Provisional Assessment Research Articles

Theories of Crime and Crimes of Theorists

Social science scholarship is increasingly addressing the dynamics of gender, race and class in various institutional contexts. Criminological research is no exception to this trend. Within the criminological sciences, postmodern research is also gaining greater attention and respectability. Notwithstanding the discipline's recent emphasis on postmodernity and cultural plurality, little attention has been given to criminological theory and how the voice of and way of knowing for women, minorities and the poor are represented within its own discourse. This article represents one preliminary step in that direction. At issue is the psychic configuration of criminological reality. Our method of analysis incorporates the conceptual tools of Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic theory, especially his reliance on several topological constructs. We argue that Lacan's complex social system provides us with the interpretative tools necessary to examine theories of crime as a manifestation of culture and the psychological roots of cultural inclusivity embedded within its discourse. Our provisional assessment suggests that while criminology offers important insights relevant to gender, race and class, it has essentially failed to make sense of these differences within its own theoretical language. We argue that this is because the language of modernist (and premodernist) criminology is already prestructured (psychically encoded) to exclude these differences.

Ghana's PNDC regime: a provisional assessment

Even today, President Rawlings of Ghana often departs from his prepared public speeches to perorate on the aims and achievements of the 31 December 1981 'revolution'. Whilst it is understandable that such epiphanies should elicit yawns from much of his audience, it is equally the case that any balanced assessment of the PNDC regime must be grounded in an accurate historical appreciation of the significance and potentialities of the events of that period and in a truly comparative perspective. This was, after all, at least a quasi-revolutionary situation, Ghana's equivalent in many respects of the French revolution. Old hierarchies and patterns of social deference had largely broken down; the military rank and file were out of control, roaming the streets, refusing to obey commanding officers; the organs of people's power were dispensing their own brand of 'revolutionary justice' and challenging established authorities for control both at the workplace and in the community. Central government was in a state of virtual paralysis for a time and there was a very real threat of anarchy. As in other revolutionary situations, any reasonably stable regime which emerged from this vacuum of authority was bound to be fairly highly authoritarian. The remarkable outcome, arguably, was that it did not turn out to be more so. For all the neo-Marxists' angry attacks on the PNDC regime from a supposedly radical democratic position, they themselves could only have presided over a far more viciously repressive regime if they had succeeded in wresting power from Rawlings. With their lack of any very widespread popularity outside the urban centres, their insistence on practising 'class warfare', and their advocacy of policies that would have pushed Ghana into an economic abyss, what else could they conceivably have done?

Provisional Assessment of Effect of Expansive Rainwater Storage in Urbanized Area

Rainwater storage system is one of the effective measures for preventing serious flood dameges in an urbanized area. In this paper, after discussing about the contribution of existence of the water storage to relieving extreme urban climate, a method for provisional assessment of effect of the storage system is presented. In order to get some fundamental information for a future plan of river channel construction and administrative arrangement in an urbanized catchment, a set of systematic simulations of runoff discharge in conditions of various distributed patterns of rainwater storage by using the kinematic-dynamic model are carried out.

L'assistance financière à l'Europe centrale et orientale : le programme Phare

Financial assistance to central and eastern Europe : the Phare Programme. The G24 assistance effort has been a significant attempt by the industrialised countries to help the transformation of the economies and societies of central and eastern Europe. However the lack of effective coordination between the 24 donors has meant that the impact of the whole effort on the transformation process has only been marginal. The. European Union's assistance has consisted of grants, balance-of-payments loans and structural loans from the European Investment Bank. The most visible element has been the Phare Programme, which has committed around ECU 6,5 billion over the last six years. Whereas other donors are running down their assistance programmes to the region because the first stage of the transformation process is well advanced, the Union's assistance is growing as it prepares to admit the associated countries to membership. An assessment of the Phare Programme has not been completed yet by the European Commission. Although many initiatives have been started in the region by Phare, a provisional assessment suggests that the programme could certainly have been run more efficiently. Many of the problems stem from the multi-national nature of the programme and the desire of the Union's financial control authorities to control expenditure closely. More recently political control has been somewhat reinforced, which again will slow Programme implementation. With accession only a few years away for the most advanced associated countries, it would seem opportune to begin the process of turning Phare into a real pre- accession structural fund. This makes sense from a consideration of the needs of the associated countries and from the point of view of training these countries' administrations to deal with structural funds. While such a proposal will meet opposition from interested parties within and outside the Commission, it would provide more effective assistance at lower administrative cost and would be an important step on the road to enlargement.

REPRESENTING CUSTOMERS’INTERESTS: THE CASE OF THE PRIVATIZED WATER INDUSTRY IN ENGLAND AND WALES

Privatization has been one of the most important and controversial policy initiatives to emerge in the UK over the last decade. However, to date there has been little attempt to assess the impact of privatization on customers, despite the fact that much of the justification for the privatization of the public utilities was couched in terms of the benefits it would bring for customers. In the case of the water industry opportunities for competition are virtually non‐existent, and the ten regional water authorities were privatized with their monopoly position intact. Consequently customers’interests have been represented and protected through new regulatory arrangements operated by the Office of Water Services. The purpose of this article is to offer some provisional assessment of the effectiveness of these new regulatory arrangements. In doing so, the article regards the model of private sector consumer sovereignty as inappropriate given the continued absence of competitive arrangements for the representation of customers’interests against some of the criteria currently being discussed in the development of more consumer‐oriented approaches to the delivery of public services.

Wetland Hydrological Vulnerability and the Use of Classification Procedures: a Scottish Case Study

Wetland types can be related to the relative importance of the climatological, surface-water and groundwater variable found in the wetland water balance equation. Using this assumption a 12-fold hydrological classification that includes ombrotrophic, rheotrophic, minerotrophic and omnitrophic wetland types is proposed. Each wetland class can also be assigned a hydrological vulnerability to a number of man's activities and various types of water pollution. Using Scottish Natural Heritage data, compiled in relation to designation of Scottish Sites of Special Scientific Interest with a wetland component, the classification was tested to assess its usefulness as first stage in wetland hydrological vulnerability assessment. Despite limited site-specific data, each of 399 wetland were fairly confidently assigned to one of the 12 classes and thus a provisional assessment of its hydrological vulnerability could be made. It is believed that this classification may have universal application as a first stage in the generalized approach to wetland hydrological vulnerability assessment recently proposed by Lloyd et al. (1991; Journal of Environmental Management 37, 87-102), particularly if it can be linked to a simple lumped hydrological model to test the sensitivity of individual wetlands within any given class.

New Zealand’s Bill of Rights: A Provisional Assessment

New Zealand’s Bill of Rights: A Provisional Assessment

Fall and recovery of the Noblesville (Indiana, U.S.A.) H chondrite

Abstract We describe the circumstances of fall of a 0.5‐kg meteorite that landed in Noblesville, Indiana, USA, 3.6 m in front of two witnesses on 1991 August 31. Provisional assessment of Noblesville as an H chondrite is confirmed by data reported elsewhere which demonstrate that it is a regolith breccia with unusual properties.

European and Asian papers in Malay manuscripts; A provisional assessment

European and Asian papers in Malay manuscripts; A provisional assessment

The Seigneurial Domestic Buildings of Brittany: A Provisional Assessment

Since 1983 a multi-disciplinary survey of buildings of the manor-house type in the historic duchy of Brittany has been undertaken. The present paper presents provisional results, chiefly based on work up to the 1987 season in two of the five modern départements of the province: Côtes-du-Nord and Ille-et-Vilaine. After a brief historical introduction discussing the political and social context of the manoirs, their relationship to earlier seigneurial dwellings such as motte-and-bailey castles or maisons-fortes, their origins and numbers are considered. Then the different forms of the manorial ensemble and existing types of building are surveyed, highlighting those where detailed archival, archaeological and dendrochronological studies have been carried out. The survey has brought to light a small number of standard forms originating in the Middle Ages. Their main features and variants are described and the general architectural evolution of this class of building down to the Renaissance is traced, concluding with a limited commentary on the broader historical context.

Entitlements and the Wollo Famine of 1982–1985

The traglic recent events in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa have again foccussed attention on the different anaytical approaches to the problems iof famine. Perhaps the most important analytical contribution to this field has been Sen's “entitlements approach.” One of the case studies Sen used to articulate this approach was of the 1972–1973 famine in Wollo Province, Ethiopia. This article provides a provisional assessment of the famine process in the Wollo during 1982–1985 to set against the analysis by Sen of the earlier famine. Some striking contrasts are revealed.

The Role of Ecotones in the Distribution of Andean Birds

This is the final paper of a five—part series on the distribution of birds in the Apurimac Valley of Peru. In one of the previous papers, I classified the upper and lower limits of avian distribution in the Cordillera Vilcabamba, Peru, as follows: (1) those that abutted on the range of a congener (presumably evidence of competitive exclusion), (2) those that approximately coincided with an ecotone, and (3) all others. A test of the limits presumptively enforced by competitive exclusion has previously been published. The present study involved limits in the second of these categories. For a set of 47 bird species whose limits (16 upper, 31 lower) coincided with the montane rain forest—cloud forests ecotone on the Vilcabamaba control transect, I determined whether, as predicted, the species expanded or contracted their distributions in localities in which the homologous ecotones were displaced upward or downward relative to the control elevation. Where the ecotone was displaced away from species' center of distribution (e.g., downward for species whose lower limits coincided with the ecotone on the control transect), 36 of 41 species (88%) were found to have expanded their distributions. This result upholds the provisional assessment of the ecotone as a distributional barrier to these species in the control locality. Where the ecotone was shifted toward species' centers of distribution, 43 out of 44 species (98%) had failed to contract fully in distribution; they were found on the other side of the ecotone, in what had been predicted to be alien habitat. This result was not anticipated. It is illustrative of a tendency of species to occupy a greater range of habitats near to vs. far from their centers of distribution. I also found that widespread Andean bird species had expanded distributions, in both upward and downward directions, in the biogeographically isolated Cordillera de la Costa of Venezuela. Reduced avian species diversity in this range relative to the main Andean chain appears to have led to a general relaxation of distributional restraints. Combining the results reported here with those presented in previous publications, I conclude that direct and diffuse competitive exclusion account for about two—thirds of the distributional limits of Andean birds, ecotones for about one—sixth, and unspecified factors that vary in parallel with the environmental gradient for the remaining one—sixth. Competitive exclusion emerges as the factor of overriding importance in the exceedingly diverse Andean fauna. In contrast, in temperature mountains, ecotones play a predominant role in limiting distributions, and competitive interactions are far less important.

The Distribution of Somerset Roof-Tiles in Brittany: A Provisional Assessment

AbstractResults of recent fieldwork show that significant quantities of Bridgwater tiles, manufactured by Colthurst, Symons & Co. Ltd., were imported into northern Brittany during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Their surviving distribution is largely confined to the northern Cotes-du-Nord where they testify to an important phase of roof-covering between the almost universal roofing with thatch and the now ubiquitous slate covering. The presence of these tiles is a further example of trading and cultural links across the western seaways which have existed since prehistoric times.

The Distribution of Somerset Roof-Tiles in Brittany: A Provisional Assessment

Results of recent fieldwork show that significant quantities of Bridgwater tiles, manufactured by Colthurst, Symons & Co. Ltd., were imported into northern Brittany during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Their surviving distribution is largely confined to the northern Côtes-du-Nord where they testify to an important phase of roof-covering between the almost universal roofing with thatch and the now ubiquitous slate covering. The presence of these tiles is a further example of trading and cultural links across the western seaways which have existed since prehistoric times.

The Earlier Prehistoric Settlement of Cranborne Chase-the First Results of Current Fieldwork

SummaryThis paper offers a provisional assessment of the development of settlement in part of Cranborne Chase between the Mesolithic and the Late Bronze Age. It builds upon the results of Pitt Rivers' work in this region between 1880 and 1900, as well as more recent excavation and field survey. Special emphasis is placed on three factors: the relationship between activity in this area and settlement both in central Wessex and on the coastal plain; the place of the more prominent ‘public’ monuments in contemporary patterns of settlement and exchange; and the relationship between cemeteries and contemporary living sites. We present the first results from the extensive excavation of two Deverel-Rimbury enclosures and associated barrows, and a new analysis of Pitt Rivers' work on the urnfield at Handley Barrow 24.

Conventional and Distance Education in a French Provincial University: A Modern Form of Personal Private Tuition

In this short article, I intend, first to examine how the creation of a distance education department in a traditional university has been viewed and accomplished by its staff. Then, after discussing how this unexpected 'grafting' has taken root, with special emphasis on the development of a 'symbiotic' relationship between lecture theatre and distance education, I shall attempt to identify certain important aspects for the teacher of this two-pronged system. The Universite de Toulouse le Mirail enrols some 9ooo students in those areas of instruction served by the Distance Education Department, about 3000 of whom are rarely present at lectures or tutorials. Adopted as a starting point at the university has been the principle that this one student in every three ought to have the same lecturer and acquire the same level of knowledge as his more 'dedicated' student acquaintances. Living far from the university or any of many other possible material difficulties ought not to prevent him or her from bringing to the same courses of study the commitment expected of those able to attend teaching sessions regularly. This may be hazardous in so far as it is demonstrably easier to visualize a special curriculum for the ostensibly less assiduous, involving specialized teachers, suitably adapted courses and so on. Convinced that this strategy could eventually lead to an appreciable devaluation of the university's qualifications and to the onset of substandard education or of a 'fringe' group of under-educated students, the university decided in no way to distinguish between the 'zealous' or absent student, either in regard to allocation of teachers or examination assessment. Now yielding beneficial results, commitment to this approach has been maintained, although not without considerable effort. It is not intended here to dwell either on the material circumstances involved, since these are similar to those encountered in other comparable establishments, or on the institutional problems which this kind of system can create for an administrative framework not really designed to accommodate it. It is intended, instead, to focus essentially on the teachers, their general reaction to the novelty of the system and the difficulties they have had to overcome in adjusting to it, while attempting also a provisional assessment of the experiment both from the teaching and scientific points of view.

The Ethos of Science Revisited

This chapter is a critical examination of the growing literature dealing with the normative structure of scientific practice. More specifically, my intention is to analyze the presuppositions of Robert Merton’s original formulation of the ethos of science and—the critiques of his position, thereby arriving at a provisional assessment of the current status of the theory of the normative structure of science. The critiques may be divided into four major issues; (1) the extent to which the norms of science are peculiar to science; (2) the actual conduct of scientists in various organizational and historical contexts and the extent to which their conduct is governed by the norms of science; (3) the ‘morality’ of the moral imperatives of science; and (4) the relation between the scientific ethos and the development of scientific knowledge.

Soil types and direct drilling—a provisional assessment

An attempt has been made, for British conditions, to identify the soil conditions and characters which influence the long term success of direct drilling and a provisional “probability of success” classification of soils for direct drilling under practical field conditions has been constructed. It is emphasized that, in the field, the final result in terms of crop yield depends upon the interaction of a three-component system involving climatic and management factors as well as soil factors.

The Performance of the Cuban Revolution: A Provisional Assessment

Is the Cuban Revolution “good?” This essay seeks to assess the performance of the Cuban revolutionary government as it prepares for its fifteenth birthday in January, 1974.We will evaluate the revolutionary government’s performance on eight basic values of social life identified by Harold Lasswell and Abraham Kaplan, as modified partly by Karl Deutsch, and further modified for the purposes of this essay. Power is the participation in decisions about severe sanctions or the capacity to change the probability of outcomes. Enlightenment involves knowledge, insight, and access to information. Skill is the proficiency in the practice of any arts and crafts, in trades, or professions. Wealth is income, including both goods and services. Well-being includes both health and safety. Deference includes status, honor, recognition, prestige, glory, or reputation. Rectitude comprises moral values: virtue, goodness, righteousness, etc. Affection includes both love and friendship.

The Notched Lap Joint in England

The appended list 'A' of 31 monuments, none of which are vernacular, in which radiocarbon-dated or approximately dateable notched lap-joints exist, comprises only those buildings examined by myself-plus one reported by Dr. Fletcher recently which I have not seen. It should provide a beginning for the compilation of a group index of such joints, as well as for the further study of them and the refinement of their dating significance. Where the list cites: 'Doc'. after the ascription, published information is readily available-I do not claim to have read any contemporary documentation myself. It appears from a provisional assessment of these examples and of their distribution that they were imported into England by the Norman conquerors in c.l066 and that they were at that time of the 'archaic' form which led to mechanical failures such as were published for the Navestock belfry.! The shape of the notch (a term significantly derived from· O. French, see Q.E.D.) was, as a result of failures, refined, apparently by the time of example No.8, and in these examples t.he notch is given a gradual 'entry.' which buttresses its bearingsurface. I have never seen an example of the refined joint that had failed in its function. Ultimately, and apparently at Wells Cathedral, this refined form of the joint was given its 'secret' form; this aimed solely to deceive since it inevitably looks withdrawable-which in fact it is not. It must be emphasised that the joint was substantially weaker when secret, since less volume of timber was involved in functioning; and for the benefit of doubting or incredulous scholars it must also be emphasised that colleges teaching handicraft at this time continue to instruct in such deceitful joints-and the cabinet-making trade continues to use them. A contemporary example of this practice is the 'secret, mitred, lap-dovetail', which when assembled gives the appearance of a mitred abutment which has no more strength than its glue-an appearance far from the truth. In this form few examples are known, and it cannot have been anything more than a passing fashion, and an expression of