Conservative Style, Liberal Production: Hemudu’s Binary System for Maintaining its Scapular Shovel Tradition in the Southern Yangzi Delta, 7000–6000 BP

In the past two decades, archaeological studies of knowledge and skill transmission for pottery and lithic production in preindustrial societies have significantly improved our understanding of how technological traditions were transmitted and how the transmission processes influenced technological persistence and changes. However, case studies of craft transmission for osseous technology are rare despite their equal importance to pottery and lithic industries in preindustrial societies. Our research fills the gap by examining early Hemudu Culture’s (7000–6000 BP) scapular implements in the southern Yangzi Delta to understand the linkage between learning and maintaining the scapular shovel tradition in Hemudu’s socio-economic context. We first traced the history of scapular tools to the precedent Kuahuqiao Culture (8200–7000 BP), then used published experimental results to identify the product traits pertinent to craft learning and infer Hemudu scapular shovel blades’ learning and production patterns. Hemudu scapular shovels had a unique, complicated hafting style and an evidential raw material preference for old water buffalo scapulae. However, the blades’ morphological details and technical solutions varied significantly. In addition, most finished products display manufacturing mistakes resulting from crafters’ lacking skills, experience, and intervention. Practice pieces are rare compared to finished and used products. Although additional evidence implies that practice might have been more common than the studied sample suggested, it was carried out with less-than-ideal bones and insufficient for developing technical competency. We argue that the Hemudu societal norms for a scapular shovel applied only to the highly visible aspects of the implement. The shaft and ligatures could reduce the visibility of many manufacturing flaws on the shovel blade to reach the desired visual effect of the shovel. The shovel blades were made by household crafters emulating from an artifact or a memorized template but had insufficient training and practice in manufacturing. Communities of practice were minimal to nonexistent among the shovel makers; alternative mechanisms to maintain the technical norms or hold a high product standard were also lacking. Therefore, we concluded that the scapular shovels were less important as a technical implementation than a visual communicator of social identity. The binary system of conformist style and material preference mixed with loose quality control in the shovel blade production reveals that social conformity and the associated learning pattern are circumstantial and fluid even for a community’s iconic implement. Further research with other artifact types in Yangzi Delta would help shed light on whether similar learning patterns were applied besides the creation of scapular shovels.

Non Conformity to Norms: Why Do States Proliferate in Opposition to Well Established and Powerful Non-Proliferation Norms

<p>Nine countries currently have nuclear weapons and of these only three have acquired them in the past 40 years. The primary reason for this has been the establishment of a powerful nuclear non-proliferation regime and its associated norms. The powerful influence of both the regime and the resulting norms on state behaviour is unquestionable. However a limited amount of state proliferation continues and some states’ behaviour suggests that they either reject, or believe that they are outside of the influence of the regime and its norms. My study is looking at the problem of non-conformity to the non-proliferation norm to see why it occurs. The issue is specifically a nuclear one however non-conformity to norms has wider implications in the study of international relations (IR). Regimes and norms clearly do not exist in a vacuum but operate within an international social environment. This nuclear issue remains a central consideration for state foreign policy and hence has justified extensive examination in the field of IR. The intellectually and ethically complex issues that surround access to this technology were acknowledged from its devastating baptism in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. International regulation was seen as the most appropriate form of control of nuclear weapons. This was in part due to the potential consequence of the misuse and the impact of accidents transcending national boundaries. This ultimate destructive capability has only been in the hands of a few states and the dissemination and control of this capability has been contentious from the day it was first used. Initially its power came from its potential to completely dominate militarily. As soon as the second country gained the same capability it became a lot more complicated. The destructive capability of nuclear weapons is such that any future war that saw their use could result in the annihilation of the human species. The Cold War and its extreme vertical nuclear proliferation actualised this fear. Nuclear technologies dual purpose functionality, of both peaceful power generation and the creation of a military nuclear capability make for a complex situation. There is an obvious power imbalance between the nuclear haves and have-nots and a self protective desire to stop or at least limit the number of countries attempting to join the ‘nuclear club’. Both realism and neo-liberal institutionalism are able to explain, in part, conformity and non conformity to regimes and their associated norms within today’s social environment. In this study I will use a social constructivist approach, which is based on the outcomes of persuasion, identification and social conformity, to see if it can add to the current explanations of state nuclear proliferation.</p>

Non Conformity to Norms: Why Do States Proliferate in Opposition to Well Established and Powerful Non-Proliferation Norms

<p>Nine countries currently have nuclear weapons and of these only three have acquired them in the past 40 years. The primary reason for this has been the establishment of a powerful nuclear non-proliferation regime and its associated norms. The powerful influence of both the regime and the resulting norms on state behaviour is unquestionable. However a limited amount of state proliferation continues and some states’ behaviour suggests that they either reject, or believe that they are outside of the influence of the regime and its norms. My study is looking at the problem of non-conformity to the non-proliferation norm to see why it occurs. The issue is specifically a nuclear one however non-conformity to norms has wider implications in the study of international relations (IR). Regimes and norms clearly do not exist in a vacuum but operate within an international social environment. This nuclear issue remains a central consideration for state foreign policy and hence has justified extensive examination in the field of IR. The intellectually and ethically complex issues that surround access to this technology were acknowledged from its devastating baptism in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. International regulation was seen as the most appropriate form of control of nuclear weapons. This was in part due to the potential consequence of the misuse and the impact of accidents transcending national boundaries. This ultimate destructive capability has only been in the hands of a few states and the dissemination and control of this capability has been contentious from the day it was first used. Initially its power came from its potential to completely dominate militarily. As soon as the second country gained the same capability it became a lot more complicated. The destructive capability of nuclear weapons is such that any future war that saw their use could result in the annihilation of the human species. The Cold War and its extreme vertical nuclear proliferation actualised this fear. Nuclear technologies dual purpose functionality, of both peaceful power generation and the creation of a military nuclear capability make for a complex situation. There is an obvious power imbalance between the nuclear haves and have-nots and a self protective desire to stop or at least limit the number of countries attempting to join the ‘nuclear club’. Both realism and neo-liberal institutionalism are able to explain, in part, conformity and non conformity to regimes and their associated norms within today’s social environment. In this study I will use a social constructivist approach, which is based on the outcomes of persuasion, identification and social conformity, to see if it can add to the current explanations of state nuclear proliferation.</p>

Fate and Free Will in Chronicle of a Death Foretold

In García Márquez, the magical is associated with fantasy, myth, literariness, and the unknowability of reality, while realism suggests seeing through fictitious versions of reality constructed by hegemonic discourses. Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981) is about fate and ambiguity, but also encourages the challenging of convention and the assertion of an independent identity: the “magic” of the imagination is a path to alternative ways of being and a new reality. The title suggests the circularity of a mystical destiny and the investigative desire to recuperate historical truth. Santiago Nasar’s death is inevitable because of an honor code rooted in religious and social conformity (his killing is necessary to purify the Vicario family name following a bridegroom’s discovery that his bride, Angela Vicario, has already lost her virginity, possibly to Santiago). Moreover, there is a performative, ritualistic, sacrificial dimension to the planning of the death, as Angela’s brothers act out their compulsion according to what they believe is required of them. Behind this is the idea that the magic of love has become little more than a social contract and has ceased to be “real.” The investigation of the detective-like chronicler (into a real event now being transformed into a fiction) implies a quest for “truth,” and the final outcome is a not entirely ironic achievement of “true” love, independently chosen. This article explores how agency and authorship are mobilized to test the limits of fatalism and convention.

Contactless service encounters among Millennials and Generation Z: the effects of Millennials and Gen Z characteristics on technology self-efficacy and preference for contactless service

Purpose“Contactless service” refers to the use of technology in providing products or services without a salesperson. This study explores the mechanism underlying Millennial and Generation Z (M/Z generations) consumers' preference for contactless service over salespersons in retail stores. In addition, this study tests differences between the M/Z generations.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers predict characteristics to be antecedents of young consumer's preference for contactless service over salespersons and that the effects are mediated by technology self-efficacy. Next, a moderating variable (perceived consumer conformity) is added in the path between technology self-efficacy and the preference for contactless service. The hypotheses are tested among 142 Gen Z and 137 Millennial respondents.FindingsThe results show that M/Z generations’ characteristics significantly influence the preference for contactless service, except for security seeking. Also, interests in new technology and safety seeking are perceived higher by M/Z generations. The influence of technology self-efficacy on the preference for contactless service is moderated by social conformity.Originality/valueAs retail technology rapidly develops, the service industry is expected to change from the past, where salespersons played an important role, to contactless services. This study has academic and practical values, for the authors clarify the underlying psychological mechanisms of why young consumers prefer retail technology rather than communication with salespersons.

Variations in EEG predicts the individual differences in social tasks

People experience events and form an impression of others in a way that is affected by social influence every day. In the present study, we designed a series of experiments centered on social influence to investigate people's bias in following others' opinions and its underlying neural predictors. Our results showed social conformity and proved that social influence-induced change can be predicted by the amount of electroencephalogram (EEG) variations when people view others' faces. This prediction effect is robust in the alpha-band over the right frontal and left occipital electrodes for negative influence. EEG variations can also predict the subsequent trust difference between negatively and positively influenced faces. Our findings suggest that higher EEG variations in the pre-influence task may serve as a predictor of high vulnerability to social influence. The present study provides a novel approach that considers both the stability of one's endogenous EEG and the variations in external task components to predict human social behaviors.

Messages that increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance: Evidence from online experiments in six Latin American countries

As safe and effective vaccines become widely available, attaining herd immunity and limiting the spread of COVID-19 will depend on individuals choosing to vaccinate—and doing so quickly enough to outpace mutations. Using online surveys conducted across six Latin American countries in January 2021, we experimentally assess messages designed to counteract informational deficiencies and collective action problems that may drive hesitancy. We first find that basic vaccine information persuades around 8% of hesitant individuals to become willing to vaccinate, reduces intended wait to vaccinate by 0.4 months, and increases willingness to encourage others to vaccinate. Rather than facilitating free riding, learning, or social conformity, additional information about others’ behavior increases vaccine acceptance when respondents expect herd immunity will be achieved. Finally, priming the social approval benefits of vaccinating also increases vaccine acceptance. These results suggest that providing information and shaping social expectations and incentives could both significantly increase vaccine uptake.

Zur Rezeption deutscher Musik in der japanischen Musikpublizistik während des Pazifischen Krieges - eine Zwischenbilanz

This article analyses the reception of German music in the music press of Japan during the Pacific War, against the bakdrop of the German-Japanese policy of alliance and a twofold centralization of the Japanese music press. In the first half of the 1940s the number of journals dealing with European music was reduced and an official cultural association, subordinated to the ministries for culture and propaganda, was founded. A close reading of Japanese music journals from between 1941 and 1944 establishes that German music was re-interpreted several times within a relatively short period of time, depending on its use for propaganda or social conformity. At first music journals demonstrated great interest in the restructuring of cultural life in Germany and compared German art music favourably with Russian, French and American music, particularly jazz. From 1943 onwards official control of the music press tightened and, in the wake of calls for a genuinely Japanese music independent of European traditions, anti-European rhetoric became more prominent, although German art music continued to be invoked against jazz and the vulgarization of art through popular music.