Book reviews

W. J. Hudson, Australia and the League of Nations. Sydney University Press in association with the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Sydney, 1980, pp. 224. $22.50.

H. Kenway, H. J. W. Stokes and P. G. Edwards (eds), Documents on Australian Foreign Policy 1937–1949. Volume III, “January‐June 1940”. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1979, pp. lvii + 579. $26.00.

J. D. B. Miller, The World of States: Connected Essays. Croom Helm, London, 1981, pp. 179. £12.50.

Robert O'Neill, Australia in the Korean War: Volume I: Strategy and Diplomacy. Australian War Memorial and Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1981, pp. xxi + 548. $27.50.

Ian Downs, The Australian Trusteeship Papua New Guinea 1945–75. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1980, pp. xxiv + 587. $28.00.

Kym Anderson and Aurelia George (eds), Australian Agriculture and Newly Industrializing Asia: Issues for Research. Australia‐Japan Research Centre, Canberra, 1980, pp. xii + 462. $7.00.

R. and A. Burnett (eds), Australia‐New Zealand Economic Relations—Issues for the 1980s. ANU Press, Canberra, 1981, pp. 183. $12.00.

T. B. Millar, The East‐West Strategic Balance. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1981, pp. 199. $19.95 (cloth), $11.95 (paper).

Karl W. Deutsch (ed.), Ecosocial Systems and Ecopolitics. A reader on human and social implications of environmental management in developing countries. UNESCO, Paris, 1977, pp. 368. No price given.

Allan Schnaiberg, The Environment. From Surplus to Scarcity. Oxford University Press, New York, 1980, pp.464. $14.95.

Gerald Foley with Charlotte Nassim, The Energy Question. Second edition. Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1981, pp. 327. $6.95.

R. M. M'Gonigle and Mark W. Zacher, Pollution, Politics, and International Law. Tankers at Sea. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1979, pp. xviii + 394. $22.50.

J. E. S. Fawcett and Audrey Parry, Law and International Resource Conflicts. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1981, pp. xiv + 254. £20.00.

John L. S. Girling, Thailand, Society and Politics. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1981, pp. 306. $US24.50.

Leung Chi‐keung, J. W. Cushman, Wang Gungwu (eds), Hong Kong: Dilemmas of Growth. Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University and the Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, 1980, pp. 665. $12.

Adam Malik, In the Service of the Republic. Gunung Agung, Singapore, 1980, pp.326. $S18.00.

Donald L. Horowitz, Coup Theories and Officers Motives. Sri Lanka in Comparative Perspective. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1980, pp. xv + 240. $US21.00 (cloth), $US9.25 (paper).

J. Bruce Jacobs, Local Politics in a Rural Chinese Cultural Setting: A Field Study of Mazu Township, Taiwan. Contemporary China Centre, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, 1980, pp. 247. $6.00.

Frank Hardie and Irwin Herrman, Britain and Zion: The Fateful Entanglement. Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1980, pp.x + 118. $7.95.

L. G. Churchward, Australia And America 1788–1972: An Alternative History. Alternative Publishing Cooperative Limited, Sydney, 1979, pp.261.

Angelika Volle, Aus—und Forthildung fur Internationale Tatigkeiten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Europa Union Verlag GMBH, Bonn, 1980, pp. 188. No price given.

O. G. Roeder and Mahiddin Mahmud, compilers, Who's Who in Indonesia. Gunung Agung, Singapore, 1980, pp.428. $S30.00.

Deryck Scarr, Viceroy of the Pacific. Pacific Research Monograph No. 4, Australian National University, Canberra, 1980, pp. 334. $9.00.

Stein Rokkan (ed.), Scandinavian Political Studies, Vol. 12, 1977. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo; Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, pp. 288 $US22.00.     

General practice access in regional and remote Australia for ageing populations

Identifying and removing access barriers to the timely provision of comprehensive health care is increasingly important for the wellbeing of Australia's rapidly ageing and frail populations, particularly those in non‐metropolitan settings. This study has examined if current general practice (GP) locations in non‐metropolitan South Australia (SA) and Western Australia (WA) are geographically accessible to the rapidly growing frail and prefrail populations known to have a high level of health service use and reduced mobility. Geospatial analysis linking 60‐kilometre GP service catchments, 2016 population counts, and 2027 population projections has estimated that the size of the frail and prefrail population that live outside these GP service catchments will double, reaching 7,800 people by 2027. The maldistribution of GP locations was most evident in WA. As regional and remote populations continue to age, the challenge of health service provision, including geographic access to care, must be resolved to ensure that populations in these areas have the best opportunity to age well. Geospatial methods linking service and demographic information, such as the approach used in this analysis, can aid in planning the equitable provision of health care for older Australians.     

An economic and financial geography of the Australian superannuation industry

The Australian superannuation industry has grown enormously over the past 30 years. Whereas working people are automatically enrolled at their workplaces, the head offices of many industry funds are in Melbourne rather than Sydney. Melbourne’s dominance of the superannuation industry is explained, in part, by happenstance—the location of major unions and employer groups and their initiatives in response to the enabling legislation. Other factors identified include opportunism, cooperation, and the advantages of growth. Government-prompted mergers and acquisitions have also reinforced the dominance of Melbourne, notwithstanding attempts by Sydney-based superannuation funds to out-compete their Melbourne rivals. Whereas the geographical bifurcation of the Australian superannuation industry has been mediated by the formation of a Queensland-based superfund “champion,” it is suggested that it faces numerous challenges. In conclusion, avenues for future research are sketched, focusing upon the future of Melbourne as the centre of the superannuation industry, the role of digital platforms in service delivery, pension adequacy, and the increasing importance of Australian funds in global financial markets.     

Death by gunshot: Biocultural implications of trauma at Mission San Luis

Contrary to the popular myth known as the Black Legend, very little evidence of traumatic injury and death of Native Americans at the hands of Spaniards in the southeastern USA has been uncovered in the archaeological record. This paper reports on the circumstances of death of an individual from Mission San Luis de Talimali (AD 1656-1704), located in northern Florida. A determination of biological affinity of the victim is not possible based on currently available skeletal and contextual evidence. Presence of .44 calibre lead shot in the region of the lumbar vertebrae indicates that the individual probably died from a gunshot wound or complications that followed. To our knowledge, this is the only instance of death in this manner known from Spanish Florida. Bioarchaeological evidence indicates that death resulting from the use of firearms was apparently minimal in this region of colonial America, and other factors—including infectious disease, malnutrition, and forced relocation—were of far greater importance in explaining the precipitous decline and depopulation of native groups in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, at least in Spanish Florida.     

The City of London in the Asian crisis

This paper seeks to understand the Asian crisis through theeyes of the City of London. Relying upon material provided byThe Financial Times (FT), we construct an index of pessimismto chart the dominant City of London interpretation of the pathof the crisis. This index is set against data on the actualperformance of the Hong Kong, and Tokyo, London, and New Yorkstock markets over the same period. We have the luxury of retrospectivelyreconstructing the actual path of the crisis whereas the FT(and global financial markets) had to respond to specific eventsin a chain of apparent cumulative events. Our goal is to explainthe construction of the dominant pessimistic interpretationof the path of the crisis, placing the City of London in thecontext of global markets (in time, between Tokyo and New York).In the penultimate section of the paper we report on an interviewwith Riley, the FT columnist, about the results of our analysis,emphasizing the apparent homogeneity of information and opinionin the City of London as opposed to New York. The conclusionfocuses upon the implications of this argument for the studyof discontinuities between global markets, and the future offinancial centres.