Colonel Hawker and Durs Egg: an unrecorded wildfowling gun,his famous two-barrelled punt gun and a passion for fowling

Abstract

A newly recorded wildfowling gun of Col. Peter Hawker and the history of his double-barrelled punt gun, both made by Durs Egg but the punt gun also receiving the attention of William Fullerd, Joe Manton, Westley Richards, Daniel Long of Andover and Thomas Parsons of Salisbury. Used in the waters off Keyhaven, Hants., where he had built a cottage. Elijah Buckle, professional wildfowler, helped design his punt and its carriage as well as other stanchion guns.     

Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey Bt. and the Study of Medieval and Ancient Projectile Weapons

Abstract

Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey is best known nowadays as the author of The Crossbow (1903) which remains a reliable introduction to the study of this weapon. Based on experiments with mediaeval weapons he had restored and the work of two research assistants it covers the development of the weapon from the early middle ages to the nineteenth century. He also made scale models and one third replicas of ancient ballistas, which he tested on his estate at Thirkleby, Yorkshire and at Fort Belan, adjacent to the Menai straits. Using a crossbow he shot an arrow and hurled a stone ball from a ballista, over the narrows, a distance of about a quarter of a mile. Arrowthrowing, shooting with the Turkish composite bow as well as the Indian quoit and the boomerang all demonstrate an interest not only in exotic and unusual weapons but also in the science of ballistics. This he showed to friends at Thirkleby, to enthusiastic audiences at the Royal Toxophilite Society meetings and more formally at the Royal Institution in 1908. The text of his lecture was subsequently printed and is reproduced here. These ballistic experiments led to the design of a golf ball with a reticulated surface and his unique 'roller' golf club.     

Sacrificing urban governance at the altar of political expediency: Illegal street vending in Harare

ABSTRACT

This article uses the case of illegal street vending in Harare to explore the interface between urban governance and politics. Drawing on the ideas of urban governance and informal governance, it illustrates how polarisation between the opposition political party Movement for Democratic Change-dominated municipal council and the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front-led government is affecting governance in general and in particular Harare municipality’s ability to handle the illegal street vending problem. While the paper essentially identifies political expediency as the major reason why a lasting solution is elusive in handling the illegal street vending problem, it acknowledges that there are broad reasons for its persistence. Consequently, the article demonstrates some of the reasons why illegal street vending is difficult to end using the conventional methods and provides some alternatives.     

‘The extraordinary successes which the Russians have achieved’ - the Conquest of Central Asia in Callwell’s Small Wars

ABSTRACT

Charles Callwell’s Small Wars (1896, 1899, 1906) is widely considered both an ur-text for modern counter-insurgency studies, and a primer for the racialized late-Victorian approach to war against ‘savages’: either way it is usually only considered within a British context. Alongside the numerous examples Callwell used from British colonial campaigns, he frequently referred to those of other European powers – notably the Russian conquest of Central Asia. This article will seek to analyse Callwell’s views of Russian colonial warfare, establish the sources on which he relied, and evaluate his accuracy and the effect which the Russian example had on his thinking.     

New Light on the Simpson of York Gun

Abstract

New evidence is examined relating to the making of the Royal Armouries exquisitely decorated sporting gun by William Simpson of York, which has been said to be the finest English gun in existence. Simpson had moved from London to York by 1837 and it has been suggested that this gun was made by him for William Constable (who is known to have owned it) of Burton Constable Hall, near Hull, and indeed, that elements of its decoration were made to match that found on other items made for the Hall. However, it is shown that these apparent links are matters of chance and that this wonderful gun was, in fact, made as a marketing exercise to help Simpson establish himself in York. Advertisements in the York Courant in the summer of 1738 show that Simpson offered it as a raffle prize!     

The loss‐averse newsvendor problem with supply options

In this article, we consider a loss‐averse newsvendor with stochastic demand. The newsvendor might procure options when demand is unknown, and decide how many options to execute only after demand is revealed. If the newsvendor reserves too many options, he would incur high reservation costs. Yet reserving too few could result in lost sales. So the newsvendor faces a trade‐off between reservation costs and losing sales. When there are multiple options available, the newsvendor has to consider how many units of each to reserve by studying the trade‐off between flexibility and costs. We show how the newsvendor's loss aversion behavior affects his ordering decision, and propose an efficient algorithm to compute his optimal solution in the general case with n options. We also present examples showing how the newsvendor's ordering strategy changes as loss aversion rises. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 62:46–59, 2015     

The Maudslay Connection,the Reid Bequest and Forsyth’s Early Percussion Ignition Systems

Abstract

Neal and Back identify that, in 1808, Maudsley, of 78 Margaret Street, was appointed Primer Magazine Maker to the Forsyth Patent Gun Company. Blackmore confirms in a short entry in A Dictionary of London Gunmakers that Henry Maudslay/Maudsley supplied the company with magazine primers. Henry Maudslay was the most influential mechanical engineer of his generation and his factory formed the nursery for many later engineering greats. This connection between Alexander Forsyth and his new company with Maudslay and his company is therefore significant. Determining how these two giants may have interacted and how Maudslay may have influenced the design and manufacture of the new percussion ignition systems is of interest. This interest is increased when we read that Forsyth observes in one of his letters to James Brougham, the day-to-day manager of the business, that ‘Maudsley’s account is most unreasonable in every respect’. In order to understand where Maudslay may have influenced the design and the detail of their manufacture, it is necessary to examine the early evolution of Forsyth’s percussion ignition devices. These are primarily those of the Reid Bequest of 1929 held in the Royal Armouries and those collected by Colonel Colt. As it has been two hundred years since their original creation this requires careful object study to establish the chronology of the objects and obtain an insight into the relationship between Forsyth and Maudslay and their innovations.     

Burden Sharing in CSDP Military Operations

Abstract

Military burden sharing has been a subject of repeated debates in NATO and the UN. Despite more modest goals, the European Union’s (EU) Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) has experienced no fewer difficulties in garnering men, money, and materiel. While this may not come as a surprise, the fact that some EU member states have carried disproportionate shares of the burden of CSDP operations is a puzzle that remains unaccounted for. We address this gap by analyzing determinants of contribution levels to CSDP operations. In employing an innovative multi-method design that combines insights from collection action theory with those from integrated theories of military burden sharing, our results indicate that EU countries tend to contribute in positive disproportion with their capabilities when they have a strong peacekeeping tradition and elections are distant. In contrast, they undercontribute when small trade volumes with the area of operations combine with a weak peacekeeping tradition.     

The royal sword-cutlers of 68 St James's Street and some notes on the London retail trade

Abstract

This paper presents new facts and information on the various sword-cutlers who occupied one of the most notable trading sites for swords and military accoutrements in the West End of London in the 18th and 19th centuries; and also discusses various aspects of the retail trade in the capital at a time when Britain was emerging as the world's foremost trading nation and colonial power.     

Plunder or Trade?

Plunder and trade are theoretically and historically entwined in complex ways. This paper examines when rational players will choose one or both by employing a model of plunder within an evolutionary game theoretic framework. Evolutionary stable strategy equilibria are derived and the replicator dynamics are examined for simple two-by-two symmetric games. Not only are positive defense allocations necessary for trade, implying that all trade is of a contested nature, but the defense technology must also exhibit sufficient effectiveness relative to the plunder technology. A continuum of possible exchanges is proposed that is based on the effectiveness of enforcing property claims. For high levels of transactions costs, plunder dominates. As transactions costs decline, mutual trade emerges as one possible exchange mechanism. All market exchange entails some cost of enforcement; it is contested. Insufficient enforcement of property claims produces mutual plunder as the dominant exchange mechanism. Some implications are suggested for institutional evolution. C7 K4 N4     

Evasion costs and the theory Of conscription

This paper examines the trade and military relationship between two countries which have a common military enemy. The paper explains how the former two countries, which are military allies and trading partners, share the burden of defence against the third country. It demonstrates how the defence production of a country may hurt its ally because the latter country's terms of trade can be deteriorated. Whether or not a smaller ally spends less on defence is analyzed. Also analyzed is the effects of the reactions of the enemy country on the trade between the two allies and their welfare.     

Modern liberal wars,illiberal allies,and peace as the failure of policy

ABSTRACT

The post-Cold War period nearly up to the present has been characterised as the age of liberal wars, yet key facets of the liberal guidance of war remain under appreciated. This article seeks to address this wider gap with regard to the particular concern of war termination and the fulfilment or failure of policy. First, it develops characterisations of liberal wars based on the existing literature, identifying three broad types through consideration of context—defensive versus offensive—and of political and strategic agency, particularly regarding the motives for and intents of action. Three types of liberal wars result: defensive liberal wars, offensive liberal wars with humanitarian motive and geopolitical intent, and offensive liberal wars with geopolitical motive and humanitarian intent. The article then presents one exemplary case for each liberal war with an emphasis on how liberal strategy required an illiberal ally and that ally's effect on the subsequent peace.     

The Sword Presented to Major William George Drummond Stewart,VC, in Recognition of his Services in the Crimean War and Indian Mutiny Campaign

Abstract

In August 1859, at the Birnam Hotel in Perthshire, Lord Panmure, sometime Principal Secretary of State for War in Palmerston’s Government, presented this fine silver-gilt mounted basket-hilted sword on behalf of the tenantry of the Drummond Stewart estates at Grandtully, Perthshire, to Major William George Drummond Stewart, VC, the only son of the laird, Sir William Drummond Stewart, 7th Baronet. The token was given not only to mark the officer’s safe return from the Crimean War (1854–56) and the Indian Mutiny Campaign (1857–58), in which he and his regiment, the 93rd Highlanders, had greatly distinguished themselves, but also in recognition of the pride and interest taken in Stewart’s personal ‘gallant discharge of duty’, which had earned him, at Lucknow, on 16 November 1857, the newly constituted Victoria Cross.     

The limits of technocracy and local encounters: The European Union and peacebuilding

ABSTRACT

This article is the conclusion to a special issue that examines the European Union (EU), peacebuilding, and “the local.” It argues that technocracy—particularly EU technocracy—shapes the extent to which local actors can hope to achieve ownership of externally funded and directed peace support projects and programs. Although some actors within the EU have worked hard to push localization agendas, a number of technocracy linked factors come together to limit the extent to which the EU can truly connect with the local level in its peace support activities. While the EU and other international actors have invested heavily into capacity building in conflict-affected contexts, the EU’s own capacity has not necessarily been built to address the scalar problem of accessing the local in ways that are meaningful.     

Armour in Henry V’s Great Wardrobe

Abstract

The unpublished accounts of two of King Henry V’s armourers, Martin Pull and John Hill, shed new light on the armour worn by the king and his circle during his campaigns to France which culminated in the great victory at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.     

Military Interventions in Civil Wars: Protecting Foreign Direct Investments and the Defence Industry

ABSTRACT

This study extends existing scholarship on the influence of corporate/industry investments on the onset of military interventions in civil wars challenging prior null findings. It proposes a state-centric theoretical framework and argues that researchers have to differentiate between the protection and the advancement of corporate/industry interests. Random-effect logit models in combination with UCDP data on interventions from 2001 until 2009 corroborate the hypothesis that the protection of existing foreign direct investments, as well as the protection of prior arms trade, increase the willingness of a state to intervene militarily in a civil war.     

Tarnishing victory? Contested histories & civil–military discord in the U.S. Navy, 1919–24

ABSTRACT

As the First World War came to an end, the U.S. Navy's leadership engaged in a bitter fight over the “lessons” of the war. Admiral William S. Sims and Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels fought against each other's irreconcilable positions. Sims argued that the Navy Department's inexpert civilian secretary had hamstrung mobilisation, impeded the anti-submarine campaign, and ostracised capable officers in favour of friends upon whom he bestowed medals. Daniels countered that his administration had masterfully responded to the crisis of war. The Navy's record, Daniels insisted, could best be summarised as “a great job greatly done.” Only disloyal nit-pickers could find fault in its accomplishments. The Sims-Daniels controversy raged in congressional hearings, the press, and in partisan histories written by the protagonists. The heart of the dispute and its uncertain resolution rested in radically different understandings of American civil–military relations, naval heroism, and the determinants of victory.     

Modeling the effects of military tension on foreign trade: Some preliminary empirical findings from the Greek-Turkish rivalry

In this paper we examine the effects of irreversibility on foreign trade in the case where there are two sources of uncertainty. The two sources considered in this paper are uncertainty arising from business risk and uncertainty arising from military tension. The resulting insights are then used to model the import markets of Greece and Turkey. These models are then empirically estimated, in order to ascertain, on the one hand whether there is evidence that irreversibility is indeed a factor on the supply side of these markets, and on the other hand, the direction of the incidence of military tension on foreign trade. An index of military tension is used for the two countries, based on the number of airspace violations by Turkish military aircraft of Greek airspace.     

Search and the introduction of improved technologies

Modeling R&D as standard sequential search, we consider a monopolist who can implement a sequence of technological discoveries during the technology search process: he earns revenue on his installed technology while he engages in R&D to find improved technology. What is not standard is that he has a finite number of opportunities to introduce improved technology. We show that his optimal policy is characterized by thresholds ξ_i(x): introduce the newly found technology if and only if it exceeds ξ_i(x) when x is the state of the currently installed technology and i is the number of remaining introductions allowed. We also analyze a nonstationary learning‐by‐doing model in which the monopolist's experience in implementing new technologies imparts increased capability in generating new technologies. Because this nonstationary model is not in the class of monotone stopping problems, a number of surprising results hold and several seemingly obvious properties of the stationary model no longer hold. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2011