Oxford Research Articles

Katherine Verdery, National Ideology Under Socialism: Identity and Cultural Politics in Ceausescu's Romania. Berkeley & Los Angeles & Oxford: University of California Press, 1991, 406 pp., $39.95 (cloth)

Katherine Verdery, National Ideology Under Socialism: Identity and Cultural Politics in Ceausescu's Romania. Berkeley & Los Angeles & Oxford: University of California Press, 1991, 406 pp., $39.95 (cloth)

Gold in literature

(1992). Gold in literature. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 308-311.

Optimum group size for defending heterogenous distributions of resources: A model applied to red foxes, Vulpes vulpes, in Oxford city

Under some circumstances, group territoriality is thought to be explained by patterns of resource availability, if the smallest economically defensible territory for a minimum social unit (breeding pair) can also sustain additional animals. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are typically solitary carnivores, breeding in pairs, but in urban and suburban areas of Oxford city they live in groups of three to five adults while foraging largely independently. Previous attempts to explain their social behaviour have considered variations in resource availability with time; consideration of spatial heterogeneity alone, however, suggests a simpler explanation in terms of defence costs. We show how group-living can result from competing neighbours maximizing resource acquisition and minimizing defence costs within an environment of fine-scale resource heterogeneity.

Trends in deliberate self poisoning and self injury in Oxford, 1976-90.

To review trends in deliberate self poisoning and self injury (attempted suicide) over 15 years (1976-90) on the basis of general hospital referrals. Prospective data collection by computerised monitoring system. Teaching general hospital. All patients aged 15 and over (n = 9605) referred to the hospital after episodes (n = 13,340) of deliberate self poisoning or self injury. Rates based on population of Oxford city; changes in substances used for self poisoning; history and repetition of attempts; and rates of admission to the hospital and of referral to the psychiatric service. Attempted suicide rates for women declined during the late 1970s and early 1980s but increased again during the late 1980s. Those for men remained relatively steady throughout the period. Highest mean annual rates occurred in women aged 15-19 (711/100,000) and in 20-34 year old men (334/100,000). The proportion of overdoses with paracetamol increased from 14.3% (125/873) in 1976 to 42% (365/869) in 1990 (chi 2 for trend = 481, p less than 0.01). Throughout the period the proportions of referred patients admitted to hospital and of those attempting suicide for the first time (over two thirds) did not decrease. Annual rates of repetition of attempts by women declined from 15.1% (257/1700) in 1976-8 to 11.9% (161/1356) in 1987-9 (chi 2 for trend = 7.8, p less than 0.01). Lower repetition rates occurred in women admitted to hospital and referred to the psychiatric service (431/4585, 9.4%) than in those not referred (42/235, 17.9%; chi 2 = 17.2, p less than 0.0001). Rates of attempted suicide declined in the 1970s and early 1980s, in women, but there are probably at least 100,000 hospital referrals a year in England and Wales because of this problem. Prevention of paracetamol self poisoning requires urgent attention, and psychosocial assessment should be conducted with as many of those who attempt suicide as possible.

Oxford Cryosystems Award During ECM-14

Oxford Cryosystems Award During ECM-14

Oxford Cryosystems Award during ECM-14

Oxford Cryosystems Award during ECM-14

Europe: Population concerns

Democracy and demography come from the same root and both are about the rights of individuals. European parliamentarians at a conference in London on Jan 31 and Feb 1 recommended that much more attention be given to international family planning so that a basic human freedom could be extended to hundreds of millions of the worlds citizens. The UKs all-party Parliamentary group on population and development which hosted the conference has been active since 1979 and the gathering was attended by 38 parliamentarians from 20 European national parliaments and the European Parliament. The conference culminated in a European Agenda for Action on World Population. Recognizing that global population is growing by 25000/day the conference found convincing evidence that more and more people in developing countries did wan smaller families; provided action were taken in the 1990s there was a real opportunity to contain the worlds population at 10 billion or less for the next century. The agenda was drafted by the parliamentarians after reviews of the current situation by Dr. Nafis Sadik (UN undersecretary general and executive director UN Population Fund) Dr. Halfdan Mahler (secretary general International Planned Parenthood Federation) and Prof. Fred Sai (Ghana). Fertility is falling rapidly in many countries but there is a long way to go. The agenda deplores the fact that 1% or less of development assistance worldwide is spend on population policies and family planning activities and that this proportion had dropped form 2% in the early 1970s. In response the parliamentarians committed themselves to trying to persuade their governments to double their commitments by 1995 with a target of $4 billion/year by the year 2000. The relation between population and environmental problems was underscored by Joseph Wheeler who is director of the UN Conference on the Environment and Development that is to be held in Rio de Janeiro later this year and by Sir Crispin Tickell (warden Green College Oxford and former UK representative at the UN). the conference did not play down the disproportionate contribution the industrialized nations make to environmental damage but neither did it deny the importance of the threat of further population growth. A world with twice as many people would be pushing to the limit the capacity of the planet to sustain life and adjust to pollution--and a world with 3 time todays population might damage irreversibly huge areas of the world. The agenda endorsed a Global Commission on Population which would explore many aspects of population change in greater depth. This would be part of the preparation for the 1994 UN International Conference on Population and Development. (full text)

Alan Cawson et al.. Hostile Brothers. Competition and Closure in the European Electronics Industry, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990, 405 s.; Alberto Martinelli, (ed.), International Markets and Global Firms. A Comparative Study of Organized Business in the

Alan Cawson et al.. Hostile Brothers. Competition and Closure in the European Electronics Industry, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990, 405 s.; Alberto Martinelli, (ed.), International Markets and Global Firms. A Comparative Study of Organized Business in the Chemical Industry', London: Sage, 1991, 294 s.

Cultural partnership: The old fire station arts centre, Oxford

Summary This article explains the creation of a partnership between Oxford City Council and Apollo Leisure pic to develop with others a live music and arts centre in Oxford. It puts the development in the context of the City Council's arts and cultural policies and their economic impact. It explains the nature of the partnership, including the finances, management and programming, and the benefits the parties see in the partnership. It also addresses wider policy issues.

E. Grebenik, C. Hohn and R. Mackensen (editors), Later Phases of the Family Cycle: Demographic Aspects. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, ix + 249 pages

E. Grebenik, C. Hohn and R. Mackensen (editors), Later Phases of the Family Cycle: Demographic Aspects. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, ix + 249 pages

Buses: public service or private profit?

By 1969 Devon General had become a division of the National Bus Company. This era was characterised by: strict “quality” regulation, a high degree of centralisation, declining patronage and high levels of subsidy. A more localised management structure was introduced in 1983, and in 1984 the company pioneered the use of high‐frequency 16‐seat urban minibuses. Minibuses now operate all urban services and this new level of customer orientation has revolutionised every aspect of the company's operations, marketing and engineering. The net result has been a massive growth in both passenger numbers (over 2.5 times the pre‐minibus level) and profits. In 1986 Devon General became the first operator to be privatised when the company was sold to its senior management team. More innovations have followed, firstly, new companies have been established to provide minibus services in Oxford City and London Docklands. Secondly, the Oxfordshire rural bus company, South Midland, has been purchased. Thirdly, the loss‐making Devon and Oxfordshire rural services have been replaced with a new network of high‐frequency 25‐seat minicoaches. These services too are now in profit and carrying a growing number of passengers.

The librarian/bibliophile and the antiquarian/op books from the publisher's perspective

John J. Walsdorf took the route of professional librarianship and then bookselling as a career. Jack, as he is most often called, received his Master of Library Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His first professional job was with the Milwaukee Public Library system. He spent a year with the Oxford City Library system in England, where he left librarianship to join the Oxford-based bookselling company of B.H. Blackwell, Ltd., of Oxford, England. Jack's hobbies include reading, writing, antique collecting and book collecting. His major subject collections include William Morris and the Kelmscott Press, T.J. Cobden-Sanderson and the Doves Press, and a number of author collections, including Larry McMurtry, Anne Tyler, Willie Morris, T.J. Wise, August Derleth, Julian Symons, and Charles Dickens. Among his publications are: William Morris: A Descriptive Bibliography of Books by and about William Morris (1983), Ed.; Printers on Morris (1981); Men in Printing: Anglo-American Profiles (1976); A Collector's Choice, William Morris in Private Press in Great Britain (1969); and The Antiquarian Book Trade in Great Britain (1969). He has also been a contributor to other books: Advances in Understanding Approval and Gathering Plans in Academic Libraries (1980), and Shaping Library Collections for the 1980s (1980). Jack is currently working on a bibliography of the major English mystery writer and critic, Julian Symons, due for publication in 1991. His activities as an author and collector have resulted in exhibitions of his collections at such diverse institutions as UCLA, Baylor University, Louisiana State University, University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee, and George Washington University. He is also the only Oregonian to have membership in the Grolier Club of New York City.

The second Oxford workshop on CAD accelerators

The second Oxford workshop on CAD accelerators

Feeding Ecology of Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in the City of Oxford, England

The diet of red foxes ( Vulpes vulpes ) inhabiting the city of Oxford, England, was analyzed from 1,939 feces collected October 1980–February 1984. The dry weight of undigested remains comprised scavenged food (37%), earthworms ( Lumbricus terrestris , 27%), mammals (16%), fruits (9%), birds (8%), other invertebrates (2%), and domestic stock (1%). No single category of food occurred in more than 50% of the samples. Eighty-one types of food were indentified, including five orders of birds, 14 species of small mammals, and 14 species of fruits. The composition of the diet varied monthly and seasonally. Small mammals peaked in late winter, lagomorphs in April, and birds in June; fruits constituted a large proportion of the diet in autumn. Occurrence in feces of fruits, Passeriformes, Coleoptera, and invertebrate larvae correlated strongly with seasonal variations in indices of the abundance of these prey, suggesting that they were taken in proportion to their availability. Columbiformes, lagomorphs, and rodents showed no such direct relationship, indicating that foxes selected for or against these foods in some way not directly related to their abundances as censused.

Non-parametric estimates of interaction from radio-tracking data

Some non-parametric methods of resolving static interaction between the utilizations of two home ranges, and dynamic interaction between the movements of two individuals, are evaluated and shown to be useful tools in the analysis of radio-tracking data on overlapping ranges and concurrently tracked animals. The methods described are independent of sampling intensity and, with few underlying assumptions, they are suitable for quantitative comparisons between different pairs of animals. The interpretive value of analyses of interaction is illustrated with data obtained on the mobile ranges of foxes living in Oxford city.

The Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford

Presentation de la bibliotheque Bodley de l'Universite d'Oxford d'un point de vue historique et organisationnel, debouchant sur les problemes actuels qui rencontrent les grandes et anciennes bibliotheques academiques (finance, espace, conservation...). Un paradoxe est mis en relief: conserver un role de bibliotheque de depot alors que le volume d'information croit de facon exponentielle a l'aube du 21e siecle

Kathleen Gough, Rural Change in Southeast India, 1950s to 1980s. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 1989. pp. 578, $ 29.95 (cloth)

Kathleen Gough, Rural Change in Southeast India, 1950s to 1980s. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 1989. pp. 578, $ 29.95 (cloth)

A note about Charles F. Gore, Bishop of Oxford

A note about Charles F. Gore, Bishop of Oxford

American health care—Realities, rights, and reforms: By C. J. Dougherty. 227 pp. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 1988. ISBN: 0-19-505271-4

American health care—Realities, rights, and reforms: By C. J. Dougherty. 227 pp. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 1988. ISBN: 0-19-505271-4

The B.A. in Japanese at Oxford

The B.A. in Japanese at Oxford