Population density functions: a differential equation approach

"This paper introduces a new mathematical technique to describe population density functions. Two length scales, which characterize the variation of these density functions within a region, are identified. A differential equation is derived and asymptotic solutions obtained. Two specific techniques, the method of matched asymptotic expansions and the method of multiple scales, are introduced and illustrated by application to population densities at both the metropolitan and regional levels."     

City and innovation: Different size,different strategy

The objective of this paper is to assess whether establishments' innovation performance and innovation strategies differ by the size of the city in which they are located. Using the Canadian 1999 Survey of Innovation database (establishment-based), it was found that the rate of innovation is not correlated with city-size, but when the innovation measure takes into account the importance of innovation, then the size of the city does matter. The results show that establishments belonging to smaller cities (with populations of less than 50,000) are less likely to be associated with a world-first innovation than those located in larger cities. Four innovation strategies have been retained—Private Source, R&D, Collaboration and Public Science Base paths—and the results show that the R&D path leads to the greatest increase in the estimated probability to be associated with a world-first innovation, for almost all sectors and all city sizes.     

Rhythms in urban pathological events: some spatial patterns

Geographical research has demonstrated that there is a marked spatial variability in the ‘incidence’ of many types of pathological events—disruptive events which are unwanted by society. This article extends the scope of this research through the analysis of spatial variability in the characteristics of rhythms in pathological events—‘pathology rhythms’. The approach adopted here is to examine the impact of increasing distance from the Central Business District (CBD)-a major source of timing—on the shape of twenty-four hour pathology rhythms in Newcastle, New South Wales. This is achieved by analysing rhythms for selected types of pathological events, in four zones around the CBD. The results suggest that spatial variability in the shape of pathology rhythms does exist.     

Queers in the American City: Transgendered perceptions of urban space

This paper explores the complex relationship between transgendered people and cities in the USA, and, in particular, their relationship with queer spaces within those cities. Some have argued that queer spaces occur at the margins of society and constitute a safe haven for LGBT oppressed by the hetero-normative nature of urban areas. Data from a survey of 149 transgendered individuals indicate that although queer spaces provide a measure of protection for gender variant people, the gendered nature of these spaces results in continued high levels of harassment and violence for this population. The author argues that the strongly gendered dimensions of these spaces suggests that a discursive re-visioning of gender is needed to create more transgender friendly urban spaces.     

The changing structure of a city: temporal changes in cubic spline urban density patterns

"Using the basic summary of urban structure given by the population density function, this paper estimates changes which have occurred in the structure of the Detroit [Michigan] metropolitan area during the past two decades. Both overall density changes and direction-specific changes are estimated using census data and the method of cubic spline regression. The results give more revealing insight into the structural changes which have occurred in the city than has been possible with traditional models of urban population density."     

Investigating interrelationships between Lower Palaeolithic stone tool effectiveness and tool user biometric variation: implications for technological and evolutionary changes

Lower Palaeolithic hominins are thought to have been dependent upon stone tools during the acquisition and processing of food resources. Hence, it is hypothesized that the evolutionary advantages provided by efficient stone tool use may have selected for anatomical changes observed in the hand during this period. Similarly, hominin manipulative capabilities are suggested to have been of consequence to Lower Palaeolithic technological choices and tool use capabilities. The extent and character of these relationships are not, however, fully understood and it is not known whether these hypothesized co-evolutionary and co-dependent relationships are consistent across varying technological and task-type conditions. Here, six key biometric parameters of the hand are investigated in terms of their statistical relationship with cutting efficiency using both flakes and handaxes over extended periods of use and in multiple types of cutting task. Results indicate that (1) both handaxe and flake cutting efficiencies are significantly related with biometric variation of individual tool users, (2) relationships between biometric parameters and efficiency are consistent across extended durations but vary dependent upon task-type conditions, (3) manipulative strength is the most significant biometric trait in terms of predicting flake efficiency, while (4) hand size is the strongest predictor of handaxe cutting efficiency. These results demonstrate the long-term impact that stone tool use likely had on the evolution of hominin biometric variation during the Lower Palaeolithic, while also highlighting the variable influence of different tool use contexts. Most notably, results indicate that the onset of the Acheulean may have been dependent, a priori, upon hand dimensions that are close to the modern human range, and that prior to the appearance of this anatomy, handaxe use would have been an impractical (i.e. inefficient) tool use behaviour compared to the use of flakes.     

Party executives: Age structure and family size

The Australian Political Handbook, International Public Relations Pty Ltd, Canberra, 1974, pp. 210, $15.60.     

Uncontrolled urban housing in interwar Greece: the rise of the city in urban and national politics

The case of urban housing in interwar Greece was unique. After the end of the war in Asia Minor in 1922 almost 1.3 million Greek Orthodox refugees transferred from Turkey to Greece in the first obligatory exchange of populations in world history. Until that time accommodation and property were the privilege of the rich and there was no consideration for public housing as welfare to cater for the needs of low-income people. This paper explores how the impact of uncontrolled housing in the urban centres of interwar Greece led to the emergence of the town in urban and national politics. It will investigate how the uncontrolled housing defined different spatial configurations and reflected various forms of power relations. It will examine how the need for housing of the masses of refugees led to the collapse of the limited infrastructure and had a catalytic effect on town planning. It will also analyse how urban issues were raised on the political agenda and the way that cities produced electoral behaviours that changed the political map of the country.     

Tree-rings and archaeology: some problems explained

Some uncertainty amongst archaeologists about dendrochronology has prompted an explanation of some of the points which cause most concern. These include the probability of obtaining a date for a wood sample and the reliability and accuracy of that date. Uses of tree-ring analysis, other than for dating, are also mentioned.     

Roulette decoration on African pottery: technical considerations,dating and distributions

African Archaeological Review - The study of roulette decoration on African pottery has received little attention from archaeologists, with the result that a useful tool for culture historical...     

Landowners and urban development: the Ramsden Estate and nineteenth-century Huddersfield

Decisions taken by a dominant landowner had different effects at different times on the changing housing market in Huddersfield. During the early stages of urban growth the Ramsden Estate held a virtual monopoly in land, but failed to exercise its power to control building. Corruption by local agents led to the establishment of tenancy at will, an unusual system of land tenure, which encouraged the development of a very small-scale building industry. Changes in ownership in the 1840s were followed by stiff measures to control the character of building including the prohibition of back-to-back houses. By the second half of the century, competition between landowners increased and the Ramsden Estate was unable to attract large numbers of builders, forcing it eventually to provide land on terms they dictated.     

The nation and the city: urban festivals and cultural mobilisation

This article attempts to map the relations between nation‐building processes in 19th‐century Europe and city cultures with their urban sociability. Three patterns are surveyed: [1] the modern‐national assimilation of medieval and early‐modern city cultures (sample case: Orléans and the French cult of Joan of Arc); [2] the modular replication across cities of urban festivals as cultural mobilizers (sample case: the spread of Floral Games festivals in Southern France and Northern Spain); [3] the reticulation of city‐based practices into a nationwide and nation‐building network (sample cases: the role of choral societies in German cultural nationalism; and its transnational knock‐on effect in the Baltic Provinces). By choosing the city as our social focus and placing it (or rather, its ideal‐type ‘Urbania’) alongside Gellner's ideal‐types of ‘Megalomania’ and ‘Ruritania’, we can avoid the finalism of studying regionalist and nationalist movements in the analytical framework of the post‐Versailles state system, and we gain a better understanding of the granulated, localized social basis of such movements and the translocally homogenizing role of culture.     

Making Space: Women's urban and rural activism and the Australian state

Recent discussions of political actions have emphasised the ways that strategic use of spaces, places and various spatial scales helps to constitute activist practice. Advancing their interests involves activists in spatial practices that seek simultaneously to achieve cohesion and identity for their group, and to negotiate the shifting 'opportunity structures' of their context. In this article, the authors use examples of Australian women's activism in urban and rural contexts to show (1) the spatial processes with which activist groups have negotiated their strategic identities, and (2) how activist groups have constructed their politics spatially with reference to the opportunities presented by the Australian state of the early to mid-1990s. The urban activism discussed is that of parents (primarily women) contesting the quality of children's services in an outer suburban Melbourne municipality; the rural activism is that of the national Women in Agriculture movement, seeking increased recognition of the roles of women in agricultural occupations and sectors. The article elaborates on how the groups have mobilised to develop their constituencies within the contexts of the Australian state of the time, using different spaces and sites, finding appropriate languages and bureaucratic targets, and making a space for their concerns politically, symbolically and materially.