Ideology,Power, and the Structure of Policy Networks

This article investigates the role of power and ideology in the endogenous formation of policy networks. According to the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), shared ideology (conceptualized as a system of policy‐relevant beliefs and values) is the primary driver of collaboration within policy subsystems. On the other hand, Resource Dependency Theory suggests that power‐seeking is an important rationale behind network structure, and that collaborative ties are formed primarily on the basis of perceived influence. Hypotheses are tested using a new method of egocentric network correlation, based on survey data of policy networks in five regional planning subsystems in California (N = 506). Results suggest that ideology is an important force behind network cohesion: Not only do policy elites systematically avoid networking with ideologically dissimilar actors but collaborative ties are also systematically formed among actors with shared beliefs. Power‐seeking does not operate on a network‐wide scale but may drive network formation among coalitions of ideologically similar agents.     

Formation of the Florisbad spring and fossil site – an alternative hypothesis

In considering that fossilization could not have taken place in the areas of the spring vents at Florisbad, and that the spring-water was not responsible for fossilization, this hypothesis provides an alternative environment for the fossilization of faunal remains. Based on examination of the site, studies on various aspects of the site, as well as previous hypotheses on the formation of the site, an alternative theory on the formation of the Florisbad spring site is presented. It is contended that a large spring pan developed around the springs, which was later largely covered, and transformed into a dam, by the migration of the Florisbad sand dune. When the water rose to near the top of the Florisbad dune dam, the eastern arm of the dune was breached, evacuating the contents of the dam in a flood of water and sediments. This caused the ephemeral drainage line to the east, to be modified into a flat-bottomed marshy vlei, where the majority of the dam sediments were deposited. Previously largely unanswered and debatable questions such as the erosion of the eastern side of the spring site, the 7 m of clay deposits recorded in the modified vlei area, and aspects of the Peat IV layer are addressed. The importance and influence of the panveld and sand dunes in the formation of the spring site are also examined.     

The Viking Age settlement pattern of Langholt,North Iceland: Results of the Skagafjörður Archaeological Settlement Survey

An archaeological survey of the Viking Age settlement pattern in the Langholt region of North Iceland suggests that being early in this sequence conferred tremendous advantages to the settlers of this previously uninhabited landscape. Many of the farms established during the settlement of Iceland (which began about a.d. 870) are in use today. However, accessing the Viking Age landscape is difficult. In Langholt the earliest layers of most farmsteads are buried under a thousand years of occupational debris, while the abandoned sites have been covered by extensive soil deposition. Here we report on our coring and test excavation results that outline Viking Age farmstead location, establishment date, and maximum size by the end of the Viking Age. There is a strong correlation between farmstead size and establishment date. This correlation suggests that during the rapid settlement of Iceland, the farmsteads established by earlier settlers were wealthier and that wealth endured.