Paleocene flora from Seymour Island,Antarctica: revision of Dusén’s (1908) angiosperm taxa

The Paleocene flora from Seymour Island, Antarctica, is one of the most diverse floras of this age in the Southern Hemisphere. First collected on the Swedish South Polar Expedition (1901–1903), it was described by Dusén in 1908 as having 87 leaf taxa. Forty-seven angiosperm taxa were described and/or illustrated. Many species are based on single specimens, and the flora has not been re-examined in its entirety since it was first described. This study is the first reassessment of the flora updating the original research using current methodologies, and permitting evaluation of the flora in the context of modern ideas on plant evolution and palaeogeography. This paper continues the revision of the material first studied by Dusén; a previous paper described the ferns and gymnosperms; here we describe the angiosperms. The revision is based on the original collections held at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, together with the first major new collections held at the British Antarctic Survey. Among the taxa recognized by Dusén, we recognize only three entire-margined and 11 tooth-margined angiosperms. This revision to 14 species notably lacks the two tropical elements originally described from the flora, Mollinedia seymourensis and Miconiiphyllum austral. Hence, its status as a ‘Mixed Flora’ comes into question and influences climatic interpretations based on Gondwanan floras. Anne-Marie Tosolini^? [a.tosolini@unimelb.edu.au], Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK, and Environmental Geoscience, Latrobe University, Victoria, 3086, Australia; David Cantrill [david.cantrill@rbg.vic.gov.au], National Herbarium of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Private Bag 2000, Birdwood Ave, South Yarra, Victoria, 3141, Australia; Jane Francis [j.francis@earth.leeds.ac.uk], Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. ?Present address: School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. Received 5.5.2012; revised 13.12.2012; accepted 7.1.2012.     

Patterns of Foreign Direct Investment in Mongolia, 1990-2003: A Research Note

This paper delineates the pattern and structure of foreign direct investment (FDI) in a land-locked transition economy, Mongolia, situated strategically between Russia and China. The assessment is based on publications of major international financial institutions, official statistical publications of the Mongolian Government, and a unique dataset of 1,035 FDI firms based on a database compiled by the Mongolian office of the World Bank. A structured analysis of the dataset and government statistical publications makes it possible to ascertain patterns with respect to FDI country origin, sectoral composition, mode of entry, firm capitalization, composition of foreign and local partners, entry date, and location of the investment (core versus periphery). Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: E60, F21, P33. 5 figures, 3 tables, 34 references.     

The Transformation of Labor Relations in Russian Industry: The Influence of Regional Factors in the Iron and Steel Industry

The author examines the role played by the economic geography of the former Soviet Union in the evolution of labor relations in Russian industry, using the iron and steel industry as a case study. More specifically, three regional factors are analyzed as they affect enterprise economic strategies, organization, and management-labor relations: (1) the inherited industrial structure; (2) the degree of product specialization at the regional level; and (3) the level and sophistication of regional political and labor structures combined with the presence (or lack of same) of a “regional agenda.” These factors are examined within the context of a model predicting several possible variants of post-communist labor relations at the enterprise level. 36 references.     

Migration and ethnic nationalism: Anglophone exit and the ‘decolonisation’ of Québec

This article explains the effects of ethnic nationalism on Anglophone and Francophone migration. The rise of Québec ethnic nationalism in the 1960s dismantled the cultural division of labour, which created new opportunities for Francophones but threatened Anglophones' traditional dominance over the Québec economy. This had negative consequences for Anglophones but positive outcomes for Francophones, which in turn accounts for differences in migration patterns. Drawing from the internal colony model as well as migration and exit‐voice theories, and using ecological census data, micro‐census data and election panel data, I find that the key variables that increase the likelihood of Anglophone out‐migration either do not explain Francophone out‐migration or have opposite effects. This is because ethnonationalist policies decreased the economic return particularly for well‐educated, higher‐earning, professional Anglophones in Québec, while increasing the economic position of Francophones and in particular well‐educated professionals.     

A 2500‐year record of marine resource use on Ulong Island,Republic of Palau

The paper reports fish bone and shellfish assemblages from Ulong Island in the Rock Islands of Palau, western Micronesia dating from ∼3100 to 500 BP . Use of marine resources in early prehistory appears to have been highly localised with increasing capture of outer‐reef/pelagic taxa including shark and tuna after 1000 BP . Local stocks of large Tridacnids were depleted during initial human use of Ulong Island, and there is a size decrease in Scarus sp. remains consistent with pressure on the inshore fishery, especially after establishment of permanent stonework villages in late prehistory. Comparison of archaeological assemblages of fish bone from other Rock Islands dated to after 2000 BP indicate that the captured fish species and major capture methods differ between sites and likely reflect local marine environments at each location. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Poromoi Tamu and the Case of the Drowning Village: History, Lost Places and the Stories We Tell

Archaeological excavations at an ancestral village site within rainforest in Papua New Guinea has revealed buried cultural evidence that can be explained in a number of ways. While interpretations based on Western archaeological methods suggest regional landscape dynamics informed by geomorphological processes, Indigenous Rumu oral traditions suggest an interpretation of the site’s stratigraphy based on the workings of spiritual forces. The role of story-telling and new information in site interpretation and understanding is explored in light of these different yet complementary accounts.     

City, region, and in between: New York City's water supply and the insights of regional history

Urban historians have greatly expanded their geographical purview in recent years, incorporating suburbs and hinterlands into their analysis of social and environmental change. Urban environmental historians and suburban historians have played a critical role in the regionalization of urban history over the last decade. This case study of the development of New York City’s water supply reveals the benefits of taking a regional approach to urban history. From the New York Public Library to Central Park’s Great Lawn to neighborhood parks, the New York City landscape bears the traces of the continuous development of the city’s water network. Expansion of the water system in rural hinterlands enabled municipal officials to put urban reservoirs to new uses, creating some of the city’s most beloved public spaces. The rehabilitation of urban infrastructure underscores the intimate linkages between rural development and the urban built environment.