A comparison study of children's independent mobility in England and Australia

We compared independent mobility (freedom to move around the neighbourhood – or similar – without adult accompaniment) among English and Australian schoolchildren. Parents reported mobility licences granted to their children (e.g. allowing them to cross main roads alone) and accompaniment on local trips. Children reported travel mode to school. We examined associations between mobility licences and independent school journeys, and accompaniment on local trips. Among 10–12-year-olds, English children had more licences than Australian children. Mobility licences were directly associated with independent school journeys among primary but not among secondary schoolchildren who travelled further; and inversely associated with parental accompaniment to other destinations. Influences on parental restrictions should be examined to promote children's independent mobility.     

School Choice and Educational Stratification

Recent growth in the number of school choice programs across the country has ignited debate on the stratifying effects of these programs. In the context of interdistrict open enrollment, this paper analyzes—both theoretically and empirically—how choice programs affect stratification levels through the mechanisms of (i) the relative characteristics of program participants and nonparticipants and (ii) the schooling choices of different groups of program participants. The theoretical analysis uses Monte Carlo simulation techniques to analyze a hypothetical world where interdistrict choice is available to students in three school districts that are allowed to vary in student composition, the type of students who take advantage of the interdistrict choice program, and schooling choices of students who open enroll. The results of these simulations provide an understanding of the conditions under which an interdistrict open enrollment program leads to increases, decreases, or no changes in stratification levels. The empirical analysis uses data from the universe of students attending Colorado public schools in 2009–10 to examine how the state's interdistrict choice program affects stratification levels. It also analyzes the factors responsible for any increases or decreases in stratification and finds both participation patterns and differences in schooling decisions across groups to play important roles. The paper concludes with a discussion of its implications for research and policy.     

Units of Archaeological Stratification

The excavating archaeologists’ methodological set ‐ excavation, recording, analysis and publication ‐ rests on the notions and principles of the stratigraphic succession of archaeological deposits. Since 1954 when Sir Mortimer Wheeler published Archaeology From the Earth, there has been a dearth of published discussion on the stratigraphie theory in archaeology. This paper examines some of the background of the stratigraphie notion in archaeology and a revised model for archaeological stratigraphy based on ‘units of stratification’ is presented. Re‐evaluations of stratigraphie configurations in archaeology arc perhaps long overdue and this article is an attempt to engender discussion on this fundamental archaeological tenet.     

Containers and mobility in West Africa

In West Africa, containment practices have long been localized in their production, moulded by environmental forces, and scaled to the human body. In the twentieth century, fossil fuels have changed how people keep and carry things. But newer technologies have tended to alter, rather than eliminate, older forms of storage.     

Evidence of Social Stratification in Bronze Age Denmark

Abstract

The Late Bronze Age hoards (12th–6th centuries B.C.) from Denmark are examined as evidence of the existence of social ranking in that prehistoric society. The hoards contain bronze weapons and ornaments which seem to function as sumptuary goods and appear to be ranked according to regular rules. The hoards also represent economic wealth and include objects of ritual importance. This intersection, in single finds, of material reflections of the political, religious, and economic systems in the society, along with the inferred existence of social ranking, suggests the presence of a prehistoric chiefdom in Denmark in the Late Bronze Age.     

Spatial and social mobility

This paper analyzes the relationship between spatial mobility and social mobility. It develops a two‐skill‐type spatial equilibrium model of two regions with location preferences where each region consists of an urban area that is home to workplaces and residences and an exclusively residential suburban area. The paper demonstrates that relative regional social mobility is negatively correlated with segregation and inequality. In the model, segregation, income inequality, and social mobility are driven by differences between urban and residential areas in commuting cost differences between high‐skilled and low‐skilled workers, and also by the magnitude of taste heterogeneity.     

Religion and Politics in Australia

Abstract

The relationship between religion and politics in Australia has in the past been conditioned by the peculiarities of Australian history. Traditionally religion was related to issues of moral reformation and sectarianism. Changes in Australia over the past forty years have changed this relationship as the public role of religion has waned. In recent times there has been somewhat of a religious comeback in Australian public life. This has been related to a new style of Christian politics, the presence of two strong Church leaders, Cardinal George Pell and Archbishop Peter Jensen, the presence of Islam, the election of a committed Christian Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister and the continuing importance of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) as a civil religion.     

近代山东村落社区结构的整合与分化

在近代山东农村,村落社区成员对土地、资金、村公产等物质资源和宗教、教育、村庄自卫等人资源的分配,必须通过各种社会组织才能得以进行,其中宗族组织起了统合血缘地缘关系及情感流向的关键作用。在村落社区以宗族组织为中心的社会结构整合过程中,会出现基于地权分配不均衡而产生的社会分化,这必然导致经济社会地位相近的村落成员组成某些特殊的社会组织,从而使村落社区结构在统合性中又产生一定的分异性。     

Exploring student mobility and graduate migration: undergraduate mobility propensities in two economic crisis contexts

This article explores the issue of mobility propensity among undergraduates, focusing on plans for long-term and short-term movement, including migration after the completion of present course of study. We also assess the strength of the relationship between a decision to move abroad and the personal impact of the ongoing economic crisis, using evidence from two recent surveys conducted with students in the capital cities of Portugal and the Republic of Ireland. Results provide an indication of the popularity of moving abroad and identify justifications for seeking an exit, potential destinations and anticipated lengths of stays. Regression analysis further confirms that the crisis is having a significant bearing on mobility decisions among respondents in Portugal but not the Republic of Ireland, with the concluding discussion integrating the main findings into existing debates on international student mobility.     

Senators and social mobility in sixth-century Gaul

In the historical and hagiographical writings of Gregory of Tours and in the poetry of Venantius Fortunatus we encounter a group of men who make the claim that they are descendants of the Roman senators of an earlier time. This paper sets out to examine the status of this group in the light of the suggestion by Frank D. Gilliard that in the imprecise Latin of Gregory of Tours the word senator was often used to denote someone who was merely a large landowner. Since Gilliard has suggested that the blanket term senator may mask the parvenus in sixth-century society, discussion of the status of sixth-century senators has here been set in the wider context of social mobility in Merovingian church and state. It is the suggestion of this paper that it was a claim to senatorial family background, rather than the possession of wealth or land, that qualified one, in Gregory's eyes as a senator. Further, there is such ample evidence of upward social mobility, to positions of power and prestige outside the senatorial ranks, and often in royal service, that the conclusion is drawn that for the ambitious in Merovingian society, the patronage of the Frankish kings may have come to mean more than the much vaunted illustrious descent of the senators.     

柴尔德在澳大利亚

著名考古学家柴尔德为考古学所作出的巨大贡献,今天到底意味着什么?为了寻求这个问题的答案,英国考古协会和史前学会1992年5月在伦敦大学的考古研究所联合召开了纪念柴尔德诞辰100周年讨论会。100多名国际知名学者出席了会议,他们从多个角度对柴尔德的思想进行了深入的研究,并取得了丰硕的成果。会议主持人大卫·哈维斯把会议上发表的论文整理成集,定名为《柴尔德的考古学》(The archaeology of V.Gordon Childe)。马尔瓦尼这篇被收录其中的文章对柴尔德1892～1922年在澳大利亚的经历以及此对他以后的思想的影响进行了深入研究。     

Australia in Asia

Anthony Milner (ed). Australia in Asia. Comparing Cultures. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Anthony Milner and Mary Quilty (eds). Australia in Asia. Communities of Thought. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Anthony Milner and Mary Quilty (eds). Australia in Asia. Episodes. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998.