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Humanities and Social Sciences41%
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Selected Abstracts

,You tell all the stories': Using narrative to explore hierarchy within a Community of Practice1

JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 5 2006
Emma Moore
Recent discussion of the Community of Practice (CofP) (Davies 2005) has suggested that there are certain limitations to the approach with regard to how it accounts for internal hierarchy and community membership. Eckert and Wenger (2005: 588) have suggested that the only way to evaluate such criticism (and avoid building an inappropriately rigid conception of power into CofP theory) is to explore how hierarchies operate within CofPs. This paper offers such an exploration. Using data from a long-term ethnographic study of a high school in the north-west of England, this paper will use narrative analysis (drawing upon the work of Labov and Waletsky [1967] 1997 amongst others) to explore the interactional space in which speakers actively negotiate their personal and community behaviour. The analysis focuses upon the role individuals play as narrators of community practice and illustrates that status inequalities between individual CofP members do not necessarily result in inequitable allocation of control within the CofP. [source]

Delivering on the Potential of the New CAP

EUROCHOICES, Issue 2 2005
Mariann Fischer Boel
Recent discussions on the CAP have focused on the budget. However, in the public debate the policy itself is often still a caricature of the old CAP that existed until the early 1990s. The CAP has changed fundamentally over the past decade. The recent direction of the CAP , markets and rural development , was set by the European Council in Göteborg and Lisbon. Strong economic performance must go hand in hand with the sustainable use of natural resources. The key elements of the new CAP are a market policy where intervention is a safety net, income stabilisation is delivered through decoupled aids subject to cross-compliance, and a reinforced rural development policy that focuses on jobs, growth and sustainability. We must use the new CAP to unlock the potential for growth, jobs and innovation and put good ideas into practice. We need to work in partnership with farmers, foresters, the agrifood business, NGOs, the population of rural areas, the research community and of course public authorities. But to achieve all of this we need a stable budgetary environment, in which farmers and businesses can plan. In short, we need the resources to deliver on the potential of the new CAP. Les discussions sur la PAC, récemment, se sont focalisées sur le budget. En même temps, le contenu politique de la réforme, tel qu'il est vu dans le débat public, n'est rien d'autre que la caricature de l'ancienne PAC telle qu'elle existait avant les années 90. Or, au cours de la dernière décennie, la PAC a radicalement changé. Son nouveau cours , axé sur les marchés et le développement rural , a été défini lors des conseils européens de Göteborg et de Lisbonne. Les bonnes performances économiques doivent aller de concert avec l'utilisation durable des ressources naturelles. Une politique de marché, pour laquelle l'intervention n'est qu'un filet de sécurité, une stabilisation des revenus qui prend la forme d'aides découplées sous réserve d'application de normes, un développement rural renforcé, enfin, centré sur les emplois, la croissance et la durabilité, voilà les clés de la nouvelle PAC. Celle-ci doit être utilisée pour déchaîner les possibilités en matière de croissance d'emplois, d'innovation et de durabilité. Il faut pour cela s'appuyer sur les agriculteurs, les forestiers, les industries agroalimentaires, les organisations non gouvernementales, les populations des zones rurales, les chercheurs, et bien sûr les autorités publiques. Mais pour réaliser tout cela, il faut encore un environnement budgétaire stable, permettant aux agriculteurs et aux industriels de planifi er leurs actions. En d'autres termes, il faut des ressources pour que la nouvelle PAC tienne ses promesses. Die jüngsten Diskussionen über die GAP konzentrierten sich auf den Haushalt. In der öffentlichen Debatte ist die Politik selbst jedoch häufig noch ein Zerrbild der alten GAP, wie diese sich bis in die frühen 1990er Jahre darstellte. In den letzten zehn Jahren hat sich die GAP von Grund auf verändert. Die jüngste Richtung der GAP , Märkte und die Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums , wurde vom Europäischen Rat in Göteborg und Lissabon vorgegeben. Eine hohe wirtschaftliche Leistungsfähigkeit muss mit der nachhaltigen Nutzung der natürlichen Ressourcen Hand in Hand gehen. Die Schlüsselelemente der neuen GAP sind eine Marktpolitik, in der die Intervention als Sicherheitsnetz dient und eine Einkommensstabilisierung mittels entkoppelter Beihilfen erfolgt, für die Cross Compliance gilt; sowie eine gestärkte Politik zur Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums, welche sich auf Arbeitsplätze, Wachstum sowie Nachhaltigkeit konzentriert. Wir müssen die neue GAP dazu verwenden, das Potenzial für Wachstum, Arbeitsplätze und Innovationen frei zu setzen, und gute Ideen in die Tat umsetzen. Wir müssen partnerschaftlich mit den Landwirten, Förstern, Unternehmen der Agrar- und Ernährungswirtschaft, Nicht-Regierungsorganisationen (NRG), der Landbevölkerung, der Forschungsgemeinschaft und natürlich der öffentlichen Verwaltung zusammen arbeiten. Dafür benötigen wir jedoch eine stabile Haushaltssituation, die es den Landwirten und Unternehmen ermöglicht zu planen. Kurzum: Wir benötigen die Ressourcen, um das Potenzial der GAP auszuschöpfen. [source]

Decolonising, Multiplicities and Mining in the Eastern Goldfields, Western Australia

GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2003
Leah M. Gibbs
In this ,postcolonial' era, peoples and places around the globe continue to face ongoing colonisation. Indigenous peoples in particular experience colonisation in numerous forms. Despite recent attempts to ,decolonise' indigenous spaces, hegemonic systems of production, governance and thinking often perpetuate colonial structures and relationships, resulting in further entrenched colonisation or ,deep colonising' (Rose, 1999). The interface between indigenous communities and the mining industry provides fertile ground for the tensions emerging between decolonising and deep colonising. Gold mining operations at Placer Dome's Granny Smith mine in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia present a valuable case study for examining this tension. Changes taking place at the mine site are decolonising in intent, though outcomes may be deep colonising in effect. Recent discussions among cultural geographers over meanings of place, Ollman's (1993) notion of vantage point and a broadly postcolonial literature inform consideration of this tension. Acknowledgment and incorporation of multiple vantage points into new resource management systems allows current hegemonic approaches to be rethought, and provides insights for the shift towards genuinely decolonising processes. [source]

Banning subtherapeutic antibiotics in U.S. swine production: a simulation of impacts on industry structure

AGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009
Michael G. Hogberg
Recent discussions of a subtherapeutic antibiotic ban in U.S. livestock gives rise to much speculation regarding industry impacts. Swine producers are heterogeneous; thus, a ban on subtherapeutic antibiotics could affect producers of different sizes, cost structures, different production systems and management styles differently. The authors combine average cost data with physical production data to simulate the impact of a subtherapeutic antibiotics ban on high, middle, and low-cost producers in different types of swine production operations. Their results suggest that although economies of scale would still be important, the ban would potentially limit or reduce economies of scale in the swine industry. [JEL Codes: L11, Q12, Q13]. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

IS INFORMED CONSENT IN CARDIAC SURGERY AND PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION ACHIEVABLE?

ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 7 2007
Marco E. Larobina
Background: Medical and legal published work regularly discusses informed consent and patient autonomy before medical interventions. Recent discussions have suggested that Cardiothoracic surgeons' risk adjusted mortality data should be published to facilitate the informed consent process. However, as to which aspects of medicine, procedures and the associated risks patients understand is unknown. It is also unclear how well the medical profession understands the concepts of informed consent and medical negligence. The aims of this study were to evaluate patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to assess their understanding of the risks of interventions and baseline level of understanding of medical concepts and to evaluate the medical staff's understanding of medical negligence and informed consent. Methods: Patients undergoing CABG or PCI at a tertiary hospital were interviewed with questionnaires focusing on the consent process, the patient's understanding of CABG or PCI and associated risks and understanding of medical concepts. Medical staff were questioned on the process of obtaining consent and understanding of medicolegal concepts. Results: Fifty CABG patients, 40 PCI patients and 40 medical staff were interviewed over a 6-month period. No patient identified any of the explained risks as a reason to reconsider having CABG or PCI, but 80% of patients wanted to be informed of all risks of surgery. 80% of patients considered doctors obligated to discuss all risks of surgery. One patient (2%) expressed concern at the prospect of a trainee surgeon carrying out the operation. Stroke (40%) rather than mortality (10%) were the important concerns in patients undergoing CABG and PCI. The purpose of interventions was only partially understood by both groups; PCI patients clearly underestimated the subsequent need for repeat PCI or CABG. Knowledge of medical concepts was poor in both groups: less than 50% of patients understood the cause or consequence of an AMI or stroke and less than 20% of patients correctly identified the ratio equal to 0.5%. One doctor (2.5%) correctly identified the four elements of negligence, eight (20%) the meaning of material risk and four (10%) the meaning of causation. Thirty doctors (75%) believed that all complications of a procedure needed to be explained for informed consent. Less than 10% could recognize landmark legal cases. Conclusion: Patients undergoing both CABG and PCI have a poor understanding of their disease, their intervention, and its complications making the attaining of true informed consent difficult, despite their desire to be informed of all risks. PCI patients particularly were highly optimistic regarding the need for reintervention over time, which requires specific attention during the consent process. Medical staff showed a poor knowledge of the concepts of material risk and medical negligence requiring much improved education of both junior doctors and specialists. [source]

Memory Strategy Development: Do We Need Yet Another Deficiency?

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2000
Harriet Salatas Waters
Recent discussions of strategy development have included the introduction of the concept of utilization deficiency. The present analysis examines the definition of utilization deficiency vis-à-vis the older contrasts between mediation and production deficiency and assesses the logical clarity of the current definition. Further, because utilization deficiency focuses on the transition from initial to proficient strategy use, the present analysis considers all of the possible types of strategy inefficiencies and evaluates whether the current definition of utilization deficiency precludes consideration of important strategy inefficiencies that have been documented in the existing literature and are likely to form the bulk of yet-to-be discovered inefficiencies. Although the emphasis on strategy inefficiencies is welcomed, the current analysis concludes that there are serious problems with the current definition of utilization deficiency, problems that both obscure important theoretical distinctions of the past and limit the investigation of strategy inefficiencies that are likely to play an important role in our understanding of the development of strategy use. Furthermore, the linear developmental model that frames utilization deficiencies from no benefit to sophisticated strategy use ignores the heterogeneity in strategy development that has been recently documented. [source]

Should we beware of the Precautionary Principle?

ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 33 2001
Christian Gollier
How should society deal with risks when there is scientific uncertainty about the size of these risks? There has been much recent discussion of the Precautionary Principle, which states that lack of full scientific knowledge should not be used as a reason to postpone cost,effective preventive measures. We show in this paper that the Precautionary Principle contradicts one important intuition about the right way to act in the face of risk, namely the principle of ,looking before you leap'. When we expect to learn more about the future, the effectiveness of our preventive measures will be greater if we learn before we act. However, a number of other ways of taking uncertainty into account are consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the Precautionary Principle. First, postponing preventive measures may increase our vulnerability to damage, which induces a precautionary motive for risk,prevention, similar to the precautionary savings motive. Secondly, stronger preventive actions often yield more flexibility for the future, so that acting early has an option value. Thirdly, when better information comes from a process of learning,by,doing, the risk associated with early events is amplified by the information they yield about the future. This plays a role analogous to that of an increase in risk aversion, making us more cautious. Fourthly, because imperfect knowledge of the risk makes it difficult to insure, the social cost of risk should include a risk premium. Finally, uncertainty about the economic environment enjoyed by future generations should be taken into account. This raises the benefit of acting early to prevent long,term risks. If the Precautionary Principle sometimes gives good and sometimes gives bad advice, there is no escape from the need to undertake a careful cost,benefit analysis. We show that standard cost,benefit analysis can be refined to take account of scientific uncertainty, in ways that balance the Precautionary Principle against the benefits of waiting to learn before we act. Furthermore, it is important that they be used to do so, for instinct is an unreliable guide in such circumstances. Abandoning cost,benefit analysis in favour of simple maxims can result in some seriously misleading conclusions. [source]

Neue internationale Finanzarchitektur: Defizite und Handlungsoptionen

PERSPEKTIVEN DER WIRTSCHAFTSPOLITIK, Issue 3 2000
Michael Frenkel
The recent debate about a new international financial architecture, i.e. a reform of the international financial system, is strongly influenced by current events. In contrast to this the paper puts the problem into the framework of Ordnungspolitik. Beginning with the development of the recent discussion and shortcomings in the international financial system, we discuss fundamental reform proposals in brief and reform steps already realized at greater length. [source]

Teaching & Learning Guide for: Can a Darwinian Be a Christian?

RELIGION COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2008
Gregory W. Dawes
Author's Introduction The article was provoked by recent discussion of the so-called ,conflict thesis': the idea that the Christian faith and the findings of modern science are necessarily at odds. This thesis is generally attributed to John William Draper (1811,1882) and Andrew Dickson White (1832,1918). Recent opposition to their work dates from a 1979 publication by James Moore. Moore argues that the warfare metaphor employed by Draper and White misrepresents the historical reality, by suggesting that the religion and science debates were clashes between distinct groups of people who were sharply polarized and violently antagonistic. Since then, similar criticisms have been made by historians, such as David Livingstone, Ronald Numbers, and David Lindberg. A key question here is: what does the conflict thesis entail? If it holds that Christian thinkers have invariably opposed scientific progress, while the defenders of science have been non-believers, it would be demonstrably false. But there exist more interesting forms of conflict thesis, which are philosophical rather than historical. These suggest that there is some tension between what Christians have traditionally believed and the findings of modern science, particularly Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Even if the two are not, strictly speaking, incompatible, the truth of one may constitute evidence against the truth of the other. Darwin's theory also undercuts traditional arguments from design, and highlights the epistemological divide between religious and scientific conceptions of authority. Online Materials The following sites contain audio and video files, as well as text and images. 1. http://www.meta-library.net/history/intro-frame.html This is a useful overview of the historical debate by Ronald Numbers, with links to other sites. Most presenters follow Moore in opposing the conflict thesis, narrowly defined, but neglect the conflicts that my article highlights. 2. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/program.html Here one can view an excellent, 2-h PBS television documentary on the Dover, Pennsylvania trial in December 2005 regarding the teaching of ,intelligent design' (ID) in public schools. 3. http://www.butler.edu/clergyproject/rel_evol_sun.htm This is a letter signed by more than 11,000 clergy, arguing that there is no conflict between religion and science, and encouraging (among other things) the liturgical celebration of evolution by natural selection. 4. http://www.discovery.org/csc/ At the other end of the theological spectrum, this is the website of the Discovery Institute, devoted to opposing Darwinism and promoting ,intelligent design' (ID). Controversially, it presents ID as a scientific theory, rather than a religious doctrine. 5. http://www.asa3.org/ Somewhere between the Clergy Letter Project and the Discovery Institute lies the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA). The ASA ,does not take a position when there is honest disagreement between Christians', so it embraces a variety of perspectives. Sample Syllabus The following could form the basis for a graduate seminar on religion and science, focusing on the Darwinian controversies. One could, for instance, devote two classes to each of these topics. 1. The Draper-White Thesis I recommend reading extracts from the two writers thought to be responsible for the conflict thesis, to establish what each actually said. John William Draper, The History of the Conflict between Religion and Science, International Scientific Series 13 (London: Henry S. King & Co., 1875), chap. 8. Andrew Dickson White, A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom (1896; New York, NY: Dover Publications, 1960), vol. 1, chap. 1. 2. Criticism of the Draper-White Thesis Either of the following readings from historians critical of Draper and White's work would be a useful starting point for discussion. James R. Moore, The Post-Darwinian Controversies: A Study of the Protestant Struggle to Come to Terms with Darwin in Great Britain and America, 1870,1900 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), chap. 1. David N. Livingstone, ,Re-placing Darwinism and Christianity', in David C. Lindberg and Ronald L. Numbers (eds.), When Science and Christianity Meet, pp. 183,202 (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2003). 3. The Incompatibility Thesis Many authors attempt to show that Darwinism and Christianity and compatible. But it would be useful to examine Pope John Paul II's statement on this topic, along with some responses by biologists and philosophers. John Paul II, ,The Pope's Message on Evolution and Four Commentaries', The Quarterly Review of Biology, 72:4 (1997): 375,406. 4. The Evidential Thesis Students might enjoy reading and discussing the following article by a leading evolutionary biologist. George C. Williams, ,Mother Nature Is a Wicked Old Witch', in Matthew H. Nitecki and Doris V. Nitecki (eds.), Evolutionary Ethics, 217,31 (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1993). 5. The Replacement Thesis This is an important but often neglected book. Students would benefit from reading at least the first chapter. Neal C. Gillespie, Charles Darwin and the Problem of Creation (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1979), chap. 1. 6. The Faith and Reason Thesis The following article by a well-known historian and philosopher of science touches on some of the key issues. Ernan McMullin, ,Evolution and Special Creation', Zygon 28:3 (1993): 299,335. Focus Questions 1There exist many Christian thinkers who accept Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Does that mean there is no conflict between Darwinism and Christianity? 2Taken at face value, Genesis 1,3 tells the story of the origins of the world and of human beings. What aspects of that story would you consider essential to the Christian faith? 3If we have an entirely natural explanation of the origins of complex living organisms, do we still have reasons to believe in a creator God? 4If God could have created complex living beings by a simple command, why would he choose a lengthy and wasteful process such as natural selection? 5Could a Christian regard the existence of God in the same way as a scientific hypothesis, that is to say, to be accepted only in so far as it is supported by the evidence? Seminar Activity I would suggest a debate, in which students sympathetic to the creationist position are asked to defend Darwin's theory, while students sympathetic to evolution are asked to argue against it. [source]

GLOBAL JUSTICE AND THE LIMITS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

THE PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 221 2005
Dale Dorsey
To a great extent, recent discussion of global obligations has been couched in the language of human rights. I argue that this is a mistake. If, as many theorists have supposed, a normative theory applicable to obligations of global justice must also respect the needs of justice internal to recipient nations, any such theory cannot take human rights as an important moral notion. Human rights are inapplicable for the domestic justice of poor nations, and thus cannot form a plausible basis for international justice. Instead, I propose an alternative basis, a form of welfarist maximizing consequentialism. My alternative is superior to rights-based theories in dealing with the special problems of justice found in poor nations. [source]

A note on boundary-layer friction in baroclinic cyclones

THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 629 2007
I. A. Boutle
Abstract The interaction between extratropical cyclones and the underlying boundary layer has been a topic of recent discussion in papers by Adamson et al. (2006) and Beare (2007). Their results emphasize different mechanisms through which the boundary-layer dynamics may modify the growth of a baroclinic cyclone. By using different sea-surface temperature distributions and comparing the low-level winds, the differences are exposed and both of the proposed mechanisms appear to be acting within a single simulation. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society [source]

Mutual, non-profit or public interest company?

ANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2002
An evaluation of options for the ownership, control of water utilities
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate various organizational models for the ownership and control of natural monopolies , specifically the infrastructure of water and sewage provision in England and Wales. First, it summarizes recent discussion of who should own water assets in Britain. The paper notes the opportunity that has arisen for increased consumer involvement, and examines the relative merits of three models that have been suggested as alternatives: a non-profit trust or company, a public interest company, and a consumer mutual. Five criteria are suggested for evaluating the merits of each type: its ability to safeguard the interests of the most important stakeholder, the consumer; avoid the necessity for a heavy regulatory regime; incentivize management to manage efficiently but without ,producer capture'; raise capital relatively cheaply; and resist pressures to demutualize. The paper agrees with the recent paper in this Journal by Morse (2000) that, in theory, the consumer mutual has advantages. It draws on Hansmann's work that suggests consumer ownership of water would be less costly than investor-ownership, providing there are no large conflicts of interest between different types of consumer. Hansmann's thesis is expanded to consider the likely benefits from wider member participation, and the hidden costs of not taking members into account. It then tests out whether customers would be motivated in practice to be active members, introducing a theoretical model of what motivates members of co-operatives and mutuals to participate. The conclusions are that provided managers and board members are committed to encouraging member participation, the consumer mutual model would work well. It would need only light regulation, would avoid producer capture, and would be able to raise capital fairly easily, both from money markets and from members. It would need legislation to prevent it from being demutualized at some time in the future. However, if a participatory corporate culture cannot be guaranteed, or if there is a risk of decline of participation over time, other options such as a non-profit trust or a public interest company would be less risky. [source]

Beyond the regional lifeworld against the global systemworld: towards a relational ,scalar perspective on spatial,economic development

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2002
Arnoud Lagendijk
Recent writings in economic geography have questioned the way the literature has featured the regional scale in discussing issues of innovation and economic competitiveness, and called for a different conceptualization of scale. This paper takes up the challenge to go beyond what is called the ,regional gaze', by presenting a critical review of the regionalist literature and outlining an alternative approach. The critique of the ,regional gaze' is developed in two steps: first, by discussing the influence of strategic management discourse; and second, by invoking the twin concepts of lifeworld,systemworld. This critical account results in identifying various windows for elaborating an alternative conceptualization of the relationship between economic development and space. A first alternative is found in the dimension of the ,non,local' or ,extra,local', but the significance of these notions is considered to be limited. Drawing on recent work on scaling and the ,politics of scale', a relational,scalar approach is proposed that focuses on the question of how scalar qualities are socially produced and contested. What is called for is a geographical imagination that sees innovation and economic competitiveness as braced on spatialized networks rather than bounded territories scaled at the regional level. An illustration of how such a perspective may be elaborated is found in recent discussions on the concept of ,global production networks'. [source]

Political Macroeconomics: A Survey of Recent Developments

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 5 2000
Manfred Gärtner
The paper surveys political macroeconomics, covering its development from Rogoff's conservative central banker to the most recent discussions of monetary policy and institutional design. Topics include the inflation-stabilization trade-off, central bank independence with escape clauses and overruling with costs, inflation targets, performance contracts for monetary authorities, and the consequences of output persistence for these issues. Further topics are the political business cycle when output is persistent, the political macroeconomics of fiscal policy, the government spending bias, and the game-theoretic interaction between fiscal and monetary policy. All work is discussed within a coherent analytical framework. [source]

SLOW CITIES: SUSTAINABLE PLACES IN A FAST WORLD

JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2006
HEIKE MAYER
ABSTRACT:,This article examines the Slow Food and Slow City movement as an alternative approach to urban development that focuses on local resources, economic and cultural strengths, and the unique historical context of a town. Following recent discussions about the politics of alternative economic development, the study examines the Slow City movement as a strategy to address the interdependencies between goals for economic, environmental, and equitable urban development. In particular, we draw on the examples of two Slow Cities in Germany,Waldkirch and Hersbruck, and show how these towns are retooling their urban policies. The study is placed in the context of alternative urban development agendas as opposed to corporate-centered development. We conclude the article by offering some remarks about the institutional and political attributes of successful Slow Cities and the transferability of the concept. [source]

Sensual, material, and technological understanding: exploring prehistoric soundscapes in south India

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 2 2007
Nicole Boivin
Recent years have witnessed an increased interest within archaeology in the non-visual senses, and particularly sound. To date, however, most studies have focused on the evidence for musical instruments and the acoustic properties of special structures and spaces, like monuments and caves. This study reports on further evidence for special musical activities at the prehistoric site of Sanganakallu-Kupgal in south India, but then also moves on to a discussion of the acoustic dimension of more mundane Neolithic technological and productive activities, like flint-knapping, axe-grinding, and crop production. It focuses on the evidence for links between such activities at Sanganakallu-Kupgal, based on shared material, gestural, and acoustic properties, and argues that the hammering of ringing rocks to make music was only one aspect of a wider Southern Neolithic cultural propensity to address technological and ritual requirements by applying stone against stone. The article attempts to bring to recent discussions of the senses an awareness of the materiality of sensory experience, which, despite recent interest in the body, remains marginalized in theoretical accounts. [source]

Fair Copy: Protecting Access to Scientific Information in Post-War Britain

THE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 2 2010
Brad Sherman
This paper extends recent discussions about copyright and the public domain by looking at attempts in post-war Britain to promote access to scientific information. More specifically, it concentrates on the Royal Society's Fair Copy Declaration (1950) and the related library copying provisions introduced in the Copyright Act 1956, which were designed to protect access to information. While the UK library copying provisions were presented as an expanded version of the Fair Copy Declaration recast in a statutory format, we show that the library copying provisions reflected a specific way of thinking about creation, production and distribution that differed markedly from those that underpinned the Fair Copy Declaration. We also argue that the logic of creation reflected in the library copying provisions shaped copyright law over the course of the twentieth century and beyond. [source]