Centenary of the Balfour Declaration

During World War One, both Arabs and Zionists sought to become “the tools of British imperialism.” The British exploited both as their own interests dictated, without giving a thought for future consequences. In 1915, the MacMahon-Husayn correspondence – conducted between Britain's High Commissioner in Cairo and a non-representative Arab Bedouin leader from the Arabian Peninsula – ended inconclusively, without agreement. In contrast, the Balfour Declaration - the culmination of 6 months of British-initiated negotiations with the Zionists, was published in order to further Britain's military, strategic and propaganda interests. At the time, the British considered it to have been a ‘brilliant coup’.     

An assessment of the 2000 US presidential election: a set of political marketing guidelines

This paper comprises a set of marketing guidelines using the 2000 presidential election as an example, and analysing the image building of the two candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush. It is not hard to understand, with hindsight, why Bush was the winner. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications     

进攻性现实主义与布什政府对朝政策研究现状述评

本文就进攻性现实主义与布什政府对朝政策研究的目的及意义、国内研究现状进行梳理、阐释和评述,认为美国的外交政策是各派的折中产物,都是基于美国的国家利益和对世界局势的综合考虑。进攻性现实主义与美国保守派占上风的布什政府的外交理念相吻合,是“为永葆美国强权开药方”,是布什政府对朝政策的重要理论来源。其研究具有重要的理论和实践价值及自身特点,应在理论与实际“结合”上下工夫。理论与政策实务的结合,理论抑或政策的研究的连续性和整体性以及整体性研究与细节考察等方面是今后进一步研究的空间。     

多头带绦虫六钩蚴Tm45W基因的克隆表达与免疫原性分析

为分析多头带绦虫Tm45W重组蛋白的免疫原性,利用RT-PCR技术首次从激活的多头带绦虫六钩蚴中扩增出多头带绦虫Tm45W基因。将扩增产物重组于原核表达载体pET32a(+)中,构建pET32a-Tm45W表达载体,转化至大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中,经IPTG诱导表达融合蛋白;表达产物进行SDS-PAGE和Western-blot分析后,将纯化的Tm45W重组蛋白免疫小鼠,用ELISA检测其血清抗体。结果显示,Tm45W基因全长为813bp,其开放阅读框为765bp,编码255个氨基酸,与多头带绦虫新疆株多头蚴45m基因(序列号:EU326106)的部分序列同源性为90.60%;表达的重组蛋白大小为45ku,与脑多头蚴病羊血清的免疫印迹分析呈阳性反应;小鼠免疫后第1周血清中即可检测到抗Tm45W蛋白的特异性抗体,并于免疫后第35天达到高峰。结果表明Tm45W重组蛋白具有较好的反应活性,能引起机体较强的体液免疫反应。     

I don't Agree with Nick: Retrodicting the Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition

Insider and journalistic accounts of the formation in May 2010 of the Conservative‐Liberal Democrat coalition actually, although not explicitly, rely on types of explanation familiar to those who study politics. They tell us that structure (or at least the economy) was important. So too, they suggest, were institutions (timing and the rules of the game). They also stress the importance of contingency (‘events, dear boy, events’) and agency (who did and said what to whom). While none of these things were unimportant, they only served to make certain an outcome that anyone with a passing acquaintance with the theory and the practice of coalition formation would have predicted—namely a ‘minimum winning coalition’. The only thing that could have made that outcome uncertain was a fundamental ideological difference between the two parties involved; however, it quickly became apparent—to the surprise of those of us who failed to appreciate how much the Liberal Democrats had changed—that no such difference existed. Indeed, it is possible to argue that the coalition formed was not merely minimum winning but ‘minimum connected winning’. As such, its formation was not so much breathtakingly bold and exciting as pretty much inevitable. In the end, the maths and the physics mattered more than the chemistry. Fortunately for the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats seriously underplayed their hand in the negotiations, with possibly disastrous consequences for them in the long term.     

Philosophy and the History of Art

Abstract

Schelling’s philosophy of art between 1801 and 1807 can be defined as metaphysics of art. The object of that metaphysics is to deploy the absolute as the being of art and of the arts. Schelling has been criticized on the basis that this metaphysics of art represses the infinite diversity of existing works of art, while overlooking concrete aesthetic experience. Based on Schelling’s definition of the “philosophical construction” of art as an inseparably speculative and historical construction, the aim of this paper is to challenge such assertions. It will show that “historical construction” has to be understood in a twofold manner: first, as a transcendental history of the absolute’s artistic individuation and second, as a cultural history of both the ancient and modern worlds of art. Working within this twofold setting the paper argues that Schelling’s systematic approach, while exhibiting a unifying force, still remains open to the otherness of the real.     

The 2000 American Presidential Election

Abstract

The 2000 Presidential election was one of the longest, most expensive and closest in American history. It was the Presidential election that exposed the flaws (or genius) of the electoral college system, demonstrated the imperfections of media dependency on exit polls and quick election calling, and showed how a third party candidate with just two percent of the popular vote could make the difference in the crucial state of Florida. Democrats lost states they should have won; Republicans lost every big city and most of their suburbs; and the Florida election came down to a five-to-four muddled decision by the Supreme Court. Americans collectively learned a great civics lesson: that even in a bitter, controversial contest, our candidates accept defeat graciously; the simple act of voting is not so simple; and that for all its shortcomings, the electoral college did work.     

A Review of: “Media Democracy: How the Media Colonize Politics,by Thomas Meyer with Lew Hinchman”

This study assesses the importance of paid advertising. Drawing from observations and interviews with ad creators and campaign managers, it describes, analyzes, and evaluates what the candidates did and why in the 1992 New Hampshire presidential primary election. Specifically, the study examines the importance of initial ads, consistency in ads, and the use of negative ads. It demonstrates that candidates flooded the airwaves with 30‐second ads, spending well in excess of overall spending limits on advertising alone. Ad innovations in 1992 were as follows: heavy New Hampshire and Boston time buying, an attack strategy against an incumbent president, an informercial to raise money, distributed videotapes, interactive video appeals, and half‐hour programs. Candidates who advertised early and stayed consistent in their imagery did better than candidates who advertised later and created multiple images and varied ads.     

“东方主义”的另一种解读——艺术的东方主义

爱德华.W.萨义德(Edward.w.Said)于20世纪末阐发的东方主义理论作为后殖民主义文化批评理论之一引发了东西方学者的共鸣,因而风靡世界。在这一理论热潮的背景下,不免会出现套用或者误用的嫌疑,生搬硬套地阐释某一具体文本或作家的现象;或者出现以偏概全,完全被东方主义理论而障目,不见更丰富的文本含义等现象。为此,有必要阐明萨义德东方主义理论的缘起,从而明确"东方主义"理论具体的使用语境;通过对西方唯美主义思潮中表现出来的"日本风"等文学文化现象的解析,从另一个角度来阐释"东方主义"的丰富内涵;对唯美主义者追求的东方艺术与萨义德的东方主义理论进行比较研究,从而为同行们提供一个新的视角来理解唯美主义乃至东方主义。     

Strategisches Wählen bei der Nachwahl in Dresden zur Bundestagswahl 2005

During the German federal elections in 2005 one peculiarity occurred which had considerable consequences. Due to the death of a district candidate in Dresden, there was a by-election in this district two weeks after the regular date. As a consequence, the electors in Dresden already knew the election results in the rest of Germany, when they cast their votes. This circumstance offered many of them a golden opportunity to vote strategically. This article proves that they indeed seized this chance and discusses the legal consequences and theoretical implications of that evidence.