Interlocking directorships and trans-national linkages within the British Empire, 1900–1930

Recent research has highlighted the value of employing the idea of networks to describe the interrelatedness of today's globalizing economy. Networks facilitate flows of knowledge, ideas, managerial techniques and capital between firms both within and across political borders. This paper argues that the reconstruction of social connections through which information is created, given value and exchanged is fundamental to an understanding of not only contemporary but also historical patterns of economic globalization. We focus on the networks of the capitalist elite running 12 major multinational enterprises, active across British imperial territories, between c .1900 and c .1930. An examination is made of the economic and spatial interlocks between firms created by board members who were multiple directors. Social underpinnings of multiple directorates are examined by exploring the common, overlapping social spheres within which individuals engaged. A clearer grasp of the ways in which corporate activity operated in the early 1900s can provide a better understanding of the social context of global economic operations.     

1979—2015 年罗斯海海冰运动速度变化

基于美国冰雪数据中心的月平均海冰运动和海冰密集度数据, 建立了1979—2015 年罗斯海海冰运动 速度时间变化序列, 揭示了海冰运动速度的年际和季节变化特征, 探讨了海冰运动速度和海冰范围之间可 能存在的联系, 最后对影响海冰运动速度变化的因素进行了分析。结果表明, 1979—2015 年罗斯海海冰运动 速度总体呈现加快趋势, 海冰运动速度增加趋势最快的季节为秋季, 其次是冬季、春季和夏季。冬季海冰平 均运动速度最大, 依次是秋季、春季和夏季。海冰运动速度与海冰范围在37 年间均呈现上升趋势, 海冰范 围变化滞后海冰运动速度1—2 个月, 两者呈显著正相关关系, 海冰运动速度的增加导致罗斯海海冰范围不 断扩张, 进而影响南极整体海冰分布。罗斯海海冰运动速度与风速之间存在显著正相关关系, 风场是影响海 冰运动速度的一个直接因素。除此之外, 海冰运动还受到包括气压场、洋流场以及海洋阻力系数等的影响。     

"VALUING THE TROPICS": DISCOURSES OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE FARM AND FOREST SECTORS OF FRENCH INDOCHINA, circa 1900–40

The paper examines how land and forest management policies were elaborated in French Indochina circa 1900–40. It places their development in the context of a scientific and economic discourse about the value of land and forest resources, the most appropriate ways in which they might be exploited and the relationship between colonial science and indigenous knowledge. By focusing on debates and laws relating to the development of small‐scale and plantation farming systems (Land Code legislations) and forest management and exploitation (Forest Code legislations) the paper seeks to ground arguments about Western conceptions of the “tropics” within a discussion of national policy development and impacts. Focusing primarily on Cochinchina and Annam (southern and central Vietnam) and drawing on materials from French archives, the paper shows how changes in both attitudes and legislation have had lasting consequences on systems of property rights in forest management and on the place and status of indigenous peoples in Indochina.     

Evidence for marine transgression between 7500–5400BC at the Luotuodun Site in Yixing, Jiangsu Province

Based on archaeological excavations, 217 samples were collected from the Luotuodun Site. Of them 63 samples from the section plane of the site layer were used for identification analysis of foraminifera, plant debris and seed fossils, and four samples were used for 14C dating and relevant analysis. Through many kinds of experiments, we have drawn some conclusions. Firstly, benthic foraminifera, such as Ammonia compressiuscula and Ammonia cff. sobrina, are found in the 10th layer, indicating that between 7500 and 5400 BC, i.e. before the emergence of the Majiabang Culture, Luotuodun Site and its nearby regions had ever experienced a marine transgression event. Secondly, we have found 450 plant fossils in this site, such as Polygonum sp., Scripus sp., Najas sp., Physalis sp., which indicated lacustrine or swamp environment.