The decomposition of rabbit carcasses and associated necrophagous Diptera in Kuwait

Rabbit carcasses were used to compare rates of decomposition and associated assemblages of Diptera at four discernable habitat types in Kuwait; a country of a region with a paucity of such reference data. Carcasses in an urban habitat showed faster decomposition (as measured by percentage weight loss) than in agricultural, coastal or desert habitats, even with accumulated degree days (ADD) as the explanatory variable (t=2.73, df=34, p=0.010) to compensate for temperature differences. Taxa of Diptera at the four habitats became more similar as decomposition progressed, suggesting such differences between habitats were not marked. The occurrence of Chrysomyia megacephala and Lucilia sericata had not previously been recorded in Kuwait.     

Forecasting the 2005 General Election: A Neural Network Approach

Although neural networks are increasingly used in a variety of disciplines there are few applications in political science. Approaches to electoral forecasting traditionally employ some form of linear regression modelling. By contrast, neural networks offer the opportunity to consider also the non-linear aspects of the process, promising a better performance, efficacy and flexibility. The initial development of this approach preceded the 2001 general election and models correctly predicted a Labour victory. The original data used for training and testing the network were based on the responses of two experts to a set of questions covering each general election held since 1835 up to 1997. To bring the model up to date, 2001 election data were added to the training set and two separate neural networks were trained using the views of our original two experts. To generate a forecast for the forthcoming general election, answers to the same questions about the performance of parties during the current parliament, obtained from a further 35 expert respondents, were offered to the neural networks. Both models, with slightly different probabilities, forecast another Labour victory. Modelling electoral forecasts using neural networks is at an early stage of development but the method is to be adapted to forecast party shares in local council elections. The greater frequency of such elections will offer better opportunities for training and testing the neural networks.     

Promoting Public Service Integrity: A Case for Responsible Accountability

We discuss below difference between the concepts of accountability and responsibility, in the context of government administration. We argue that New Zealand's public sector reforms, in particular, have depended on an essentially mechanistic as distinct from an organic interpretation of public organisations. A mechanistic approach focuses disproportionately on notions of organisational accountability at the expense of responsibility, and as a consequence may prove counterproductive over the longer term in maintaining high standards of ethical probity. A concept of responsible accountability needs to be developed further as a means of countering this possibility. We speculate on whether the emphasis on contractualism has enhanced or undermined an integrity-based as opposed to a compliance-based ethics regime, and the possible implications of this for the maintenance of ethical standards.     

21世纪的大学

在本演讲中 ,作者论述了“2 1世纪的大学”这一主题。首先 ,作者探讨了全球化背景下大学与社会关系的变化及大学应对自身的全球化的方式。作者评述了关于大学与政府、社会关系的不同观点 ,指出了大学开展科研、服务社会的重要性 ,同时当前大学承受着来自政府、社会的过高期望。作者反思了在大学卷入社会活动、推动经济发展中的利弊 ,指出了长远规划、科研合作、国际流动、教学与科研相结合的重要意义。作者认为在技术创新和技术转化中 ,大学需要处理好科学与技术、开发的关系 ,以及大学与工商界的关系。作者特别探讨了大学 -工业合作间的复杂关系 ,指出了二者间的合作可能及不同性质 ,并介绍了牛津大学的有关策略。在结论部分 ,作者提出了他关于大学的使命的观点 :探索自然和人类世界 ;培养独立思考的、负责任的下一代。作者认为 ,把大学在社会中的作用仅仅局限在推动经济发展方面 ,是对大学目标的一种误解     

B. reviews and notes: bibliographies and works of reference

WORLD SURVEY OF ISLAMIC MANUSCRIPTS. General editor: GEOFFREY ROPER. Volumes One and Two. London, Al‐Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1992–1993. 2 vols. Distributed by E.J. Brill, Leiden. Hfl. 250.‐ each vol.

MIDDLE EAST BIBLIOGRAPHY. By SANFORD R. SILVERBURG. (Scarecrow area bibliographies, no. 1.) Metuchen & London, Scarecrow Press, 1992. xxxi, 564 pp. US$69.50.

REPERTORIO BIBLIOGRÁFICO DE DERECHO ISLÁMICO (R.B.D.I.), Primera parte. By MARIA JESÚS CARNICERO, MARIBEL FIERRO, SUSANA PENA, DELFINA SERRANO, AMALIA ZOMENO‐ Madrid: Instituto de Coop‐eración con el Mundo Arabe, 1993. (Cuadernos de la Biblioteca Islámico ‘Félix María Pareja’, 55.) ix, 98pp.

THE JEWS IN IZMIR IN THE 19TH CENTURY: OTTOMAN DOCUMENTS FROM THE SHAR'I COURT. (YEHUDEY IZMIR BA‐ME'A HA‐TE?A’ ‘ESRE: TE'UDOT TURKIYYOT MIBBET HA‐DIN HA‐?AR'I). Edited by HAIM GER‐BER and JACOB BARNAI. Jerusalem, Misgav Yerushalayim, Institute for Research on the Sephardi and Oriental Jewish Heritage. 1984. vi, 114 pp.

WOMEN IN THE MUSLIM WORLD: A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS AND ARTICLES PRIMARILY IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. By HERBERT L. BOD‐MAN. Providence, Association for Middle East Women's Studies, 1991. v, 162pp. US$10.‐

NILE NOTES OF A HOWADJI: A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TRAVELERS’ TALES FROM EGYPT, FROM THE EARLIEST TIME TO 1918. By MARTIN R. KALFATOVIC. Metuchen & London, Scarecrow Press, 1992. xxxvi, 427 pp. US$49.50.

THE WATERS OF THE NILE: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. By ROBERT O.COLLINS. London, Hans Zell, 1991. 315pp. £48.‐

DICTIONARY OF MANAGEMENT TERMS: ENGLISH‐FRENCH‐ARABIC. Compiled by JAMES COVENEY & SHEILA J. MOORE; Arabic terms edited by WAGDI RIZK GHALI & HANI G. TABRI. Beirut, Librairie du Liban, 1990. x, 109pp.

WHO'S WHO IN LEBANON 1993–1994. Twelfth edition (thoroughly revised and completed). Beirut, Publitec Publications; Munich, K.G.Saur, 1993. 482pp. £95.‐     

Reviews

Scribe, Griot and Novelist: Narrative Interpreters of the Songhay Empire by Thomas A Hale. University of Florida Press, Gainesville (Florida, U.S.A.), 1990. xiv plus 313 pp. including notes, bibliography and index. £23.06. Hardback.

General History of Africa VII. Africa under Colonial Domination 1880–1935 (abridged edition) edited by A. Adu Boahenforthe UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa. UNESCO (Paris), University of California Press (Berkeley) and James Currey (London), 1990. xxi plus 387pp. including illustrations, bibliography and index. £4.95. Paperback.

South Africa: Constitutional Development ‐ A Multi‐disciplinary Approach by Donovan Marais. Southern Book Publishers, Johannesburg, 1989. 315pp. Notes and index. R37.50. Paperback.

Transport Planning for Third World Cities edited by Harry T. Dimitriou. Routledge, London, 1990. xxii plus 432pp. including figures, tables, notes, bibliography and index. £40.00. Hardback.

The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power by Robert I. Rotberg with Miles F. Shore. Oxford University Press, New York, 1989. xxii plus 800pp. including maps, illustrations and bibliography. $35.00 and £25.00.

The Development of the Executive underthe Nigerian Constitutions, 1960–81 by J.D. Ojo. Ibadan University Press, Ibadan, 1985.189pp.

Cultural Forces in World Politics by Ali A. Mazrui. James Currey, London 1990.262pp. R46.60. Paperback.

Urban Markets ‐ Developing Informal Retailing by David Dewar and Vanessa Watson. Routledge, London, 1990. xii plus 154pp. £30.00. Hardback.

State‐Administered Rural Change: Agricultural Cooperatives in Kenya by Björn Gyllström. Routledge, London and New York, 1991. xvii plus 319pp. including figures, tables, appendices, notes, bibliography and index. Hardback.

The African Frontier: The Reproduction of Traditional African Societies. Edited and with an introduction by Igor Kopytoff. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis. 1987. vii plus 288pp. including maps, notes and index. R70.15. Hardback.

Studies in the Economic History of Southern Africa. Volume Two: South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland edited by Z.A. Konczacki, Jane L Parpart and Timothy M. Shaw. Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., London, 1991. xvii plus 290pp. including maps, figures, tables, notes, bibliography and index. £35.00 Hardback. £19.50 Paperback.

Incentives and Agriculture in East Africa by Mats Lundahl. Routledge, London, 1990.223pp. Hardback.

African Agriculture: The Critical Choices edited by HA Amara and B. Founou‐Tchuigoua. UN University Press, Tokyo and Zed Books, London, 1990. 227 pp. Paperback.

A History of Agriculture in West Africa: A Guide to Information Sources by S.C. Saha. Studies in African Economic and Social Development, Volume 6, The Edwin Mellen Press, New York and Lampeter, Wales. 136pp. $49.95. Hardback.

Ethnographic Decision Tree Modelling by Christina H. Gladwin. Sage University Paper Series on Qualitative Research Methods Vol.9. Beverly Hills CALSage, 1989.96pp. $6.50. Paperback.

Samora Machel: A Biography by lain Christie. London: Panaf 1989. 181pp including photographs, bibliography and index. Paperback.

Mozambique: Norwegian Assistance in a Context of Crisis by Grete Brochmann & Arve Ofstad. Fantoft: Christian Michelsen Institute, 1990. vii plus 173pp. including tables, bibliography and index. Paperback.

Self‐Employment for Disabled People: Experiences from Africa and Asia by Malcolm Harper and Willi Momm. International Labour Office, Geneva, 1989. viii plus 85pp. Swiss Francs 15. Paperback.

Technology, Gender and Power in Africa by Patricia Stamp. Ottawa, Ontario, International Development Research Centre, 1989. x plus 185pp. Paperback.

The Devils are Among Us: The War for Namibia by Denis Herbstein and John Evenson. Zed Books Ltd., London, 1989. ix plus 202pp. including maps, photographs, bibliography, glossary and index. Paperback.

Zimbabwe: A Model for Namibia? A Comparison of Events in Zimbabwe‐Rhodesia 1979–1980 with the Situation in SWA in 1989by Ted Sutton‐Pryce. Academica, Pretoria, 1989. vii plus 77pp. including photographs and acknowledgements. R12.50 plus VAT. Hardback.

The Failure of the Centralised State: Institutions of Self‐Governance in Africa edited by James S. Wunsch and Dele Olowu. Westview Press, Boulder, San Francisco and Oxford, 1990. viii plus 334pp. including tables, notes, bibliography and index. Paperback.