Testing child-woman ratios and the own-children method on the 1900 Sweden census: Examples of indirect fertility estimates by socioeconomic status in a historical population

Focusing on the Swedish census of 1900, the child-woman ratio and own-children method have been applied to assess socioeconomic differences in fertility. These indirect estimates of fertility have been compared to the vital statistics at the national level to assess their reliability. This comparison demonstrated that the estimated results suffered from few errors. Even if these indirect estimates of fertility could be affected by possible socioeconomic differences in mortality, the tests show that at least in the Swedish case, the impact of mortality on the indirect measures is limited. As infant mortality differences by socioeconomic status are relatively small, indirect fertility estimates are mainly affected by differences in reproductive behavior.     

A Palaeopathological Assessment of the Late 19th and Early 20th Century Khoesan

Since the arrival of Dutch colonists in the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, Khoesan populations were subjected to severe political and economic marginalisation and often fell prey to racial conflict. These circumstances persisted until the early 20th century, during which an astonishing number of Khoesan skeletons were transported from South Africa to various locations in Europe, as at the time, different institutions competed to obtain these remains. The purpose of this study was to assess the health status of the late 19th and early 20th century Khoesan. Skeletal remains housed in two different European institutions were studied. The sample comprised 140 specimens from the Rudolf Pöch Skeletal Collection in Vienna, Austria, and 15 specimens from the Musée de l'Homme in Paris, France. These individuals represent both sexes and were aged between newborn and 75 years, with 54 being younger than 20 years of age. Results indicated high levels of typical disease conditions associated with groups under stress, such as periostitis, cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis. Treponemal disease, rickets, osteoarthritis and trauma were also encountered amongst other more specific indicators of health and disease. This study provided additional knowledge on the health status and lives of the Khoesan people during this turbulent period and created new awareness regarding a group of severely mistreated individuals. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

周恩来的现代科学技术革命思想论析

学术界对于周恩来的科学技术思想研究已经取得了一批成果 ,而对周恩来现代科学技术革命思想的研究则十分薄弱。周恩来是中共领袖中对现代科学技术革命认识最早、阐发最系统的一位杰出代表。对于现代科学技术革命的迅速崛起 ,周恩来不是漠然置之 ,而是积极主动的正视它、探讨它。周恩来关于现代科学技术革命的思想 ,具有鲜明的前瞻性、务实性和创造性 ,是中国共产党人顺应历史潮流、勇于迎接时代挑战的重要思想结晶。     

慈溪潮塘江元代沉船保存状态研究

慈溪潮塘江元代沉船是慈溪地区迄今发现并经科学发掘的第一艘古代沉船,船体结构保存较为完整,现存10道隔舱壁板。通过¹⁴C测年进一步确认沉船所属时代为元代(1271年—1368年)。在沉船船体70个监测点位采集样品,从树种类型、木材化学组分、硫铁元素含量以及微生物病害种类等多个角度开展检测研究,全面调查分析沉船病害情况。结果表明,慈溪潮塘江元代沉船木材样品整体保存状态较好,由于长期处于内河道埋藏环境,木材处于饱水状态,最大含水率主要集中分布于185%～400%之间,局部区域呈现变色、变形、扭曲、开裂现象,木材化学组分呈现低综纤维素、高灰分的特点,含有少量硫铁元素,属于中度腐蚀状态,亟待开展盐分脱除与填充加固等船体保护工作。     

旅游气候研究进展与启示

气候是旅游发展的重要因子。近年来,局部地区恶劣气候频繁出现,旅游业发展受到影响。总结国内外旅游气候研究进展,国外研究主要集中于旅游目的地气候条件对旅游业发展、旅游者行为的影响和人类旅游活动对气候的现实和潜在的影响;国内研究则集中在气候旅游资源和旅游地气候舒适度两方面。总的看来,国内外旅游气候研究的中心议题都围绕着气候是旅游业的影响要素,主要贡献有气候是包括自然旅游资源在内的资源形成背景;特殊的气象景观和优良的气候条件是旅游地重要吸引物,进而影响到旅游者决策行为,因此气候调查和分析应视为旅游规划的前提。     

The Not So Peaceful Civilization: A Review of Maya War

The first Maya encountered by Europeans in the early sixteenth century were exceedingly warlike, but by the 1940s the earlier Classic Maya (AD 250–1000) were widely perceived as an inordinately peaceful civilization. Today, in sharp contrast, conflict is seen as integral to Maya society throughout its history. This paper defines war, reviews the evidence for it in the Maya archaeological record, and shows how and why our ideas have changed so profoundly. The main emphasis is on the Classic period, with patterns of ethnohistorically documented war serving as a baseline. Topics include the culture history of conflict, strategy and tactics, the scope and range of operations, war and the political economy, and the intense status rivalry war of the eighth and ninth centuries AD that contributed to the collapse of Classic civilization. Unresolved issues such as the motivations for war, its ritual vs. territorial aims, and sociopolitical effects are discussed at length.     

美国华人社会的阶级研究——以个人访谈为主的分析

针对美国华人研究领域里阶级或阶级关系这个概念几乎被忽略的现象,阐述了阶级观念在华人社会中的发展及表现形式;分析了移民社会中美国华人的阶级和阶级观念的特点、阶级在华人社会中的重要性与华人社会本身的多元化的关系以及华人社会中非法移民的生存状态和阶级地位。得出结论,第二次世界大战以后,随着美国华裔社会的逐步多元化,华人的阶级观念不仅没有减弱,反而有增强的趋势,他们对于阶级的认识也表现得更为复杂化。除财富之外,美国华人对于阶级的认同还取决于家庭出身、移民背景、同化程度以及法律身份等多种因素。     

A Study of Suzhou as the Economic Center of China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties

As the biggest tax payer in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, Suzhou was the most prominent center to provide tax, money and grain for the country. It was known for its commodity production of silk, cotton, and printed materials. Suzhou’s wood manufacturing and processing industry were also unrivaled. Meanwhile, Suzhou was famous for jade carvings, embroidery, mounting, lacquer, musical instruments and other processing industries of copper, iron, gold, silver, etc. As a world-famous center of commodity production and processing, Suzhou exported the local commodities and imported various kinds of raw materials. Suzhou was also a transportation center in China, transporting goods and materials across the country and balancing the market. Financial institutions such as banks and exchange shops were established in Suzhou as well, where the circulation of silver and copper coins was voluminous and the use of foreign silver coins started early. With advanced financial settlement methods, Suzhou absorbed the capital from towns and cities nearby, profited from high cash turnover, and became a highly developed financial center. As far as the economic aggregate, commodity production and circulation were concerned, Suzhou was a far more advanced urban center than Hangzhou which was another industrial and financial city.     

从“牝鸡无辰”到“共牢合卺”——由考古学统计资料看东周女性贵族社会地位之变迁

基于文献的东周女性史研究往往强调女性在东周时期社会地位逐渐式微。然而从考古学视角观察,女性贵族社会身份地位在东周时期却并非单向的跌落。春秋早期,女性贵族墓葬随葬器物延续西周以降的趋势,与男性贵族存在一个显著等差;春秋中期后,女性贵族墓葬随葬青铜器物组合层阶有了明显的提高,逐渐向异穴合葬男性配偶墓葬靠拢;春秋晚期,"夫妇同庖俎"(即合卺)逐渐成为一种稳定社会现象,女性贵族身份地位有了一个质的提高。这标志着贵族家庭婚姻制度及财产所有制发生了重大变化,显示社会基本构成由大家族向核心家庭转换。     

The texture of literacy in the testimonies of late-medieval English proof-of-age jurors, 1270 to 1430

This article examines references by jurors in proof-of-age hearings from 1270 to 1430 to writing and written documents. By analysing the incidence of these references decade by decade over the whole period and by close attention to changes in the wording of individual testimonies, some important insights into the place of literacy in the lives and mentalities of quite humble medieval men are apparent. Of only ‘village status’, these jurors' testimonies provide evidence of the way literacy gradually permeated more and more intricately the day-to-day lives of ordinary people, often not replacing older ways of doing things but co-existing with them. Some conclusions as to how literacy affected different occupations and different areas of the country are drawn.