Telephone traffic dispersion and nodal regionalisation in the Australian states

Telephone traffic is shown to be a reliable indicator of functional ties, with morning peak calls concentratedalong hierarchical pathways andevening peak calls more sensitive to population and distance. Traffic dispersion incident to each centre is systematically related to the size of the centre and to the size and spacing of interacting centres. Metropolitan orientation has a powerful effect on traffic dispersion in all situations and, in the more centralised states, negates the relationship between centre size and dispersion and converts the customary distance-decay cones into an elevated surface of strong metropolitan orientation, broken by inverted cones around a few regional centres. Middle-order nodal regions are delineated and intra-regional flows analysed using primary linkage and standardised scores. Three distinctive systems of regional-ordering are described, namely metropolitan-dominated, provincial-city dominated and multi-ordered.     

The South African Military in Transition

This paper assesses the process of military restructuring in South Africa in the context of that country's negotiated transition. A number of key issues, ranging from the practicalities of the integration process to future defence doctrines, are explored. It is concluded that the restructuring in the military has mirrored the process of elite pacting between key sociopolitical actors. On the one hand, this has ensured the stability of the transition. On the other, radical restructuring has been deferred, and the organisational structures of the former South African Defence Force retained. While a reduction of force levels is planned, the military has rapidly expanded in the past five years.