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This article traces the history of the relationship of papermaking and paper to libraries over time. Paper was first made in China and is traditionally considered one of that nation's four greatest inventions, along with gun powder, printing, and the compass. Papermaking was often associated with archives in its early development in China, as well as when it was introduced to Japan, where it came to be a part of some Shinto and Buddhist temples, and later governmental agencies. Under Islam, the availability of paper was linked to increased literacy and growth of libraries. In early modern Europe, before the widespread use of wood in the papermaking process, libraries and archives were part of an "economy of paper" with paper at times being in short supply. In the modern era, the world of papermaking did not intersect much with the world of the library, which made progress with the problem of brittle books, one of its greatest challenges, slow, though recent efforts of government, industry, scientists, and representatives of the library have produced positive results. The damage caused by wood-based paper in libraries was mirrored by the environmental damage caused by wood-based papermaking in communities. The history of papermaking and libraries demonstrates the importance of understanding the technologies which support the library, while also advocating effectively to the representatives of all its sources of support in ways which promote the values of the library and its associated community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We normally hardly notice the mass-produced paper products that pass through our hands on a daily basis, which we then recycle. In fact it has recently been predicted that books printed on paper will be replaced by digital formats. However, paper endures and specialist craft papers are now being produced in increasing quantities, especially valued by artists and conservators, but also by tourists visiting paper-producing areas around the world. Paper is therefore flourishing even in our computer and mobile-phone focused world. One of the areas benefiting from this revival is the Himalayas. As well as serving the tourist trade these products are now exported world-wide, as they were when paper first arrived in Europe in the eleventh century. There are even organisations that run Tibetan-style paper making workshops in Amer­ica. This paper focuses on the papermaking revival in Tibet (China), Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim (India). Using information gained from visits to producers, middle men, as well as retail and export operations, it seeks to compare the economic and social factors influencing the revival, including conservation issues. The conclusion highlights the fact that, even in the twenty first century, hand-crafted items still play an important rôle in our lives.

Copyright of Mecmua is the property of MECMUA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During a conservation project of a luso-oriental altar ivory cross from the 17th century, 59 paper fragments were found on its four level step base, between some of the low relief ivory plates and its wooden sockets of the four level base, and behind some cabochons of the decoration. Some fragments present a watermark and hand writing. These elements, together with the observation of the stains, dimension of fragments and their perforations, lead us to formulate the hypothesis of their having occurred three mountings, in different time periods. The paper characteristics and the history of other materials used in those mountings permit to pinpoint time periods for their occurrence.

In this article, Juan Gustavo Cobo Borda reflects on the work of the Uruguayan artist based in Colombia, Carol Young. Cobo finds within her pottery art reflections about the nature of paper and in her instruments, an archeological finding of mythical origin. In her installations, Young displays pottery objects in a sort of exhibition regarding the classification and record of memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The printing press helped to spread literacy, civic discourse, and even political dissent in colonial America. Without paper, however, the invention of the moveable type printing press would have been insignificant. This crucial communication medium was hobbled by a critical shortage of the raw material needed for printed matter. Paper was in short supply in the colonies and in the new nation as it could only be made from rags, and there was constant difficulty in obtaining enough rags to keep the presses rolling. Pleas for this essential ingredient were constantly seen in the newspapers in early America and there were severe shortages of both paper and the rags from which it was made during the American Revolution. This article examines how desperate were the early Americans for the paper which was necessary both for firing the muskets and for spreading the rhetoric of Revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the early twentieth century, American newspapers enjoyed high circulations while presenting readers with diverse and plentiful content. After 1920, radio broadcasting made even more information available for public consumption, giving audience members an abundant range of media choices. During a time of plenty for readers and listeners, companies in the business of media struggled with the opposite problem: scarcity. As the amount of media content proliferated, the practical ability to disseminate it was determined by the access to scarce resources, and this was true for both radio broadcasting and newspaper publishing. In many respects, the history of the American mass media in the early twentieth century might best be told as a tale of two scarcities, one—the electromagnetic spectrum—defined by absolute limits and the other—the newsprint—defined by access to markets for a particular material, the supply of which often fluctuated in availability and price. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article argues that papermaking supported cryptanalysis's invention; that cryptology—meaning both cryptography and cryptanalysis—could not be practiced before the sustained production of paper; and that Medieval Arabic cryptology originated in tandem with algebra. Furthermore, this article posits that the regional Islamicate postal service, or thebarīd, was used to relay Medieval Arabic cryptograms and thereby shaped the substance of cryptology. These conclusions stem from examining ninth century to fourteenth century Arabic cryptology as a technology and relating Arabic cryptology to three other technological devices: papermaking in the Middle East, algebra, and thebarīd. Extant documents suggest that cryptology originated in ninth century Baghdad. This is because no cryptanalytical writings are known to exist before this period, and cryptology requires both cryptography and cryptanalysis. However, evidence of Medieval Arabic cryptology exists almost exclusively in practitioners' treatises, not in cryptograms or the working papers of cryptanalysts. To redress this barrier to historical research, I move from text to context, or from the ideas in the treatises to thinking about the technologies these ideas called for. Placing cryptological technology within the wider technological context that inspired, shaped, and confined its development suggests why cryptology originated in the Islamicate world, how Arabic cryptology may have been implemented in practice, and what enabled cryptology's start. I hope that this technological exercise encourages the study of the context in which Medieval Arabic cryptology developed, until further primary sources surface. Furthermore, I intend to demonstrate Medieval Arabic cryptology's relevance to cryptological history and Middle Eastern studies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses valentines produced during the U.S. Civil War. Particular focus is given to valentines produced and marketed specifically for soldiers and their families. Details on the imagery used in these valentines, including nationalistic motifs such as stars, eagles, and flags, are presented. The author also discusses the materials used to make the valentines, such as inks, paper, and lace.

Copyright of Polis (07176554) is the property of Polis - Revista Academica Universidad Bolivariana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Historia y Comunicación Social is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research project presents the history and characteristics of traditional Korean books and bookbinding. The article also discusses some aspects of Chinese books and bookbinding that bear a particularly important relation to Korean books and form the origins and development of bookbinding in East Asia. The style of Korean bookbinding had developed under the influence of China, but its uniqueness can be recognised in paper, printing techniques, bookbinding materials and decoration. The Korean scroll constituted the majority of book formats until the twelfth century. Concertina binding had been used extensively for Buddhist texts since the middle of the Goryeo period. Side-stitched binding became the predominant binding style in Korea from the thirteenth century, long before it became popular in China. Paper mulberry was the dominant material for book paper. From the fourteenth century, the most distinctive feature of Korean publishing was the use of movable metal type, coexisting with the earlier woodblock printing. Yellow dyed, embossed, decorative covers and red thread add to the visual characteristics of Korean books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an introduction to the historical value of used playing cards. Details are given noting not only how playing cards in themselves are historically valuable due to their political and social meanings, but also how playing cards were more common than blank writing paper in the earlier centuries of the Modern era and the ways they were often reused for scrap paper. Dozens of examples of cards which were reused are given, highlighting how they provided primary material for historical study.

Purpose — This reflective paper aims to identify and discuss key areas for the development of, and research into, supply network performance measurement systems. Design/methodology/approach — The paper traces the broad history of performance measurement before identifying the specific issues that performance measurement has raised in the supply network environment from both local and global managerial perspectives. Having laid this foundation, the paper continues to examine the likely future challenges that managers of supply networks face. Findings — Four outstanding challenges are identified and discussed: the response to the increasing environmental challenges; the effect of the lean/agile debate on the development of supply networks and their measurement systems; the need to develop performance measurement systems to break through the ‘dyadic relationship’ barrier and make management of the supply network a more realistic aspiration; and challenges faced in making performance measurement a multi-cultural phenomenon and through this make management of international supply chains more effective. Originality/value — The paper identifies some of the outstanding issues in current and future network performance measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Collegium Antropologicum is the property of Croatian Anthropological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article focuses on engendering Syro-Palestinian archaeology. First and foremost, the examination of gendered lives requires attention to the households in which people lived. As the author has suggested in a recent paper, the study of households entails recognizing their social, organizational and material complexity. Although it is difficult to provide a definition of a household that applies across all cultures, acknowledging its social and operational properties as well as its physical ones is critical. A household thus is not simply a family or only a house. Rather, it is a built environment that consists of both persons and their hardware.

In this column, John E. Dvorak provides insight into some of the best industrial hemp websites on the Internet. Areas covered in detail include news portals, hemp associations, new products and research sites. Reviews relating to specific topics such as hemp food, textiles, paper and other industrial uses will also be periodically touched upon. The ever-changing nature of the world wide web will be reflected in the many different types of websites reviewed. While the focus of this column is on North America, a concerted effort is being made to incorporate as many sites from as many countries as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This manuscript focuses on two areas: the review of the history and growth of the QC/sensory evaluation field, and the discussion of the new developments and the future opportunities of this field. This discussion applies to programs worldwide, for companies with established and sound programs, and for companies with either no program or one needing improvement. From this author''s point of view, the areas or growth and opportunities include: (1) awareness of the importance of and support for QC/sensory programs within an organization, (2) increased involvement of sensory scientists in in-plant QC/sensory programs, (3) establishment of new or improved QC/sensory training programs, (4) establishment of improved sensory specifications (in techniques and the integration of consumer/management input), (5) Quality Control/sensory evaluations focused on ingredients and in-process products, (6) understanding and use of the diverse applications of product variability studies, (7) use of new or improved sensory methods, (8) collaboration between R&D and QC functions to produce high and consistent quality, (9) continued use of instrumental measures: their establishment and validation, (10) assuring minimal requirements for QC/sensory programs, (11) global Quality Control, (12) development of QC/sensory programs in the personal care, pharmaceutical, household and paper industries, (13) use of multivariate QC/sensory data analyses and control charts, (14) Internet applications in the QC/sensory field, (15) the ultimate goal: a more effective approach to deliver consistent quality products [Copyright &y& Elsevier]