Las diásporas transnacionales: ¿una nueva era o un nuevo mito?

The numberless unprecedented situations attached today to the concept of transnational diaspora arise the debate of whether or not this phenomenon signals a new era. Our own contention is that it does represent a factor of new kinds of heterogenization of both the societal reality and of the diasporas themselves, as worldwide entities. It is in this dialectic perspective that we describe transnational diasporas as causes of discontinuity in our world and point out to the qualitative change in the social fabrics that they represent. Among other aspects, dual or threefold homeness that is bound to the transnational condition signifies for diasporans a slipping away from the totalistic character of the commitment and view of the nation that the nation-state requires of its citizens. When viewed in its multiplicity, the cohabitation under the same societal roof of a priori alien socio-cultural entities yields a configuration that is not uniform in every setting, but which still responds in its essentials to the new reality experienced by many a contemporary society. To illustrate this approach, this paper compares four well-known contemporary transnational diasporas namely, the Muslim, African, Hispanic and Chinese.     

Cross-border certified electronic mailing: A European perspective

Certified mail is the tool of choice in business processes and proceedings to deliver mail items in a secure and susbstantiated way. By returning a receipt, the sender has proof that a document has been delivered to the designated recipient at a certain point in time. Standard electronic communication systems like e-mail do not have the same evidential value as certified mail for traditional postal mail delivery. To benefit from the security advantages of certified mail delivery in the electronic world, in recent years governments have made several certified mail systems available on the Internet. Like postal certified mail delivery of documents in administrative or judicial matters, the certified electronic mail delivery in these systems is regulated by law. With ongoing (digital) globalization and the continuously increasing Digital Single Market in the European Union, there is a strong need for cross-border certified electronic mail. In the past the European Community has started several interoperability initiatives to couple existing certified electronic mail systems. Even if these systems can be made interoperable on a technical level, a harmonized legal basis is still missing. Therefore, the European community is currently working towards a new regulatory framework for trusted services including certified electronic mail. This article sheds light on both aspects and discusses the current state of affairs of cross-border certified electronic mail from both a technical (security) and legal perspective and explains the proposed new regulatory framework.     

Technology transfer: Toward mapping the field,a review,and research directions

With the renewed interest in technology transfer in academia, industry, and government, there is a need to focus the field. This article identifies the key elements of the domain of technology transfer, surveys the key terms used in the literature and offers some research directions. Technology transfer is viewed as a multidisciplinary phenomenon, and as a field of knowledge, hence this call for a sustained effort to build a TT theory and to generate research streams across disciplinary boundaries.     

Estimating Projectile Perpendicular Impact Velocity on Metal Sheet Targets from the Shape of the Target Hole

Abstract:  The correlation between bullet hole shapes in metal and projectile impact velocity was examined. A series of shots were fired from an M-16A1 assault rifle of 5.56 mm caliber toward a 1-mm thick metal target. All shots were fired at a perpendicular angle to the metal sheets, and the velocity was measured just before the projectile hit the target. Velocities ranged between 400 and 900 m/sec. From the replica of the shooting hole, a perpendicular plane was created, showing the symmetrical properties of the hole. The best mathematical equation describing the shape of the entrance hole was the exponential function in the form:
The empirical equation of the hole defined using the regression method is:
This equation describes the general shape of shooting holes created by velocities ranging from 440 to 750 m/sec. From this equation, one can estimate the bullet velocity when it hits the target.     

B. Reviews: general

THE FATIMID VIZIERATE 969–1172. By LEILA AL‐IMAD. Berlin, Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1990. viii, 229pp.

SEMINAR FÜR ARABISTIK UND ISLAM WISSENSCHAFT, WESTFÄLISCHE WILHELMS UNIV. MÜNSTER

MAPAS, PLANOS Y FORTIFICACIONES HISPANICOS DE TUNEZ (S. XVI‐XIX)/ CARTES, PLANS ET FORTIFICATIONS HISPANIQUES DE LA TUNISIE (XVIe‐XIXe S.). By JUAN Bta. VILAR. 488pp. Text in Spanish; Table of Contents, Preface and Introduction in Spanish and French. Madrid, Instituto de Cooperacion con el Mundo Arabe, 1991. Ca. ptas. 7.000.‐.

SEPHARDI ENTREPRENEURS IN ERETZ ISRAEL: THE AMZALAK FAMILY 1816–1918. By JOSEPH B. GLASS and RUTH KARK. Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 1991. 202pp. $20 (hb).

JEWISH LIFE IN MUSLIM LIBYA: RIVALS AND RELATIVES. By HARVEY E. GOLDBERG. Chicago & London, University of Chicago Press, 1990. 181pp.

FRENCH JEWS, TURKISH JEWS: THE ALLIANCE ISRAELITE UNIVERSELLE AND THE POLITICS OF JEWISH SCHOOLING IN TURKEY, 1860–1925. By ARON RODRIGUE. Bloomingtom, Indianapolis, Indiana University Press, 1990. 235pp.

KLÉBER EN ÉGYPTE: 1798–1800. Edited by HENRY LAURENS. (Voyageurs occidentaux en Egypte, 25.) Le Caire, Institut français d'archéologie orientale, 1988. 2 vols. Vol. 1, Kléber et Bonaparte: 1798–1799, viii, 342pp., map. Vol. 2, Kléber et Bonaparte: 1798–99 [sic]. 234pp., map, illustrations.

SADAT AND AFTER: STRUGGLES FOR EGYPT'S POLITICAL SOUL. By RAYMOND WILLIAM BAKER. London, Taurus, 1990. 365pp. £26.50.

EGYPT: MOULIDS, SAINTS, SUFIS. By NICOLAAS H. BIEGMAN. The Hague/London, Gary Schwartz/SDU, Kegan Paul International, 1990. 175pp.

SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES FOR ISRAEL'S ARAB POPULATION. By AZIZ HAIDAR. (Westview Special Studies on the Middle East.) Boulder & Oxford, Westview Press, 1991.

THE SYRIAN INVOLVEMENT IN LEBANON SINCE 1975. By REUVEN AVI‐RAN. Boulder and Oxford, Westview Press. 241pp. £19.95 (pb).

THE IRAQI REVOLUTION OF 1958: THE OLD SOCIAL CLASSES REVISITED. Ed. by ROBERT A. FERNEA AND WM. ROGER LOUIS. London/New York, I.B. Tauris, 1991. xxiv, 232pp.

LETTERS FROM TEHRAN: A BRITISH AMBASSADOR IN WORLD WAR II PERSIA. By READER BULLARD, edited by E.C. HODGKIN. London, I.B. Taurus, 1991. xiii, 301pp. £29.95.

AGRICULTURE, POVERTY AND LAND REFORM IN IRAN. By MOHAMMAD JAVAD AMID. London, Routledge, 1990. xii, 177pp. £30 (hb).

REVOLUTION AND ECONOMIC TRANSITION: THE IRANIAN EXPERIENCE. By HOOSHANG AMIRAHMADI. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1990. 420pp.

TURKEY AND THE MIDDLE EAST. By PHILIP ROBINS. London, Pinter for the Royal Institute of International Affairs. 134pp.

THE US‐TURKISH‐NATO MIDDLE EAST CONNECTION: HOW THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE AND TURKEY'S NATO ENTRY CONTAINED THE SOVIETS. By GEORGE McGHEE. Foreword by Lord Carrington. Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1990. xvii, 224pp. £40 (hb).

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN TURKEY: GOVERNING GREATER ISTANBUL. Edited by METIN HEPER. London, Routledge, 1989. 92 pp.

CENTRE DE WULF‐MANSION, INSTITUT SUPÉRIEUR DE PHILOSOPHIE, UNIVERSITÉ CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN

MUSLIM‐CHRISTIAN ENCOUNTERS. By W. MONTGOMERY WATT. London & New York, Routledge, 1991. 164 pp.

ISLAM: THE FEAR AND THE HOPE. By HABIB BOULARÈS. London & New Jersey, Zed Books, 1990. xii, 144pp. £26.95 (hb); £8.95 (pb).

ISLAMIC LAW: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXTS. Edited by AZIZ AL‐AZMEH. London, Routledge, 1988. 277pp. £27.50.

MODERN LITERATURE IN THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST 1850–1970. Edited by ROBIN OSTLE. London, Routledge, 1991. ix, 248 pp.

A PERSIAN REQUIEM. By SIMIN DANESHVAR, translated by ROXANE ZAND. Peter Halban Publishers. 279pp. £13.95.

MINARET: SYMBOL OF ISLAM. By JONATHAN BLOOM. (Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, VII.) Oxford, OUP, 1989. 216 pp. £25.00.     

Lifting shoeprints using gelatin lifters and a hydraulic press

A method for lifting two-dimensional dust footwear marks on rough or porous surfaces, such as cardboard or cloth, using a hydraulic press, was examined. It was found that exerting pressure on the lifter by the press usually improves the quality of the results. When the shoeprints were on rough or soft surfaces, the prints transferred to the gelatin lifters were better than those obtained by the conventional method. In other cases, using the press did not improve the results but was much simpler to apply. Based on the results of this study, the hydraulic press/gelatin lifter method (the "press method") is used at the authors' laboratory, depending on the surface from which the shoeprint is to be lifted. It is the authors' intention to apply the method to other surfaces after finding the optimal pressure for surfaces with loose fibers.