Book Reviews

Guilain P. Denoeux, The United States and the Challenge of Democratization in the Arab World. Washington, DC: Occasional Paper, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, 1996. 38 pp. npg.

Walid Khalidi, Islam, the West and Jerusalem. Washington, DC: Occasional Paper, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and Center for Muslim‐Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, 1996. 24 pp. npg.

Rick Fawn and Jeremy Larkins (eds), International Society after the Cold War: Anarchy and Order Reconsidered. London: Macmillan, 1996. 302 pp. $39.95 (paper).

Mark Turner and David Hume, Governance, Administration and Development: Making the State Work. London: Macmillan, 1997. xv + 272 pp. $34.95 (cloth).

Michael Pugh (ed.), The UN, Peace and Force. London: Frank Cass, 1997. 209 pp. £29.50 (cloth), £15.00 (paper).

Kent E. Calder, Asia's Deadly Triangle: How Arms, Energy and Growth Threaten to Destabilize Asia Pacific. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 1996. xi + 253 pp. npg.

Joseph M. Siracusa and Yeong‐Han Cheong, America's Australia, Australia's America: A Guide to Issues and References. Claremont, CA: Regina Books, 1997. 160 pp. US21.95 (cloth), US$12.95 (paper).

Phillip Darby (ed.), At the Edge of International Relations: Postcolonialism, Gender and Dependency. London: Pinter, 1997. £45.00 (cloth).

Peter Stirk, A History of European Integration Since 1914. London: Pinter, 1996. vii + 308 pp. £42.50 (cloth), £16.99 (paper).

Philip J. Eldridge, Non‐Government Organizations and Democratic Participation in Indonesia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. $55.00 (cloth).

Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Indonesia's Strategic Culture: Ketahanan Nasional. Wawasan Nusantara and Hankamrata. Griffith University: Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Australia‐Asia Papers No. 75, May 1996. x + 49 pp. $10.00 (paper).

Garry Rodan, Kevin Hewison and Richard Robison (eds), The Political Economy of South‐East Asia: An Introduction. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1997. xiv + 299 pp. $29.95 (paper).

Curtis Andressen and Keichi Kumagai, Escape from Affluence: Japanese Students in Australia. Griffith University: Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Australia‐Asia Papers no. 79, December 1996. vi + 116 pp. $16.00 (paper).

Kim Richard Nossal and Carolynn Vivian, A Brief Madness: Australia and the Resumption of French Nuclear Testing. Canberra: Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No. 121, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 1997. $15.00 (paper).

William H. Lewis and Stuart E. Johnson, Weapons of Mass Destruction: New Perspectives on Counter Proliferation. Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 1995. npg.

Hendro Subroto, Eyewitness to Integration of East Timor. Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan, 1997. 279 pp. 29,000 Rupiah.     

Private rental investment and socio-spatial disadvantage in Sydney,Australia

This article unpacks the connection between a growing cohort of small-scale but purposive property investors and urban socio-spatial restructuring. We analyse private rental housing as a tenure share to demonstrate its spatial correlation with the suburbanisation of socio-economic disadvantage in Sydney, Australia, between 1991 and 2016. Then, we show how investors drive this emerging pattern by reference to the geography of property owners’ stated investment objectives—low capital outlay, rental yields, and capital growth prospects. We contend that the link between their small-scale activities and the city’s changing socio-spatial structure is an overlooked consequence of private rental sector (PRS) housing financialisation. Importantly, our focus on behaviours exhibited by small-scale rental property owners in PRS financialisation transcends existing analyses that have concentrated on corporate entity activity in this space. That focus also contrasts with framings of private rental growth as a residual outcome of developments elsewhere in the housing market. Such work is significant because it demonstrates the impacts of real estate investment on urban form.     

The population ecology of hunter-gatherers and their prey

In this paper we combine foraging theory and population biology models to simulate dynamic relationships between hunter-gatherers and their prey resources. Hunter-gatherer population growth responds to the net marginal rate of foraging; prey population growth responds logistically to exploitation. Thus conceived, the relationship between forager and prey biomass is time-dependent and nonlinear. It changes from stable equilibrium to damped and stable cycles with modest adjustments of input parameters. And, it produces the largest sustainable human population at intermediate levels of individual work effort. At equilibrium the forager takes all prey types with a pursuit and handling rate greater than or equal to its maintenance foraging rate. The structural properties of the model compel us to reject standard anthropological interpretations of the carrying capacity concept; they provide new insights on old issues such as original affluence and intensification. Analysis of the interaction of human population, diet selection, and resource depletion requires microecological models in part because the relevant processes occur on time scales largely invisible to both ethnography and archaeology.     

Embracing the Complexities of ‘Big Data’ in Archaeology: the Case of the English Landscape and Identities Project

This paper considers recent attempts within archaeology to create, integrate and interpret digital data on an unprecedented scale—a movement that resonates with the much wider so-called big data phenomenon. Using the example of our work with a particularly large and complex dataset collated for the purpose of the English Landscape and Identities project (EngLaID), Oxford, UK, and drawing on insights from social scientists’ studies of information infrastructures much more broadly, we make the following key points. Firstly, alongside scrutinising and homogenising digital records for research purposes, it is vital that we continue to appreciate the broader interpretative value of ‘characterful’ archaeological data (those that have histories and flaws of various kinds). Secondly, given the intricate and pliable nature of archaeological data and the substantial challenges faced by researchers seeking to create a cyber-infrastructure for archaeology, it is essential that we develop interim measures that allow us to explore the parameters and potentials of working with archaeological evidence on an unprecedented scale. We also consider some of the practical and ethical consequences of working in this vein.     

Making the Dead Visible: Problems and Solutions for “Big” Picture Approaches to the Past,and Dealing with Large “Mortuary” Datasets

There can be few “bigger” questions than the nature and development of human experience and self-awareness and few better ways to study it than through the changing treatment of the dead over time. Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the ‘Invisible Dead’ project (Durham University) is exploring diachronic changes in mortuary practices across two regions: Britain and the Levant. In doing so, it uses archaeology as a way to approach fundamental questions about the human condition. This paper explores the principal difficulties faced during the construction of a database for this project and their wider relevance for the development of robust and successful methods for the study of large “mortuary” datasets in the future. It discusses the issues and biases identified within the mortuary record and how the project has sought to mitigate some of these. By adopting a flexible and ultimately expandable approach to data entry and analysis, value can be added to legacy datasets and “grey” literature, allowing us to make comparisons between regions which are both geographically and chronologically distinct.     

Implications of climate change for glacier tourism

For more than 100 years, the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park have attracted thousands of tourists annually and have emerged as iconic destinations in New Zealand. However, in recent years, the recession of both glaciers has been increasingly rapid and the impacts on, and implications for, visitor experiences in these settings remain relatively unexplored. A mixed-method approach was adopted to investigate visitor experiences and stakeholder perspectives through an assessment of climate-related changes on tourism at the glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park. The bio-physical conditions at both the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers were reviewed in order to assess the magnitude and rate of retreat. Perceptions of climate change risk and awareness of impacts in the National Park were assessed through stakeholder interviews (n = 13) and a visitor survey (n = 500) was used to better understand how impacts at these sites have affected and may continue to affect visitor experiences. Research results were reported to local communities via a series of public talks. Results revealed the fundamental importance of viewing the glaciers as a significant travel motive of visitors, suggesting that there is a ‘last chance’ dimension to their experience. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a high adaptive capacity of local tourism operators under rapidly changing environmental conditions. The implications of altered visitor experiences for tourism operators and protected area managers are discussed in light of these findings.