Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
856
result(s) for
"Mitchell, William E"
Sort by:
The bamboo fire : field work with the New Guinea Wape
\"The Wape of New Guinea live in a mountainous tropical forest habitat. They are slash and burn horticulturalists and reside in sedentary villages. Marriage is by bride wealth and polygyny is permitted but rare. The society is egalitarian in terms of male status and, although the society is hierarchical in terms of sex and age differences, both women and the young enjoy higher status than in many other New Guinea societies. While most Wape are nominal Christians, traditional religious beliefs and practices are of major importance. This book concentrates on describing the field work process. It gives the reader a feeling of the reflexive nature of the field work experience; to demonstrate not only how the anthropologist proceeds in her or his work, but to describe the social and psychological context in which that work evolves and how anthropologists respond to it both within oneself and in communication with others. It is not so much a book about the Wape people as it is about how one anthropologist tried to understand them. It integrates the subjective and objective into a common research method.\"--Publisher's description.
Book
War Shields of the Torricelli Mountains, West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
The usefulness of the term 'ethnolinguistic group', as a construct suggesting that 'differences in language automatically translate into differences in culture', has been questioned by Welsch, Terrel and Nadolski (1992). Not many researchers would insist on the term 'automatically', but would nevertheless support an argument for a strong correlation between material culture and language. As a contribution to this debate, we discuss two types of wood shields of the Torricelli Mountains (one of which is being identified for the first time) and pigskin shields to the south of the Torricellis, their use, and the details of the carved designs of the wood shields. The results of our analysis provide limited support for the correlation of material culture and language but highlight the need for analysis of material culture based on reliable data for a large number and wide range of artefacts, from defined regions, presently held in museums and private collections worldwide.
Journal Article
the defeat of hierarchy: gambling as exchange in a Sepik society
Along with the anthropological neglect of negative reciprocal exchange, scant attention has been given to Melanesian exchange systems that work to defeat the construction of hierarchy. Sahlins' classical model of reciprocity is critically examined and a more logically consistent approach offered. Wape gambling is identified as generalized negative reciprocity and interpreted as complementary to the Wape traditional exchange system in the preservation of male egalitarianism from the erosive changes of a capitalist market system. A dialectical model of exchange systems is offered that acknowledges the processual interrelationship between positive and negative reciprocity in the formation of exchange scenarios. [exchange theory, negative reciprocity, egalitarianism, gambling, Papua New Guinea, Sepik]
Journal Article
Reinventing the Automobile
This book provides a long-overdue vision for a new automobile era. The cars we drive today follow the same underlying design principles as the Model Ts of a hundred years ago and the tail-finned sedans of fifty years ago. In the twenty-first century, cars are still made for twentieth-century purposes. They're well suited for conveying multiple passengers over long distances at high speeds, but inefficient for providing personal mobility within cities--where most of the world's people now live. In this pathbreaking book, William Mitchell and two industry experts reimagine the automobile, describing vehicles of the near future that are green, smart, connected, and fun to drive. They roll out four big ideas that will make this both feasible and timely. First, we must transform the DNA of the automobile, basing it on electric-drive and wireless communication rather than on petroleum, the internal combustion engine, and stand-alone operation. This allows vehicles to become lighter, cleaner, and \"smart\" enough to avoid crashes and traffic jams. Second, automobiles will be linked by a Mobility Internet that allows them to collect and share data on traffic conditions, intelligently coordinates their movements, and keeps drivers connected to their social networks. Third, automobiles must be recharged through a convenient, cost-effective infrastructure that is integrated with smart electric grids and makes increasing use of renewable energy sources. Finally, dynamically priced markets for electricity, road space, parking space, and shared-use vehicles must be introduced to provide optimum management of urban mobility and energy systems. The fundamental reinvention of the automobile won't be easy, but it is an urgent necessity--to make urban mobility more convenient and sustainable, to make cities more livable, and to help bring the automobile industry out of crisis.Four Big Ideas That Could Transform the Automobile Base the underlying design principles on electric-drive and wireless communications rather than the internal combustion engine and stand-alone operation Develop the Mobility Internet for sharing traffic and travel data Integrate electric-drive vehicles with smart electric grids that use clean, renewable energy sources Establish dynamically priced markets for electricity, road space, parking space, and shared-use vehicles
eBook
Obituaries: Rhoda Bubendy Metraux (1914-2003)
Mitchell presents an obituary for Rhoda Bubendy Metraux, who died on Nov 26, 2003 in Barton VT. Metraux is a psychological anthropologist and pioneer in the cultural analysis of media and literary materials, whose life and work intersected in strategic ways with some of the 20th century's most illustrious anthropologists, including Bronislaw Malinowski, Alfred Metraux, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead.
Journal Article
