’s theory was an example of independent discovery, albeit along with such obscure precursors as Matthew or Wells, who were unknown to Darwin until after the publication of the Origin. Both Matthew and Wells had a medical education, like James Hutton or Erasmus Darwin earlier in the eighteenth century, or even (in part) Charles Darwin. Evolutionary theory, at least in Britain was a product largely of the medical evolutionists rather than the natural historians which ‘history’ has chosen to select for the focus of attention; and among the medical evolutionists the figure of John Hunter stands out as theorist, experimentalist and teacher: the medical evolutionists were predominantly the product of Hunter’s legacy or of the medical profession and particularly the Scottish Universities. Much recent Darwin scholarship has focused on the private Notebooks, to establish Darwin’s discovery of Natural Selection around 1837–1838 and demonstrate Darwin’s ignorance of his precursors; requiring an explicit acknowledgement by Darwin as the legitimate substantiation of any claim to prior influence. The precursors have been categorized as uniformly obscure or irrelevant to the science of evolution which may be defined exclusively as ‘Darwinian’. The inclination to acknowledge influences, however was not something Darwin was gratuitously given to doing, especially on matters of priority. The Notebooks are not Darwin’s private thoughts; from an early stage he considered them incipient public documents and later sought to protect them as proof of his originality. William C. Wells was not an obscure thinker, but a celebrated scientist whom Herschel, Darwin’s guide to scientific methodology, had recommended as providing a model of scientific method. Darwin discovered Wells through Herschel, and quickly acquired a copy of Wells’ recommended work, no later than 1831, and held it thereafter in his library at Down House. This book, the 1818 edition of Wells’ Two Essays contains a third essay, Wells’ account of Natural Selection. Later, in the Descent of Man (1871) Darwin acknowledged his separate discovery of the correlation of colour and disease immunity in man, also earlier recounted by Wells.     

上海博物馆馆藏俏色“春水”、“秋山”玉饰的材质、皮色及年代研究

为研究传世俏色"春水"、"秋山"玉的皮色及年代问题,利用显微放大观察、激光拉曼光谱(LRS)、显微红外光谱(FTIR)及X射线荧光光谱(XRF)技术,对上海博物馆收藏的9件俏色"春水"、"秋山"玉饰进行了皮色分布、化学成分、矿物学特征分析。实验结果表明9件玉器样品的主要矿物组成均为透闪石,其中两件样品曾经人工染色处理,染色材料与蜂蜡有关。结合考古发现及文献记载,将传世俏色"春水"、"秋山"玉的年代限于金、元,综合考量器形、纹饰、做工、皮色之后,将2件作伪俏色样品的年代定为元代。研究思路及方法是科技分析结合古器物学研究鉴定传世玉器的一次尝试。     

汴河故道上的虹桥遗踪——淮北柳孜运河遗址“石构建筑”新探

安徽淮北市境内的柳孜运河遗址是全国重点文物保护单位,它有一个较大的"石砌建筑"遗物。有关专家认为:它可能是宋代的码头。但是根据相关中外文献考证,它是北宋时期所建造的"无柱飞桥"(俗称虹桥)的桥墩遗迹。     

Government performance and dissatisfaction with democracy in Australia

ABSTRACT

Satisfaction with democracy has declined rapidly in Australia, reaching the lowest level recorded since the 1970s in 2019. Whereas Australian citizens used to be among the most satisfied democrats in the world, there is now evidence of widespread dissatisfaction. What explains this rapid decline in political support? Comparative studies emphasise the role of government performance, both political and economic, in shaping citizens’ attitudes towards the political system. This paper examines the role of government performance in shaping satisfaction with democracy in Australia, using Australian Election Study data from 1996 to 2019. The results demonstrate that frequent changes of prime minister, which a majority of voters disapproved of, and rising economic pessimism contributed to the decline of democratic satisfaction in Australia.     

浅论国际社会如何应对非法移民问题

近年来,非法移民问题日趋严重,已成为当今国际社会面临的一大难题。非法移民给许多国家带来了严重后果,止非法移民是国际社会的当务之急。非法移民是一个综合性的难题,必须运用经济、政治、法律、外交等多种手段,诸如加强出入管理,加强打击非法移民的立法,加强国际合作,缩小南北差距等。     

广西民族博物馆馆藏十五面铜鼓合金成分及显微组织分析

为了解不同类型铜鼓合金成分及显微组织特征，使用扫描电镜、金相显微镜对广西民族博物馆馆藏15面铜鼓进行分析检测，并结合前人研究成果，讨论各类型铜鼓合金配比与铸造工艺特征。分析结果显示，石寨山型鼓为铜锡合金；北流型、冷水冲型与灵山型鼓为铜锡铅合金且铅锡含量较高，合金配比稳定；麻江型鼓锡含量均高，铅含量波动较大。显微组织观察显示，1面石寨山型鼓局部有滑移带及再结晶组织，2面麻江型鼓局部有滑移带，其余鼓全为铸态组织，α固溶体晶间分布(α+δ)共析体，皆有硫化物夹杂，多数存在数量不等的铅颗粒弥散或聚集分布，部分样品可见富铁相、氧化亚铜、自由铜颗粒。7面麻江型鼓均见较多缩松，位于样品截面中部。分析结果反映的不同类型铜鼓合金配比、夹杂物、铸造缺陷特征，可为铜鼓铸造技术研究提供基础资料。     

郑公大墓出土蟠螭纹铜鼎再保护修复前期研究

深圳博物馆藏郑公大墓出土蟠螭纹铜鼎入馆前已进行过保护修复处理，但保护修复记录资料缺失。现因年代久远，原保护修复材料老化和保存环境等因素的影响，又出现左右两足从原焊接处断裂、脱落，以及多处裂隙等病害，亟待再次保护修复处理，以恢复器物的完整性和稳定性，并提升展示效果。本工作利用X射线探伤、X射线荧光光谱、红外光谱和X射线衍射等分析方法，对该铜鼎的材质组成、制作工艺、早期修复材料、处理方法，以及病害情况等进行了综合分析。结果表明，该铜鼎本体材质为铜、锡、铅三元合金；器身遍布补配、焊接修复和随色作旧痕迹，且分布有多条裂隙。补配材料为黄铜片(口沿局部白色补配材料为混杂有钾明矾的石膏，且已酥粉);焊接材料为铅锡料；未发现氯元素。研究结果对进一步认知该文物的价值、科学评估其保存现状和病害程度，以及对其实施科学有效的再保护修复提供了参考。     

“Soldiers with stiff bodies”: rumors,stereotypes and the Chinese image of the British army during the First Opium War (1839-1842)

ABSTRACT

A curious aspect of the First Opium War was the circulation among Chinese officials of two claims made about British soldiers, instigated by Commissioner Lin Zexu: their uniforms were so tight that if they were to stumble they would not be able to get up again; and, the men were “like fish,” thus able to function well at sea, but not to fight on land because they had become so used to the pitching and rolling of their ships. This article examines the extent to which these notions took on the quality of wartime rumors, and how they spread beyond generals and officials and into the general population. It considers the way in which the rumors functioned in different ways and at different levels of society, taking on different constructions of meaning in multiple social and political domains.     

公共服务视野下的城市空间正义问题——以山东省Q市为例

以山东省Q市为例，从公共服务满意度视角探讨城市空间正义问题及其作用路径。研究发现，近年来我国城市存在公共服务视野下明显的空间不正义问题，临近省市政府能享受更多、更好的公共服务，而区政府并不显著，且远离政府权力中心的边缘地带更加严重。不过，这种空间不正义问题更多源自省市政府权力的空间资源配置失衡，区政府没有足够话语权；主要在市辖区层面，街道尺度并不显著。受制于公共产品属性不同，不同公共服务的空间不正义问题有明显差异，弱排他性或弱竞争性的问题较小。另外，权力空间化通过公共产品配置数量和质量影响空间不正义问题，且质量层面远大于数量层面。新时代城市要从提高公共产品质量入手实现空间正义。