In July 1988, an Advisory Committee was appointed to review the geochemical activities at the Geological Survey of Canada. This report provides the conclusions and recommendations of the committee, as well as a summary of its activities and the findings leading to the conclusions and recommendations. The report describes the current program and reorganization of the GSC; the development of exploration geochemical activities in the exploration geochemistry and Quaternary geology subdivisions; the effect of changes in the administration of the exploration geochemistry subdivision and proposed solutions to identified problems; the importance of environmental geochemistry; a survey of opinion on geochemical exploration activities of the GSC; and a discussion of GSC geochemical exploration activities and their research and methodology. The issues of training, contracting out, archiving of samples, project generation, and the use of computers and databases are also addressed.

This book, first published in 1983, is a major contribution to our understanding of how and why French rural peasant society became modernised by radical changes in the communications system – in particular, the coming of the railways. The author argues that complex changes in the transport systems, and their effects on agricultural market structures, finally brought traditional French rural civilisation to an end. With the extension of commercialisation, and the widening of horizons, new economic and social structures – and changed attitudes – rapidly came into being. Writing as an economic historian, the author has adopted an interdisciplinary approach to this study which incorporates economic, sociological, historical and geographical methods and data.

The volumes in this set, originally published between 1969 and 1990, draw together research by leading academics in the area of the rural history and provide an examination of related key issues. The volumes examine social change in rural communities approaching the industrial revolution, whilst also providing an overview of the history of rural populations in England, France, Germany, Mexico and the United States. This set will be of particular interest to students of history, business and economics.