A tale of two trails: Lessons from a comparative account of the Trans Canada Trail and the Sendero de Chile

A new generation of greenways has emerged in recent years, the most ambitious of which are nationwide, interconnected networks of multi-use, multi-purpose greenways and trails, clustered under a single national vision. However, because these initiatives have been the focus of so few research studies, opportunities to glean lessons from their planning and implementation have been limited. This paper contributes to addressing this knowledge gap by presenting a comparative account of two networks, the Trans Canada Trail in Canada and Sendero de Chile in Chile. Using document analysis and interviews with officials closely involved in their development, the evolution of both networks is documented over time, emphasizing similarities and differences related to their planning and implementation. Both initiatives have faced significant challenges in reaching their connection goals and have availed themselves of a diverse range of opportunities and strategies to advance their agendas. A simple model of a virtuous cycle is proposed to highlight the positive feedback—between political and public support, sustained funding, partnership development, accessibility for urban residents, and connectivity of the network—generated by sustained network expansion over time. It is hoped that the insights offered from this analysis may offer guidance to inform the development of similar scale projects elsewhere.     

北大藏秦水陆里程简“阳”县考辨

北京大学入藏的秦代水陆里程简册中记载秦代有"阳"县存在,关于这一新出现的秦县,前辈学者认为可能是位于今河南省方城县的秦汉"阳城"。然而,从简册中记载的"阳"县下属各乡到其他地区的距离来看,"阳县"不太可能在今方城附近,而更有可能是位于先秦"唐"国故地的"唐"县。其他出土材料所见的"唐"县一般写作"阳",清华简《系年》中还有楚国曾灭"唐(阳)"置县的明确记载。秦代的阳县应该就是继承了楚灭唐国之后所设的阳县。     

Childbirth and Social Class in Contemporary Japan

This paper presents data from a larger ethnographic research project on intimacy and reproduction in Japan, a country that faces a “crisis of ultra-low fertility rates” (Jones, Straughan, & Chan, 2009). Proceeding from a symbolic interactionist perspective, the paper analyses the outcomes of interviews with 56 Japanese mothers aged between 29 and 45 from Tokyo and Kanagawa. The analysis identified “maternal instincts” (honnō), children’s schooling, and marriage as three major axes along which an understanding of how social class concerns influence the childbirth experiences and decision-making processes of these mothers could be gained.     

Interpreting diachronic osteological variation at the medieval necropolis of the Sant Pere Churches (Terrassa,Spain)

The purpose of this study is to analyse the diachronic variation in the skeletal sample exhumed from the medieval necropolis of Sant Pere Churches, interpreting the results using the archaeological and historical evidence. The Sant Pere Churches are a monumental Romanic complex located in Terrassa (Spain) and built over the earlier Episcopal Cathedral of Egara from the Visigoth period. Egara has traditionally been considered the precursor of the current city of Terrassa; however this name disappeared from historical documentary sources after the period of Muslim incursions into Hispania (8th century). An archaeological excavation undertaken recently at the Sant Pere Churches provided us with the opportunity to study the population that was interred in this complex during that epoch. In total, the skeletal remains of 208 individuals were examined. In order to analyse the diachronic variation, the sample was divided into two periods, that of the Cathedral of Egara (4th–8th centuries; N = 128) and that of the Parish Churches of Terrassa (9th–13th centuries; N = 80). Both periods of the complex exhibited a similar skeletal age distribution, including under‐representation of non‐adult individuals. Nevertheless, a bias towards males in terms of sex distribution, sex differences in the mortality level and greater sexual dimorphism were observed in the population interred at the Cathedral of Egara. Moreover, analysis of the prevalence of skeletal disorders also provided evidence of higher differences between sexes for the period of the Episcopal Cathedral of Egara, the female population exhibiting the lower prevalence. Additionally, diachronic variation in both postcranial and dental disease patterns was observed, suggesting different activity patterns and food consumption between the periods. Overall, the results suggested that diachronic osteological variation observed in the Sant Pere Churches skeletal sample was most probably linked with the changes in the role of the complex following the Muslim incursion of the 8th century. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring evolutionary economic geographies

Evolutionary approaches in economics have gathered increasingsupport over the last 25 years. Despite an impressive body ofliterature, economists are still far from formulating a coherentresearch paradigm. The multitude of approaches in evolutionaryeconomics poses problems for the development of an evolutionaryeconomic geography. For the most part, evolutionary economicgeography imports selective concepts from evolutionary biologyand economics and applies those concepts to specific problemswithin economic geography. We discuss a number of problems withthis approach and suggest that a more powerful and appealingalternative requires the development of theoretically consistentmodels of evolutionary processes. This article outlines thecontours of an evolutionary model of economic dynamics whereeconomic agents are located in different geographical spaces.We seek to show how competition between those agents, basedon the core evolutionary principles of variety, selection andretention, may produce distinct economic regions sharing propertiesthat differentiate them from competitors elsewhere. These argumentsare extended to illustrate how the emergent properties of economicagents and places co-evolve and lead to different trajectoriesof economic development over space.     

Ethologists in the Kindergarten: Natural Behavior,Social Rank,and the Search for the “Innate” in Early Human Ethology (1960s-1970s)

During the 1970s, ethologists at the German Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology in Seewiesen started a series of research projects at several regional kindergartens in search of natural predispositions in human behavior. This so-called “Kindergarten Project” became one of the pillars of research activity at the newly founded Forschungsstelle für Humanethologie (Research Center for Human Ethology) where Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt and a team of researchers set out to explore new fields of research for the discipline of ethology. Taking the research project conducted by biologist Barbara Hold on ranking behavior among kindergarten children as a vantage point, this paper explores the shift in ethology from animal to human behavior which occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. It analyzes how human ethologists coped with the methodological, conceptual, and ethico-political challenges which arose from crossing the human-animal divide. This article thus sheds light on the hitherto unwritten history of human ethology as it was developed at the MPI since the late 1960s.     

Protecting England and its Church: Lady Anne and the death of Charles Stuart

In 1666, the English physician Thomas Sydenham determined that patients with smallpox could remain contagious for 41 days, that apparent health was no indicator of contagiousness, and that children were the most susceptible of contracting the disease. Yet in 1677, when 12-year-old Lady Anne Stuart (later Queen Anne) contracted smallpox, only 21 days had passed when she was introduced to her 1-month-old stepbrother, Charles Stuart, heir to the throne and likely Catholic king. Charles Stuart subsequently contracted smallpox from Anne, and the infant died of the disease at a time of heightened paranoia regarding the succession of a Catholic heir. This paper assesses the motives, means, and opportunity that may have led to Anne’s meeting with her stepbrother. The intention is not to suggest or prove that a deliberate attempt was made to remove the Catholic heir, rather, the purpose is to explore the reasons, implications, and possibilities that such an act may have occurred. In a period that resounded with conspiracies and threats to the Protestant succession, Charles Stuart’s death, regardless of whether the infection was, or was not, caused with intent, demonstrates a reversal of common fears where the Catholic line was extinguished to the advantage of the Protestant succession. This paper examines Charles’s death and its implications against a background of contemporary medical knowledge, and while it does not suggest that there is unequivocal proof linking Anne as an unwitting agent in a conspiracy, the paper nonetheless assesses the body of evidence that links Anne to Charles Stuart’s death.     

D’Arcy Thompson’s Legacy in Contemporary Studies of Patterns and Morphology

Abstract

D’Arcy Thompson’s views on the forms of biomaterials are assessed in the light of current thinking on biomorphology in selected areas of biology. It is clear that his guiding concepts — that biological materials are structured in response to physical forces, and that the biological and abiotic realms share many common features — remain valid. Advances in the physical and biological sciences are discussed, from quantum mechanics and molecular biology to liquid crystalline materials and macroscopic forms. These reveal Thompson’s clear-sighted view of the role of physical and mathematical sciences in biology, as well as his blind-spots.     

Turf roofs and urban archaeological build-up

Abstract

Studies of turves used to line the thatched roof of an old farm building in north-west England showed that they might have been a major source of mineral particles and plant and insect remains in some archaeological deposits. Conversely, it might be possible to recognise the remains of turf roofs on occupation sites from characteristic elements of the biota. Analysis of a sample of the accumulation on the floor of the building prompts reconsideration of the nature of ‘indoor’ and ‘outdoor’ insect assemblages.