Short notices—notes de lecture

Richard BRITNELL, The Commercialisation of English Society, 1000–1500 2nd edn, Manchester Medieval Studies, Manchester University Press, Manchester & New York, 1996, xvi + 281 pp., ISBN 0–7190–5042–1.

Desmond SEWARD, Richard III: England's black legend Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1997, ISBN 014–026634–8 £8.99 (paperback).

David GATES, The Napoleonic Wars 1803–1815, ’Modern wars’ series, Arnold, London, 1997, xx+304 p., ISBN 0–340–61447–1 (paperback, £16.99); 0–340–69184–0 (hardback, £45–00).

Sheila PERRY, ed., Aspects of Contemporary France, Routledge, London, 1997, xviii + 258 p., ISBN 0–415–13180–4 (paperback, £13.99); 0–415–13179–0 (hardback, £45.00).     

A Cross-Cultural Study of Young Children's Mapping Abilities

The mapping abilities of four-year-old children in York, England, Durban, South Africa, Tehran, Iran, Mexico City, Mexico and Evanston, Illinois, USA were investigated, using a methodology involving air-photo identification and simulated navigation on an air photo. The results show that essential mapping abilities (perspective and scale transformations) are well developed by the age of four in these cultures, and provide some evidence in support of the hypothesis that mapping abilities emerge without training in very young children of all cultures.     

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.     

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.     

An officer and an activist: Futuring,precarity and life after exile in Namibia

This article explores the life histories of two Namibians who grew up in SWAPO's exile camps in Angola and their ‘futuring’ trajectories once they returned home to Namibia after independence. Presenting these actors’ life histories of navigating Namibian society helps challenge a one-sided economic interpretation of precariousness. More critical than asserting dichotomies between ‘elite’ and ‘precariat’ are the stratagems and choices shaping lived experiences.