Circumscription by Anthropogenic Environmental Destruction: An Expansion of Carneiro's (1970) Theory of the Origin of the State

1987 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 709-716
Author(s):  
D. Bruce Dickson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
The State ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Environmental Destruction ◽  
Early States ◽  
Fixed Set ◽  
Changing Patterns

Carneiro (1970) asserts that social and environmental "circumscription" were primary stimuli for the emergence of the archaic state. He presents the environment as an essentially fixed set of natural conditions which impose constraints upon society. However, paleoenvironmental research and contemporary experience indicate that desertification, deforestation, salinization, and other salient environmental conditions confronting early states were neither fixed nor natural, but apparently dynamic products of direct human ecological intervention. This paper reviews evidence from southern Mesopotamia and suggests that Carneiro's thesis be amended to include changing patterns of "artificial" circumscription brought about by anthropogenic environmental destruction.

Areal Decrease, Density Increase, and Circumscription: A Mathematical Note

1990 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 546-549
Author(s):  
Robert Bates Graber
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
The State ◽  
Density Increase ◽  
Population Pressure ◽  
Mathematical Note ◽  
Environmental Destruction ◽  
Early States ◽  
Sociocultural Evolution ◽  
Southwestern Iran ◽  
Nonstate Societies

Population density increases whenever a population grows more rapidly, or shrinks more slowly, than the area it inhabits; areal contraction therefore accelerates density increase. This consideration not only reinforces Dickson's (1987) suggestion that circumscription by anthropogenic environmental destruction contributed to the rise of some early states; it also implies that rate of density increase should be distinguished, as a motor of sociocultural evolution, from density itself. In light of this distinction the rise of the state in southwestern Iran, and occasional instances of high density among nonstate societies, are not necessarily inconsistent with population-pressure theories.

METHOD OF COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF OPTIONS FOR JOINT USE OF TRADITIONAL AND NEW TYPES OF HIGH-TECH PRODUCTS

2019 ◽  
pp. 100-107
Author(s):  
A. M. Batkovsky ◽  
A. V. Leonov ◽  
A. Yu. Pronin ◽  
A. V. Fomina
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Evaluation ◽  
New Products ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
The State ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Pareto Optimal ◽  
Fixed Set ◽  
The Law

In conditions of limited financial resources of the state, the task of assessing the appropriateness and choosing rational options for the joint use of traditional and new types of high-tech products is topical. The paper proposes a method for substantiating rational options for the joint use of traditional and new products of high-tech products, based on the criteria of their comparative technical and economic assessment, namely, comparing the achieved efficiency and the required cost of performing a fixed set of tasks. The dialectical foundations of the method are presented, in particular, it is established that the law of development of high-tech products fully corresponds to the well-known classical law of «denial of denial». The structure of the method, the order of formation of the set of Pareto-optimal options for the joint use of traditional and new products, as well as the algorithm for choosing a rational option are considered.

A New Look at Child Health

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 636-636
Author(s):  
THOMAS E. CONE
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Child Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
New Look

This little paperback book is a gem which may escape the attention of readers on this side of the Atlantic because it deals mainly with the state of contemporary pediatrics in Great Britain. For us not to be aware of this book would be a mistake; many of the problems and shortcomings which Drs. Joseph and MacKeith discuss are equally germane to the United States. The authors attempt to define in 11 chapters such elusive things as just what pediatrics really is, what are the crucial current problems, how the changing patterns of death and morbidity in childhood have altered the demands on pediatricians, and—throughout the book as a leitmotiv—how to make medical students and physicians more aware of preventive aspects of medicine.

Institutional Transformation and Changing Networking Patterns in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianjun Zhang ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Yanlong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Firm Growth ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
The State ◽  
Institutional Transformation ◽  
Network Ties ◽  
Institutional Embeddedness ◽  
Network Investment ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTDrawing insights from the institutional embeddedness perspective, this article explores the changing patterns and significance of two types of strategic networking along with the institutional transformation in China. Using two-wave survey data on Chinese private firms, we find that after the state relaxed its control of resources the importance of networking with the state tends to decline, while ties with market actors become increasingly important. Determinants of network investment have shifted from managers’ perceived importance of different types of network ties to a firm's immediate institutional environment. Finally, the impact of networking on firm growth has also altered over time. These findings advance our understanding of the crucial role of the institutional environment in shaping firms’ networking strategies and have important theoretical and practical implications.

Environmental Conditions in TT 209, Luxor. The Case of a Theban Tomb Subject to Periodic Flooding

2019 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-125
Author(s):  
Miguel Ángel Molinero Polo ◽  
Vicente Soler Javaloyes
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Archaeological Work ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Collection Temperature ◽  
Periodic Flooding

TT 209 was built in a wadi, a location that means it has been affected by flash floods since ancient times. The team in charge of its study and conservation has initiated a systematic programme of environmental data collection (temperature and relative humidity) in order to understand the natural conditions of the tomb and any transformations caused by archaeological work in its underground chambers, as well as to inform future conservation. These statistics can also be useful for excavation and conservation programmes in nearby tombs whose architectonic structure is similar and have also suffered from exposure to water damage.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Egg Deposition of the European Mantis

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-49
Author(s):  
Joanna Kajzer-Bonk
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Egg Deposition ◽  
Predatory Insect ◽  
Egg Case ◽  
Potential Tool

In this paper, we studied the egg-case (oothecae) deposition of the European mantis, Mantis religiosa (Linnaeus 1758), a predatory insect. We hypothesized that the height of ootheca deposition on a plant reflects the insolation requirements of the species, and would increase when plant cover is denser. We found that the taller the plants nearby, the greater the height of egg deposition. Oothecae were also oviposited higher in denser vegetation. The observed behavior may ensure the proper insolation of developing offspring. To our knowledge, this is the first description of an egg laying strategy of this species under natural conditions. This finding allows for a better understanding of habitat selection and the overall ecology of the European mantis. It may be also useful in identifying the mechanisms of the range extension of this species and is a potential tool to effectively conserve xerothermic ootheca-laying animals. Further studies are required to assess the flexibility of this behavior under different environmental conditions.

Against the Mane: How Barbaric Was the ‘The Golden Age of Barbarians’?

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 712-714
Author(s):  
Joshua Wright
Keyword(s):  
Water Transport ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
The State ◽  
Epidemic Disease ◽  
Tax Collection ◽  
Pastoral Nomads ◽  
Early States ◽  
Nomadic Pastoralists ◽  
Historical Times

Against the Grain is both a wide-ranging voyage of discovery and a regionally focused study of the trajectory of agriculture from its earliest appearance until historical times, coupled with discussion of the mechanisms that maintained early states. For Scott, the state is a fragile entity (pp. 21, 23, 118, 125) based on the production of grain, along with water transport, city walls, tax collection, specialized administrators, monumental centres, kings, social hierarchy, filth, epidemic disease and an insatiable demand for enslaved labour. With such a definition, there is a little hope that the societies of Eurasian pastoral nomads can be seen as anything other than ‘barbarians’ living outside the laws and hierarchies of agricultural states. It is these Eurasian nomadic pastoralists and their relations with the state that will form the focus of this commentary.

Shaping the Ship Yaw Response by the State-Space Feedback Gain

2012 ◽  
Vol 566 ◽  
pp. 515-524
Author(s):  
Ramzi Fraga ◽  
Sheng Liu
Keyword(s):  
State Space ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Pid Controller ◽  
The State ◽  
Feedback Controller ◽  
Feedback Gain ◽  
Simulation Results ◽  
Linear State

Ship autopilots are usually designed based on PID controller because of the simplicity and the ease of construct. However its performance in various environmental conditions is not as good as desired. This disadvantage can be decreased by designing a linear state space feedback controller. This paper presents the utility of the state-space feedback controller to stabilize the system and shaping its response as desired. The simulation results for a 4DOF ship with real parameters show the effectiveness of the feedback controller in comparison with ordinary PID ship autopilots.

scholarly journals Mothers determine offspring size in response to own juvenile growth conditions

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Taborsky
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Effects ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Larval Growth ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Offspring Size ◽  
Juvenile Growth ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Offspring Quality ◽  
Better Than

Through non-genetic maternal effects, mothers can tailor offspring phenotype to the environment in which young will grow up. If juvenile and adult ecologies differ, the conditions mothers experienced as juveniles may better predict their offspring's environment than the adult environment of mothers. In this case maternal decisions about investment in offspring quality should already be determined during the juvenile phase of mothers. I tested this hypothesis by manipulating juvenile and adult maternal environments independently in a cichlid fish. Females raised in a poor environment produced larger young than females raised without food limitations, irrespective of the feeding conditions experienced during adulthood. This maternal boost was due to a higher investment in eggs and to faster larval growth. Apparently, mothers prepare their offspring for similar environmental conditions to those they encountered as juveniles. This explanation is supported by the distribution of these fishes under natural conditions. Juveniles live in a different and much narrower range of habitats than adults. Therefore, the habitat mothers experienced as juveniles will allow them to predict their offspring's environment better than the conditions in the adult home range.

scholarly journals A decision-making framework for safe operations of unmanned aerial vehicles in urban scenarios

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Marcos Quiñones ◽  
Timothy Darrah ◽  
Gautam Biswas ◽  
Chetan Kulkarni
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Trajectory Optimization ◽  
Contingency Management ◽  
The State ◽  
Urban Mobility ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Number Of Factors

This paper presents a decision-making scheme at the level of individual unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with the goal of maintaining safe operations for urban mobility. The decision-making approach for a single UAV will consider the risks associated with the current trajectory given the existing environmental conditions and the state of the vehicle. The proposed scheme combines the analysis of system performance, environmental conditions, and mission level parameters for contingency management, i.e., make a determination on: (1) to abort mission and land safely; (2) re-plan current mission in full or abbreviated form; and (3) change mission.  A path planning and trajectory optimization algorithm with the goal of minimizing the overall risk of mission failure by considering a number of factors such as the uncertainties in the environment and operating state of the vehicle is proposed. We will consider the mission failure as the loss of control of the vehicle resulting in a collision with other objects or a crash into the ground. An offline part of the framework generates an initial mission plan by considering the state of the vehicle, the environmental, conditions, and the static features of a map of the environment. Once the vehicle takes off, the risk of mission’ failure associated with the remaining trajectory is re-computed in an online framework to assess whether re-planning is required or not. A key challenge that we consider in this paper is to study the effects of multiple interacting subsystems of the UAV on system performance, especially under degraded conditions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document