bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Configuration Control of a Mobile Dexterous Robot: Real-Time Implementation and Experimentation
Authors: Lim David , Seraji Homayoun
Published: March 2007

This article describes the design and implementation of a real- time control system with multiple modes of operation for a mobile, dexterous manipulator. The manipulator under study is a kinematically redundant seven-degree-of-freedom arm from Robotics Research Corporation, mounted on a one-degree-of- freedom motorized platform. The manipulator-plus-platform system has two degrees-of-redundancy for the basic task of end-effector placement and orientation. The redundancy reso lution is achieved by accomplishing two additional tasks using the configuration-control technique. The system allows a choice of arm-angle control or collision avoidance for the seventh task, and elbow-angle control or platform placement for the eighth task. In addition, joint-limit avoidance tasks are auto matically invoked when any of the manipulator joints approach their limits. The system is robust to singularities, and the user is capable of assigning weighting factors to end-effector mo tion, joint-limit avoidance, and redundancy resolution tasks. The motion-control algorithms are executed at 1.1 ms on two MC68040 processors in a VME-bus environment running the VxWorks real-time operating system. The article describes the hardware and software components of the manipulator- control system. Experimental results on real-time control of the Robotics Research arm are also presented.
Automatic Synthesis of Robot Compliant Motions in Dynamic Environments
Authors: Pelletier Michel , Daneshmend Laeeque K.
Published: March 2007

This article presents a new approach to the problem of compliant-motion planning of manipulators in which the dy namics of the environment are taken into account. The scheme is based on decoupled linear impedance models of the robot and the environment, for which the errors due to control, task- frame estimation, and environment uncertainty are explicitly taken into account. The technique consists of characterizing the position, velocity, and force responses of the decoupled models, and expressing the task goals as constraints on these expres sions. The impedance parameters of the controller are found by fitting uncertainty boxes inside the region of the parameter space that satisfies all task constraints. Two insertion examples, as well as an experimental verification of this method for the task of closing a circuit breaker, are presented.
A Random Sampling Scheme for Path Planning
Authors: Barraquand Jérôme , Kavraki Lydia , Latombe Jean-Claude , Motwani Rajeev , Li Tsai-Yen , Raghavan Prabhakar
Published: March 2007

Several randomized path planners have been proposed dur ing the last few years. Their attractiveness stems from their applicability to virtually any type of robots, and their empir ically observed success. In this article, we attempt to present a unifying view of these planners and to theoretically explain their success. First, we introduce a general planning scheme that consists of randomly sampling the robot 's configuration space. We then describe two previously developed planners as instances of planners based on this scheme, but applying very different sampling strategies. These planners are probabilis tically complete: if a path exists, they will find one with high probability, if we let them run long enough. Next, for one of the planners, we analyze the relation between the probability of failure and the running time. Under assumptions characteriz ing the "goodness" of the robot's free space, we show that the
On Motion Planning in Changing, Partially Predictable Environments
Authors: LaValle Steven M. , Sharma Rajeev
Published: March 2007

We present a framework for analyzing and computing motion plans for a robot that operates in an environment that both varies over time and is not completely predictable. We first classify sources of motion-planning uncertainty into four cat egories, and argue that the problems addressed in this article belong to a fundamental category that has received little atten tion. We treat the changing environment in a flexible manner by combining traditional configuration-space concepts with a Markov process that models the environment. For this context, we then propose the use of a motion strategy, which provides a motion command for the robot for each contingency that it might confront. We allow the specification of a desired per formance criterion, such as time or distance, and determine a motion strategy that is optimal with respect to that criterion. We demonstrate the breadth of our framework by applying it to a variety of motion-planning problems. Examples are com puted for problems that involve a changing configuration space, hazardous regions and shelters, and processing of random ser vice requests. To achieve this, we have exploited the powerful principle of optimality, which leads to a dynamic programming- based algorithm for determining optimal strategies. In addition, we present several extensions to the basic framework that incorporate additional concerns, such as sensing issues or changes in the geometry of the robot.
Optimal Trajectory Planning for Mobile Robots using Jacobian Elliptic Functions
Authors: Mukherjee Ranjan , Emond Bryan R. , Junkins John L.
Published: March 2007

In this article, we introduce an approach for planning minimum-control optimal trajectories for a two-wheeled mo bile robot in the absence of obstacles. The trajectory planning problem is first formulated as a minimum-control, fixed-time, optimal control problem with no terminal cost. This results in a two-point boundary value problem that is numerically solved using the relaxation method. Some simulation results of the relaxation method are presented. While we cannot claim rigor ously that the trajectories obtained here are globally optimal, there is strong evidence from numerical robustness tests that they are well-isolated extrema, and are possibly the globally optimal solutions. The two-point boundary value problem is also solved analytically. It is shown that the optimal motion of the two-wheeled mobile robot is similiar to the motion of a pendulum in a gravitational field, and as such, is described by four constants of motion. A procedure for solving the constants of motion is discussed. At the end, it is possible to obtain a closed-form solution to the optimal trajectories in terms of Jacobian elliptic functions.
The Use of the Couch for Selected Alcoholic Patients
Authors: Scott Edward M.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of this article is to report on the use of the couch with certain alcoholic patients. The report is based on the findings with ten such patients — four of whom were failures (left treatment) and six of whom were "successes", namely, benefitted from this added treatment modality. In addi tion to the diagnosis of alcoholism, additional attention will be given to the type of personality of the patient (dysthemic, avoidant, etc.). It is concluded that for selected alcoholic patients, judicious use of the couch fosters significant treatment results.
A.A. Referrals for Alcohol Related Crimes: The Advantages and Limitations
Authors: Young Thomas J. , Lawson Gary
Published: March 2007

Alcohol abuse is tied to a variety of social problems, espe cially crime. In fact, alcohol related arrests outnumber arrests for any other type of crime, including property offenses. Unfortunately, such offenders are often treated in an assembly line manner with little regard for their rights or well-being. This is illustrated in cases where A.A. is prescribed without the offender's biological, psychological, and sociologi cal profile being taken into consideration.
Transitional Objects and the Alcoholic
Authors: Cairns Deborah , Gettman A.S.
Published: March 2007

A survey of male applicants to our outpatient clinic, revealed that some gave a history of childhood transitional objects (T.O.'s). A theoretical discussion regarding the absence or presence of T.O. 's among alcoholics is given.
The Making of History
Authors: Bailey Anne M.
Published: March 2007

This article was completed by 1982, shortly before the author's tragic death It was originally conceived as the theoretical introduction to her dissertation on the anarchist collectives in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War; unfortunately the thesis was never finished. We would like, if possible, in the future to make available to our readers some of the results of her research. We have decided to publish the article without modifications. In a sense it very much reflects the theoretical concerns of the author - and of many of the members of the Editorial Board of Critique of Anthropology — at the beginning of the decade. By publishing the article we are not only remembering the author, but also preserving continuity with our own past in the journal.
Coca, an alternative to cocaine?
Authors: Henman Anthony Richard
Published: March 2007

This article examines alternatives to the war on drugs in terms of the continued survival of the legal market in coca leaves. By comparing the two areas of traditional coca use and cultivation—northwest Amazonas state, Brazil, and the department of Cusco, Peru—the differences are highlighted between Peruvian and Brazilian attitudes towards coca and ethnic identity. Formula tions based on a rigid dichotomy between (good) coca and (bad) cocaine are shown to confuse morality with purely practical considerations. Rather than a simple distinction between substances, the experience of indigenous drug users in South America suggests an understanding of the importance of cultural values in controlling any kind of drug consumption, and a recognition of the long-term effectiveness of 'user-friendly' strategies of prevention.
Religious Fundamentalism as a Political Strategy
Authors: Hage Ghassan
Published: March 2007

The article begins by showing the existence of a religious imagery that permeates the Chnstian Lebanese nationalist discourse, particularly that of the Phalangist Party. It then proceeds to show how this religious dimension evolved at the hands of Lebanese Forces' leader Bashir Gemayel until it became a fundamentalist political project in its own nght following Gemayel's assassination
Anthropology contra Heidegger Part II: The Limit of Relationship
Authors: Weiner James F.
Published: March 2007

In Part I of this article ( Critique of Anthropology 12[1]), I looked at Martin Heidegger's phenomenology from an anthropological perspective, comparing it with Bourdieu's more pragmatic phenomenology. I suggested that Heidegger's existential analytic was subject to anthropological critique for its failure to phenomenalize the social and political dimensions of human intersubjectivity. In this part, I turn the tables and inspect anthropology using Heidegger's critique of science and scientific language, and argue that as a hermeneutician, Heidegger provides us with the means by which we can inspect one of anthropology's founding assumptions: social relationality.
Genre, Methodology and Feminist Practice
Authors: Jo Frazier Lessie
Published: March 2007

The rainy season is not quite over although it has nearly spent itself. I drive leisurely along five miles of roller coaster highway, down and up, up and down again as I drink in the grandeur of the sunset. I come to the 'big hill', around and over which the road twines narrowly. From its summit I see at my left a deep purple canyon, green at the bottom with irrigated fields. At my right the sun is setting across a wide valley, the shadows replaced by roseate gold interrupted by the white resplendence of chalk cliffs. As if this were not sufficient, a light female rain like that which falls constantly over the home of the Corn gods, drops between me and the sun. I gasp in my inability to comprehend the sight fully as I turn my head forty-five degrees to behold a complete rainbow and behind it the thinnest slice of a new moon. (Gladys Reichard, 1934:122)
Relocating Class
Authors: Gill Lesley
Published: March 2007

■ This article examines the changing life circumstances of former Boli vian tin miners, who, following the closure of state-operated tin mines, settled on the periphery of the Bolivian capital, La Paz. It considers the dynamics that shape class formation and struggle in this impoverished setting. The analysis explores a dual process of struggle - one oriented toward the state and dominant insti tutions, the other centered around the daily interactions among working people themselves. These struggles shape the capability of working people to confront the economic violence of the wider society. They also elucidate how tensions among working people, which are rooted in their domination, shape the ways that they perceive the future.
Terror, Memory and Responsibility in Argentina
Authors: Isla Alejandro
Published: March 2007

■ This article explores the reasons why the people of the most terrorized region of Argentina, the Tucumán, elected the General in charge of the terror ization as their governor ten years after the end of dictatorship. The exploration involves the myth of a demonic dog employed by sugar plantation owners to 'dis appear' plantation workers.
Mythical Monarch Unmasked? Mysterious Doings of Debir King of Eglon
Authors: Barr James
Published: March 2007

The name 'Debir king of Eglon' (Joshua 10.3) appears very odd, since Debir is a familiar city name and Eglon prominent as a king's personal name. Moreover, the LXX has the city name Adullam where MT has Eglon. Various explanations are reviewed. It seems likely that Debir was indeed the city name and that it was transformed into a personal name in the course of redactional processes.
The Context and Function of the Plagues Tradition in Psalm 78
Authors: Lee Archie C. C.
Published: March 2007

The plagues narrative in Psalm 78 reflects the context of the Assyrian threat in the seventh century BCE and the tradition of Yahweh's punishment of the Assyrians has been incorporated into the recitation of the slaying of the Egyptian firstborn in Ps. 78.49-51 with the purpose of reaffirming the power and might of Yahweh to intervene on behalf of Israel.
Leviticus 15.18 Reconsidered: Chiasm, Spatial Structure and the Body
Authors: Whitekettle Richard
Published: March 2007

Lev. 15 addresses the impurity of reproductive physiology. The chapter is structured chiastically (A B C B' A') with verse 18 the chapter's ful crum. The organizing principle behind this structure is a homologous relationship between the reproductive system and the tabernacle. The tabernacle is conceptualized as a pure center, over against the impure, peripheral wilderness. The 'center' of reproductive physiology is sex ual intercourse (v. 18), with non-generative/waste discharges (A/A') comprising the reproductive system's 'periphery'. If sexual inter course is the reproductive 'center', why is impurity associated with it? The penis is the instrument of both urination and copula tion/ejaculation. This functional ambiguity brings an aspect of the 'periphery' (waste) to the reproductive 'center'. This may explain the impurity of sexual intercourse (Lev. 15.18).
Shame as a Sanction of Social Control in Biblical Israel: Judicial, Political, and Social Shaming
Authors: Bechtel Lyn M.
Published: March 2007

The history of Judeo-Christian biblical interpretation reflects a strong emphasis on the sanction of guilt; yet the sanction of shame probably plays a more significant role in the society. Shame is a different emo tional response and sanction, arising out of different psychological forces and functioning in different social constructions from guilt. As a sanction of behavior shame functions primarily as (1) a means of social control which attempts to repress aggressive or undesirable behavior; (2) as a pressure that preserves social cohesion in the com munity through rejection and the creation of social distance between deviant members and the group; and (3) as an important means of dominating others and manipulating social status. Its coercive power is available officially to state or local authorities as a formal sanction (judicial and political shaming) and unofficially to the community as an informal social sanction (social shaming). It is effective in a pre dominantly group-oriented social structure.
The Structure of Isaiah 42.10-17 as Approached Through Versification and Distribution of Poetic Devices
Authors: Dion Paul E.
Published: March 2007

The curious poem in Isa. 42.10-17 is not easily reduced to any of the Gattungen of classical Hebrew poetry. A fresh analysis of its structure is attempted here, based on a colometric arrangement of the text and a charting of its poetic and 'rhetorical' features adapted from M. O'Connor's system. Long-range repetitions and correlationns are not ignored, but methodological priority is given to devices bonding small braces of verse. A loose envelope structure A-B-C-B'-A' emerges, in which the threefold C element (vv. 14, 15, 16α) exhibits an interesting progression: v. 15 illustrates the irrational ranting announced in v. 14, but prepares at the same time the saving guidance motif of v. 16α, which in turn justifies the praise of YHWH in vv. 10-12 and the confi dent dismissal of idolatry. These results agree broadly with those obtained by K.P. Darr in a recent study using other methods (CBQ 49 [1987], pp. 560-71).
Survival Must Not Be Gained Through Sin: the Moral of the Joseph Stories Prefigured Through Judah and Tamar
Authors: Wildavsky Aaron
Published: March 2007

The reason for the placement of the long Joseph narrative between the patriarchal cycle and the Exodus account is that Joseph and Moses are being contrasted as respectively those of an assimilator and a lawgiver, between one who begins as a Hebrew and becomes an Egyptian and one who begins as an Egyptian and becomes a Hebrew. Seeing Joseph as an anti-hero explains the presence of Genesis 38, which illustrates the right path to be taken to avoid mixing with other peoples. Tamar acts rightly, in faithfulness with the divine purpose, seeking to preserve the survival of the race through proper, not sinful, means. From this perspective, Potiphar's wife emerges as a contrast to Tamar.
The Levitical Genealogies in 1 Chronicles 5-6 and the Formation of Levitical Ideology in Post-Exilic Judah
Authors: Laato Antti
Published: March 2007

In this article the Levitical genealogies in 1 Chron. 5-6 are dealt with. The older genealogical tradition can be reconstructed where the diverse genealogies of the important cultic personnel of the time of David and Solomon are harmonized: Zadok, the high priest; Heman, the seer of the king; Asaph, the leading singer at the cult; Ethan (= Jeduthun ?!), probably the leading gatekeeper. Further, it is argued that this old genealogical tradition was subsequently completed by the genealogy of Samuel. Finally, the Chronicler used the completed genealogy for his own purposes to argue for the legitimacy of the cultic practice of his own time, which had been reorganized during the time of Nehemiah.
'A Strong Woman, Who Can Find?' a Study of Characterization in Genesis 24, With Some Perspectives On the General Presentation of Isaac and Rebekah in the Genesis Narratives
Authors: Teugels Lieve
Published: March 2007

The portrayal of the patriarch Isaac in the pentateuchal narratives is, both quantitatively and qualitatively, meagre. Even when solutions are brought forward as to the quanti tative aspect, the weak picture of Isaac remains problematic. A narrative analysis, focused on characterization in Gen. 24, shows that Rebekah, however, is presented as a strong woman. In the paper the suggestion is offered that the contrasting presenta tion of the two characters fits their particular task in the Isaac-Rebekah narratives: Isaac is the passive bearer of the blessing, while Rebekah is the active, divinely-led helper, that assists him in keeping and passing the blessing on to the right sucessor.
Job and the Injustice of God: Implicit Arguments in Job 13.17-14.12
Authors: Chin Catherine
Published: March 2007

Job 13.17-14.12 begins Job's legal case against God, but avoids any direct accusation of God or denial of His traditional virtues. A rhetorical analysis of the passage reveals the techniques used by the author to portray God's virtues as vices and at the same time retain a nominally deferential attitude. The negative portrayal of divine attributes serves to justify Job's complaint, while the token deference of the passage allows the author to escape the suggestion of an open confrontation with God, in which Job's claims could more easily be denied.
Molek Imagery and the Slaughter of Gog in Ezekiel 38 and 39
Authors: Irwin Brian P.
Published: March 2007

This study focuses on chs. 38 and 39 of the book of Ezekiel, arguing that the sacrificial imagery found in them is not 'generic' but reflects an understanding of the Molek cult. In this respect, Ezekiel 38 and 39 is comparable to Jeremiah 7 and Isaiah 30, the latter of which has recently been shown by John Day to invoke Molek cult imagery to describe the mass destruction of a foreign power.
How Do Jews Interpret the Bible Today? the Sixteenth Montefiore Lecture (17 February 94), University of Southampton
Authors: Magonet Jonathan
Published: March 2007

This paper surveys Jewish Bible exegesis in the 'modem period'. It contrasts the impact of Spinoza and Mendelssohn on the Jewish community and traces the post- Enlightenment responses to critical biblical scholarship. Two different kmds of approach can be observed within the Orthodox community, while the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement opened the way to modern academic study with little obvious Jewish content. The creation of the State of Israel has stimulated popular studies of the Bible but also new directions. Recent decades have seen a renaissance of Jewish biblical scholarship in the area of literary studies.
Ecclesiastes 3.1-15: Another Interpretation
Authors: Blenkinsopp Joseph
Published: March 2007

The article advances the hypothesis that the 'catalogue of times' in Eccl. 3.2-8 is the longest of the passages cited but not authored by Qoheleth to which the latter has added a title and a brief commentary. Comparison with the ethical teaching of the early Stoics (Zeno, Cleanthes, Chrysippus), especially with respect to the concept of eukairia (timely action), suggests further that the quotation is from a stoicizing Jewish sage. An understanding of 'et lamût (v. 2) as referring to the timely putting an end to one's life would, in addition, be consistent with the teaching of the early Stoa on suicide as a morally permissible act.
What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor? a Critical Re-Examination of Genesis 9.20-27
Authors: Vervenne Marc
Published: March 2007

Gen. 9.20-27 is an eccentric anecdote of which the reception and interpretation are often equally fantastic. Besides a series of extravagant sexual, moral and racial interpretations, one can distinguish ethnological and moralizing explanations, and, more recently, symbolic and social-critical approaches. The present examination of Gen. 9.20-27 maintains that exegetes should keep close to the text as a linguistic and literary composition. The analysis of the Noah tale, then, focuses successively on the 'bridge' function of this text among the genealogical compositions in Genesis 5-11, its linguistic and literary structure, and, finally, the origin and meaning of the text. It is argued that Gen. 9.20-27 displays Priestly characteristics. More particularly, the lexeme ? is considered to be a key term for the interpretation of the pericope. Referring to the usage of ? in the Priestly tradition, the analysis claims that, in Gen. 9.20-27, sexual habits which appear, to the eyes of Israel, as erotic aberrations, are condemned.
David, Asaph and the Mighty Works of God: Theme and Genre in the Psalm Collections
Authors: Houston Walter
Published: March 2007

The groups of Psalms formed by common ascriptive superscriptions each have their distinct characteristics and may be understood as pre-existing collections or read as groups with a common theme. A statistical table shows, among other things, that there is a strong connection between the Davidic superscription and the individual style; that the themes of the narratives of Israel's origins are virtually absent from the Davidic psalms but present in more than half of the Asaphic ones; that psalms of praise dominate the group of unascribed psalms. The Davidic psalms are dominated by a sense of personal relationship between the speaker and his God which points to the understanding of these psalms as a collection of personal prayers of the king. The psalms of Asaph have a national perspective and largely reflect situations of national crisis. The psalms of the sons of Korah are defined by the holy place. The psalms without ascriptions do not form a single group, but the prominence of the themes of creation and the kingship of Yahweh are notable, as is the relative infrequency of reference to the themes of the biblical narrative.
Pornoprophetics Revisited: Some Additional Reflections
Authors: Brenner Athalya
Published: March 2007

The divine-husband/erring-human-wife metaphor—to be found in Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and other 'prophetic' passages—contains specific images of gendered relations and gendered sexuality. While many scholars tend to mimmize the anti- woman bias of such passages, feminist scholars have recently highlighted it. This contribution to an on-going debate is an examination of the metaphor and its language of exposure, violence and punishment to expose the religious propaganda and pornography within.
The End of Prophecy and the Appearance of Angels/Messengers in the Book of the Twelve
Authors: Conrad Edgar W.
Published: March 2007

In this article I offer a reading of the Book of the Twelve as a literary collage. As such the Twelve does not contain data for constructing a prophetic past but is itself a construction of prophecy from Assyrian to Persian times. Recognizing the composite character of the text, my reading acknowledges the role of the reader in configuring it. The individuals from Hosea through Zephaniah can only be recognized as pro phets from the later time of Zechariah, depicted in the book as the Persian period. Furthermore, in this configuration prophecy is replaced by the restoration of a messenger/angelic presence as in the days of the ancestor Jacob.
Holiness, Purity, the Body, and Society: the Evidence for Theological Conflict in Leviticus
Authors: Kugler Robert A.
Published: March 2007

Israel Knohl's recently advanced hypothesis that the Holiness Code answers and mildly corrects the Priestly Work receives qualified support in a study of the use of words related to the roots ? and ? in Leviticus 1-16 and 17-26. But contrary to Knohl's view that the Holiness Codes still reflects priestly interests, this study shows that the different uses of the roots in the two parts of Leviticus suggest a democratization and laicization of holiness in Leviticus 17-26 and may imply a pol emic on the part of the Holiness Code's authors against the authors of Leviticus 1-16.
Whitewashing Athena: Gaining Perspective On Bernal and the Bible
Authors: Bach Alice
Published: March 2007

Martin Bernal points to the Eurocentric construction of the West via the obliterating or 'writing out' of the East (and Africa) in his two-volume work, Black Athena. Ordinarily a book as riddled with errors involving basic philology and reading of myth as history would not have caused more than a ripple on the literary and scholarly landscape. But Black Athena has generated an industry: several major colloquia at national scholarly meetings, special issues of scholarly journals, more than fifty articles, the major scholarly collection Black Athena Revisited cited fre quently in this article, as well as Mary Lefkowitz's frequent protestations about the arguments and expertise of Bernal. The field of biblical studies, scarcely a stone's throw across the Mediterranean from classics has been uninterested in the Bernal debate—at least as far as I can tell. This silence reflects more of a disciplinary myo pia, in my opinion, than a disinclination to deal with the subject of race within bib lical literature. The compartmentalism of knowledge that the scholarly disciplines exhibit in the case of Bernal versus the academy reflect the need for a blending of approaches. The first tentative steps in this direction have been taken by scholars proposing interdisciplinary programs such as peri-Mediterranean studies.
The Decalogue in the Light of a Newly Published Palaeo-Hebrew Inscription (Hebrew Ostracon Moussaieff No. 1)
Authors: Lang Bernhard
Published: March 2007

On the basis of a newly published palaeo-Hebrew ostracon dating from the late seventh century BCE it is suggested that the Deuteronomic version of the Decalogue does not include references to divine commandments given earlier (Deut. 5.12, 'observe the sabbath day... as the Lord your God commanded you'; 5.16, 'honour your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you'). The relevant phrase introduces what follows and is to be rendered 'thus commands the Lord your God'. The Masoretic verse division of Deut. 5.12, 16 should be ignored in favor of this new interpretation.
Amnon: a Chip Off the Old Block? Rhetorical Strategy in 2 Samuel 13.7-15 the Rape of Tamar and the Humiliation of the Poor
Authors: Gray Mark
Published: March 2007

The critical consensus is that Amnon's rape of Tamar is of a piece with David's seduction of Bathsheba. This paper argues that close attention to the rhetoric of 2 Sam. 13.7-15 shows that the deeds are differentiated. Furthermore, on the basis of intertextual allusion, it is suggested that how Amnon treats Tamar parallels in micro cosm how Israel will come to treat the poor when the monarchy is fully established in power. The argument is also made that Amnon is located at the start of a trajectory which ends in social exploitation and, eventually, exile, while David is ambiguously placed between the world of the tribal confederacy and that of the full-blown monar chical system, fitting neatly nor wholly into either.
Two Priestly Conceptions of Guidance in the Wilderness
Authors: Frankel David
Published: March 2007

Several priestly texts portray a cloud resting permanently on the Tabernacle. The cloud rose and set, thus indicating the times and places of Israelite encampments in the desert. It is demonstrated that these priestly texts are late. An earlier conception of God orally communicating to Moses in the encampments of the Israelites in the wilderness was covered up by late priestly editors. It is argued that the purpose of this editorial change is theological. The late stratum seeks to heighten the direct bond between God and Israel by portraying a more immanent and visible divine presence.
Ezekiel 20 and the Metaphor of Historical Teleology: Concepts of Biblical History
Authors: Eslinger Lyle
Published: March 2007

We tend to believe that teleological views of historical change characterize the vision of people whose thinking was done within the intellectual framework of 'biblical culture'. But some biblical reflection on the nature and significance of recurrences in Israel's history suggests that it is precisely the dominant aimlessness in the recurrences in the nation's history that is significant, not some inapparent future goal. Historical recurrence teaches the lessons not of the past but of repeated experience. The experience of anti-providential historical progressions opens, for those able to see it, to an appreciation of existential situation, particularly vis-à-vis the transcendent Yahweh. Ezekiel's historical retrospect (Ezek. 20) takes up this business, tracing it through not just the exodus but all of Israel's history, from exodus to the exile. It is what Y. Kaufmann called a vision for all time.
Childlessness in a Transitional Population: the United States At the Turn of the Century
Authors: Tolnay Stewart E. , Guest Avery M.
Published: March 2007

Most analyses of white childless ness in the United States before 1920 have perceived it as being primarily due to in voluntary factors, such as poor health and nutrition. This paper analyzes childless ness across various geographic areas at the turn of the century. It shows that the sub stantial variations in childlessness were due largely to voluntary choice on the part of many American women, particularly in the North Atlantic region. In other areas, such as the agricultural South, almost all childlessness was probably involuntary. On the whole, variations in childlessness seemed primarily to reflect the stage of these areas in the general transition to low fertility occurring in the United States. There is some evidence, however, that urban industrialism may have had an in dependent positive influence on the degree of childlessness.
Prolific Immigrants and Dwindling Natives?: Fertility Patterns in Western Massachusetts, 1850 and 1880
Authors: Wilcox Jerry
Published: March 2007

This comparative demographic study used household-level manuscript census data to explore ethnic, occupational, and rural-urban differences in fertili ty. The study region comprised two western Massachusetts counties which ex perienced industrialization, urbanization, and immigration throughout the nine teenth century. We collected one-in-ten samples of households from the federal manuscript censuses of fifteen communities. We sampled the same communities in 1850 and 1880, and coded detailed characteristics of over 2,400 households. In addition to counting the number of preteenage children in each household, we used information on the ages of women and children to estimate the length of the childbearing span. In so doing, we could refine the child-woman ratio by stan dardizing it according to the number of years a currently married woman had been at risk of bearing a child-since age 25 or since the birth of her first child. We then employed age standardization and multiple classification analysis in an attempt to rule out competing explanations of native-immigrant differences. A djustments for age at maternity and wives' age distribution rendered the Irish most prolific, but the French Canadians and 1850 natives were not far behind. Evidently, Irish and French-Canadian women had longer childbearing spans than native women in both census years, and slightly earlier maternity. The statistical adjustments failed to explain the low fertility of the 1880 natives, suggesting that they were more effective than other groups in limiting marital fertility. While fer tility levels of immigrants and 1850 natives were quite similar to those of their contemporaries in England and America, the 1880 natives were clearly atypical. By 1880, native fertility probably had dwindled to a level other American groups would not reach until after World War I. The changing occupational structure helped to magnify native-immigrant differences. Families with semiskilled and unskilled heads tended to be larger than those headed by farmers, skilled craft smen, and white-collar workers. The low and declining fertility of the middle- class natives was especially noteworthy.
Changing Divorce in Japan
Authors: Kumagai Fumie
Published: March 2007

A century of historical perspective on divorce in Japan confirms that it occurred at an extraordinarily high rate before the turn of the century, and then declined until 1964. But with the progress of industrialization to even more ad vanced levels during the postwar era, divorce rates in Japan have gradually risen again, although not to the same high degree as in the West. For the first time, there seems to be a positive correlation between the level of industrialization and urbanization in Japan and the increasing divorce rate in the nuclear family. Recent statistics on divorce in Japan show that more and more women initiate divorce, that an increasing number of divorced women prefer to remain single, and that changing patterns of divorce have resulted in a lowering of the fertility rate, all of which may have significant implications for the demographic future of the Japanese population.

With the development of industrialization and urbanization, the Westernization of lifestyles, and the growing autonomy of women in society, an increase in the divorce rate in Japanese society is likely. It is true, however, that the family is still one of the most fundamental institutions in Japan. It is to be hoped that the value traditionally accorded to the family will counteract the recent upward trend in divorce rate and reduce it in the foreseeable future.
The Making of the Medieval Family: Symmetry, Structure, and Sentiment
Authors: Herlihy David
Published: March 2007

Across the long centuries of the Middle Ages, households seem to have acquired three distinctive characteristics. In the ancient Mediterranean world, judging from the terminology used to describe them and from the failure to use them as units in social surveys, it appears that households were not commen surable. From the Carolingian age, however, medieval households do appear as commensurable units within a symmetrical array. In other words, the observer (or surveyor) was likely to see roughly the same kind of household no matter in what direction he looked—toward urban or rural areas, or up or down the social scale. From about the twelfth century, a new form of descent group, the agnatic lineage, comes to be superimposed upon, but does not really replace, the older bilineal kin group. This lends the medieval household, at least in the elite classes, a distinctive structure. Across the central and late Middle Ages, particular forms of emotional bonds come to link the household members. In fostering these three developments, religious laws and values were highly influential although never solely determinant.
"Precious Balsam in a Fragile Glass" : the Ideology of Virginity in the Later Middle Ages
Authors: Atkinson Clarissa W.
Published: March 2007

Since the patristic age, Christians have held ambivalent notions about the meaning of virginity and the status of the virgin. In the early Middle Ages, a physiological definition prevailed; after the thirteenth century, there was an in creasing tendency to interpret virginity in moral and psychological terms—the "true" virgin was characterized by purity and humility. Certain women who were wives and mothers were called to vocations of special holiness, which might include severe ascetic practices, pilgrimage, and mystical communion with God. Some of these women suffered painful conflict over their marital status and family ties, but their experience and reputations marked significant changes in Christian ideas about sexuality and family life. When Luther argued that the virgin was not necessarily the "best" Christian, he argued within a tradition that had widened and expanded during the last medieval centuries.
Faith in the Family: the Practice of Religion By the Gonzaga
Authors: Swain Elisabeth
Published: March 2007

The internal correspondence of the Gonzaga of Mantua—about 7, 000 letters exchanged amongst three generations (1418-1484)—affords considerable evidence as to the practice of religion in an aristocratic Italian family. For most of the Gonzaga, faith was a matter of routine observances and charitable gestures. Responsibility for religious concerns was divided: Gonzaga women were expected to pray for relatives and the family as a whole; those Gonzaga men who became ecclesiastics were expected to afford the family access to Church wealth. Only in the event of a family death did the Gonzaga articulate their religious faith. This faith was orthodox, stoic, and humanistic. Concern centered not on the one who had just died, but on the survivors—and the integrity of the family unit.
Fertility of Southern Black Farmers in 1900: Evidence and Speculation
Authors: Tolnay Stewart E.
Published: March 2007

This paper examines variation in the fertility of southern black farmers near the turn of the century. The data source is a 1 in 750 sample of households taken from the 1900 manuscript census. Environmental and individual character istics are used in regression analyses to predict the number of children ever born to married women between the ages of 15 and 44. Comparable results are presented for southern native white farmers. The results show substantially dif ferent predictors for the two groups. The fertility of blacks responded positively to the presence of manufacturing activity in their county, while whites exhibited the opposite relationship. Further, land shortages significantly depressed white fertility, but were unrelated to black reproduction. A possible interpretation of these discrepant results is offered, emphasizing the inferior social position of and restricted opportunities for southern blacks in the late 1800s. Finally, it is con cluded that a mix of voluntary and involuntary forces was probably responsible for the rural black fertility transition which began in the late nineteenth century.
"Sisters Worthy of Respect" : Family Dynamics and Women's Roles in the Blackwell Family
Authors: Horn Margo
Published: March 2007

This paper considers the five daughters of Hannah and Samuel Blackwell, who were born between 1816 and 1826. None of the Blackwell sisters ever married, and four of them made notable achievements in their careers. This paper explores the role of dynamics within the Blackwell family in contributing to this unusual pattern. It argues that it was not a coincidence that this unusual group of women came from the same family, and that the family's history, its special attitudes and understanding of the world, made the family itself a strong influence in shaping the roles these women played once they matured and entered society.
Maternal Politics: the Principles and Practice of Maternity Care in Eighteenth-Century Hamburg
Authors: Lindemann Mary
Published: March 2007

This article traces the development of publicly financed maternity care in Hamburg and places that development firmly within the context of urban social structure and social policy. Such maternity care evolved in late seventeenth- century Hamburg as a pragmatic response to an internal problem plaguing several municipal institutions, i.e., how to care for pregnant inmates. Gradually the program expanded to include poor, homeless, or transient women who were able to call on no other form of assistance or charity. The first true Lying-In Ward in Hamburg was established by the General Poor Relief in 1796. Crucial issues of population policy (especially the control of aliens) and the regulation of the labor market influenced the conditions under which certain groups of women received (or did not receive) free lying-in.
Sex of Offspring and Fertility in South Asia: Demographic Variance and Decision Procedures in "Joint Family" Households
Authors: Carter Anthony T.
Published: March 2007

Using materials from India, this paper explores some of the implica tions of stochastic demographic variation for theories of household management and fertility. The sex composition of Indian families is highly variable. Such variation may have a negative impact on household viability. Householders sometimes try to control it, therefore, through behaviors that influence mortality differentials by sex. Analyses of birth intervals and reproductive periods in rela tion to sex of prior offspring show that householders also try to control variation in family composition through fertility behaviors, even though they use little con traception. Such findings call into question contributions to demographic transi tion theory which assume that "extended family" households are characterized by persistently high fertility because they are managed according to kinship morality and tradition, severely constraining the rational adjustment of means to ends. At the same time, thesefindings call attention to the importance of the task- oriented character of the domestic group.
Trends and Regional Differences in Breastfeeding in Germany From 1871 To 1937
Authors: Kintner Hallie J.
Published: March 2007

This article describes trends and regional differences in breastfeeding within Germany from 1870 to 1937. Sharp regional differences in both the in cidence and duration of breastfeeding are present around 1910. There is a com plex pattern of trends in infant-feeding practices. Breastfeeding declined in urban areas between the late nineteenth century and the first World War. A strong nationwide resurgence in the incidence of breastfeeding occurred between the two world wars, accompanied by a decline in the average duration of breastfeeding. By 1937, the formerly great regional differences in breastfeeding had nearly dis appeared. The article also discusses social, economic, cultural, and historical variables affecting infant-feeding practices, including local breastfeeding customs, a national infant welfare campaign, and allowances to nursing mothers.
Microgeographic Analysis as an Index to Family Structure and Networks
Authors: Greenow Linda
Published: March 2007

Historical and anthropological evidence indicates that kinship was a major factor affecting access to housing, household composition during the life cycle, ownership of property, and the social fabric of urban neighborhoods in Latin American cities. Despite this wealth of evidence, the influence of kinship in the spatial organization of the Latin American city has not been analyzed. This essay notes the importance of kinship in the development of colonial and early nineteenth-century Latin American cities, particularly in their patterns of house hold composition, population density and land use, and in the division of social space.
The Making of Marriage in Mid-Tudor England: Evidence From the Records of Matrimonial Contract Litigation
Authors: Houlbrooke Ralph
Published: March 2007

Analysis of a large sample of mid-Tudor suits to enforce matrimonial contracts suggests that during that period marriage plans in the middling ranks of society were usually initiated by the couples themselves, even though their even tual realisation often depended on the cooperation of parents and other "friends." Such freedom is not surprising: many of the litigants had left home or lost at least one parent, and some of them had already been widowed. Very few suits arose from attempts to escape arranged marriages. Both affection and economic considerations were important criteria in the choice of partners. Few plaintiffs were successful. Judges were still ready to uphold contracts, even in the face of opposition from parents and other kinsfolk; there is no sign that social pressures influenced their interpretation of the law. But the surviving testimony suggests that the practice of making enforceable contracts in advance of ec clesiastical solemnisation was on the wane. There is little evidence here of cohabitation before the church ceremony, and the latter seems generally to have been regarded as essential to complete the process of entry into marriage.
Historical and Subgroup Variations in the Association between Marriage and First Childbirth: a Life-Course Perspective
Authors: Teachman Jay D.
Published: March 2007

As an institution, marriage supposedly sets the context within which love, sex, and childbearing are legitimated. For women, the roles of wife and mother are tightly interwoven—being married carries the risk of becoming preg nant. It is expected that childbirth will follow relatively soon after marriage. In other words, marriage and childbearing are supposed to be linked through both sequence and timing. This paper takes a life-course approach in examining em pirically the patterning of marriage and first childbirth among white and black women first married between 1950 and 1971. The results indicate considerable historical and racial differences in the joint arrangements of marriage and childbirth. A major distinction is that the historical variation among white women was a consistent shortening of maritally conceived first-birth intervals over the 1950s followed by a consistent lengthening of these intervals over the 1960s and early 1970s. Among black women, on the other hand, historical varia tions have been less consistent and have involved the sequencing rather than the timing of maritally conceived births.