Vegetation history at the multi-period prehistoric complex at Ballynahatty,Co. Down,Northern Ireland

Palaeoecological methods can provide an environmental context for archaeological sites, enabling the nature of past human activity to be explored from an indirect but alternative perspective. Through a palynological study of a small fen peatland located within the catchment of a multi-period prehistoric complex at Ballynahatty, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, we reconstruct the vegetation history of the area during the early prehistoric period. The pollen record reveals tentative evidence for Mesolithic activity in the area at 6410–6220 cal BC, with woodland disturbance identified during the Mesolithic–Neolithic transitional period ca. 4430–3890 cal BC. A more significant impact on the landscape is observed in the Early Neolithic from 3950 to 3700 cal BC, with an opening up of the forest and the establishment of a mixed agricultural economy. This activity precedes and continues to be evident through the Mid-Neolithic during which megalithic tombs and related burial sites were constructed at Ballynahatty. Due to chronological uncertainties and a possible hiatus in peat accumulation in the fen, the contemporary environment of the Ballynahatty timber circle complex (constructed and used ca. 3080–2490 cal BC) and henge (dating to the third millennium cal BC) cannot certainly be established. Nevertheless, the pollen record suggests that the landscape remained open through to the Bronze Age, implying a long continuity of human activity in the area. These findings support the idea that the Ballynahatty prehistoric complex was the product of a gradual and repeated restructuring of the ritual and ceremonial landscape whose significance continued to be recognised throughout the early prehistoric period.     

All hyped up and no place to go

In this paper we think about the performance of sexual identities in space, and try to explore the notions of transgression and parody implicit in recent queer theory, particularly in the work of Judith Butler. To do this, we take a long hard look at two current dissident sexual identities—the hypermasculine ‘gay skinhead’ and the hyperfeminine ‘lipstick lesbian’. We describe their evolution as sexual‐outlaw styles of the 1990s, and assess the effects of their performance in spaces which are, we argue, actively constructed as heterosexual. Although we are ultimately unsure and unable to agree about what kinds of trouble these identities cause, and for whom, and where, we want to share our unease, our questions, our own troubles.     

The mandible and dentition of the Early Cretaceous monotreme Teinolophos trusleri

Rich, T.H., Hopson, J.A., Gill, P.G., Trusler, P., Rogers-Davidson, S., Morton, S., Cifelli, R.L., Pickering, D., Kool, L., Siu, K., Burgmann, F.A., Senden, T., Evans, A.R., Wagstaff, B.E., Seegets-Villiers, D., Corfe, I.J., Flannery, T.F., Walker, K., Musser, A.M., Archer, M., Pian, R. & Vickers-Rich, P., June 2016. The mandible and dentition of the Early Cretaceous monotreme Teinolophos trusleri. Alcheringa 40, xx–xx. ISSN 0311-5518.

The monotreme Teinolophos trusleri Rich, Vickers-Rich, Constantine, Flannery, Kool & van Klaveren, 1999 Rich, T.H., Vickers-Rich, P., Constantine, A., Flannery, T.F., Kool, L. & van Klaveren, N., 1999. Early Cretaceous mammals from Flat Rocks, Victoria, Australia. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery 106, 1–34. [Google Scholar] from the Early Cretaceous of Australia is redescribed and reinterpreted here in light of additional specimens of that species and compared with the exquisitely preserved Early Cretaceous mammals from Liaoning Province, China. Together, this material indicates that although T. trusleri lacked a rod of postdentary bones contacting the dentary, as occurs in non-mammalian cynodonts and basal mammaliaforms, it did not share the condition present in all living mammals, including monotremes, of having the three auditory ossicles, which directly connect the tympanic membrane to the fenestra ovalis, being freely suspended within the middle ear cavity. Rather, T. trusleri appears to have had an intermediate condition, present in some Early Cretaceous mammals from Liaoning, in which the postdentary bones cum ear ossicles retained a connection to a persisting Meckel’s cartilage although not to the dentary. Teinolophos thus indicates that the condition of freely suspended auditory ossicles was acquired independently in monotremes and therian mammals. Much of the anterior region of the lower jaw of Teinolophos is now known, along with an isolated upper ultimate premolar. The previously unknown anterior region of the jaw is elongated and delicate as in extant monotremes, but differs in having at least seven antemolar teeth, which are separated by distinct diastemata. The dental formula of the lower jaw of Teinolophos trusleri as now known is i2 c1 p4 m5. Both the deep lower jaw and the long-rooted upper premolar indicate that Teinolophos, unlike undoubted ornithorhynchids (including the extinct Obdurodon), lacked a bill.

Thomas H. Rich [trich@museum.vic.gov.au], Sally Rogers-Davidson [srogers@museum.vic.gov.au], David Pickering [dpick@museum.vic.gov.au], Timothy F. Flannery [tim.flannery@textpublishing.com.au], Ken Walker [kwalker@museum.vic.gov.au], Museum Victoria, PO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia; James A. Hopson [jhopson@uchicago.edu], Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago,1025 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Pamela G. Gill [pam.gill@bristol.ac.uk], School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, U.K. and Earth Science Department, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; Peter Trusler [peter@petertrusler.com.au], Lesley Kool [koollesley@gmail.com], Doris Seegets-Villiers [doris.seegets-villiers@monash.edu], Patricia Vickers-Rich [pat.rich@monash.edu], School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia; Steve Morton [steve.morton@monash.edu], Karen Siu [karen.siu@monash.edu], School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia; Richard L. Cifelli [rlc@ou.edu] Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73072, USA; Flame A. Burgmann [flame.burgmann@monash.edu], Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy, 10 Innovation Walk, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia; Tim Senden [Tim.Senden@anu.edu.au], Department of Applied Mathematics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia; Alistair R. Evans [alistair.evans@monash.edu], School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia; Barbara E. Wagstaff [wagstaff@unimelb.edu.au], School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; Ian J. Corfe [ian.corfe@helsinki.fi], Institute of Biotechnology, Viikinkaari 9, 00014, University of Helsinki, Finland; Anne M. Musser [anne.musser@austmus.gov.au], Australian Museum, 1 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010 Australia; Michael Archer [m.archer@unsw.edu.au], School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia; Rebecca Pian [rpian@amnh.org], Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA. Received 7.4.2016; accepted 14.4.2016.     

Complex Contagions and the Diffusion of Innovations: Evidence from a Small-N Study

The recent literature on “complex contagions” challenges Granovetter’s classic hypothesis on the strength of weak ties and argues that, when the actors’ choice requires reinforcement from several sources, it is the structure of strong ties that really matters to sustain rapid and wide diffusion. The paper contributes to this debate by reporting on a small-N study that relies on a unique combination of ethnographic data, social network analysis, and computational models. In particular, we investigate two rural populations of Indian and Kenyan potters who have to decide whether to adopt new, objectively more efficient and economically more attractive, technical/stylistic options. Qualitative field data show that religious sub-communities within the Indian and Kenyan populations exhibit markedly different diffusion rates and speed over the last thirty years. To account for these differences, we first analyze empirically observed kinship networks and advice networks, and, then, we recreate the actual aggregate diffusion curves through a series of empirically calibrated agent-based simulations. Combining the two methods, we show that, while single exposure through heterophilious weak ties were sufficient to initiate the diffusion process, large bridges made of strong ties can in fact lead to faster or slower diffusion depending on the type of signals circulating in the network. We conclude that, even in presence of “complex contagions,” dense local ties cannot be regarded as a sufficient condition for faster diffusion.     

Soviet dilemmas

Archie Brown and Michael Kaser (eds), Soviet Policy for the 1980s, London, Macmillan, 1982, pp.282. £7.95 (paper)

David Childs, The GDR: Moscow's Ally, London, Allen & Unwin, 1983, pp.346. $19.95 (paper)

Ferenc Fehér and Agnes Heller, Hungary 1956 Revisited. The Message of a Revolution — a Quarter of a Century After, London, Allen & Unwin, 1983, pp.174. $29.95 (cloth)

Paul G. Lewis (ed.) Eastern Europe: Political Crisis and Legitimation, London & Sydney, Croom Helm, 1984, pp.202. $33.95 (cloth)

Borys Lewytzhyj, Politics and Society in Soviet Ukraine 1953–1980, Edmonton, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, 1984, pp.219. Can. $6.95 (paper)

Roy Medvedev, Khrushchev, Oxford, Blackwell, 1982, pp.292. $15.95 (paper)

Zhores Medvedev, Andropov: His Life and Death, Oxford, Blackwell, 1984, pp.255. $12.95 (paper)     

Book reviews

Laszlo Csaba (ed.). Systemic Change and Stabilization in Eastern Europe. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1991. xi +141 pp. No price given.

Bradley R. Gitz. Armed Forces and Political Power in Eastern Europe. New York: Greenwood Press, 1992. x + 193 pp. No price given.

Leonid Gozman and Alexander Etkind. The Psychology of Post‐Totalitarianism in Russia. Translated by Roger Clarke. London: The Centre for Research into Communist Economies, 1992. 121 pp. £6.50 (paper).

Sten Berglund and Jan Ake Dellenbrant (eds). The New Democracies in Eastern Europe: Party Systems and Political Cleavages. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1991. xii + 237 pp. £39.95.

Adam Przeworski. Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. viii + 210 pp. $25.00 (paper).

Jyrki Iivonen (ed.). The Changing Soviet Union in the New Europe. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1991. ix + 250pp. £35.00.

John McNair and Thomas Poole (eds). Russia and the Fifth Continent. Aspects of Russian‐Australian Relations. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1992. xiv+292 pp. $29.95 (paper).

Alan Dupont. Australia's Threat Perceptions: A Search for Security. Canberra Papers on Strategy and Defence No.82. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1991. 105 pp. $12.00 (paper).

Viberto Selochan. New Directions and New Thinking in Australia‐Southeast Asia Relations. Australia‐Asia Papers No.62. Centre For The Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Griffith University, Brisbane, 1992. $8.00 (paper).

Michael Nicholson. Formal Theories in International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. xiii + 254 pp. No price given.

Charles Reynolds. The World of States: An Introduction to Explanation and Theory. Aldershot, Hants.: Edward Elgar, 1992. xi + 236 pp. £38.50 (cloth), £12.95 (paper).

Rebecca Grant and Kathleen Newland (eds). Gender and International Relations. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1991. xii +176 pp. $34.95 (paper).

Gisela Kaplan. Contemporary Western European Feminism. London: UCL Press; Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1992. xxvi + 340 pp. $24.95 (paper).

J.W. De Pauw and G.A. Luz (eds). Winning the Peace: Vie Strategic Implications of Military Civic Action. New York: Praeger, 1992. xvi + 238 pp. $US49.95.

Martin Shaw. Post‐Military Society. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991. viii + 229 pp. $32.95 (paper).

Ian Bellany. A Basis for Arms Control. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1991. ix+155 pp. No price given. Serge Sur (ed.). Verification of Current Disarmament and Arms Limitation Agreements: Ways, Means and Practices. Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1991. ix+396 pp. £35.00.

D. Rueschemeyer, E.H. Stephens and J.D. Stephens (eds). Capitalist Development and Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1992. xi+387 pp. $45.00 (paper).

A.M. Messina, L.R. Fraga, L.A. Rhodebeck and F.D. Wright (eds). Ethnic and Racial Minorities in Advanced Industrial Democracies. New York: Greenwood Press, 1992. xiv + 353 pp. $49.95. Harry Goulbourne. Ethnicity and Nationalism in Post‐Imperial Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. xiv+271 pp. $110.00.

Yoram Dinstein and Mala Tabory (eds). The Protection of Minorities and Human Rights. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1992. xii + 537 pp. $US168.00.

John Zametica (ed.). British Officials and British Foreign Policy, 1945–50. Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1990. 256 pp. $29.50.

R.A. Levine (ed.). Transition and Turmoil in the Atlantic Alliance. New York: Crane Russak, 1992. x+285 pp. £18.00 (paper).

Mark Borthwick (with contributions by selected authors). Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modem Pacific‐Asia. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press, 1992. xv+590 pp. SUS54.95 (cloth), $US24.95 (paper).

Robert G. Sutter. East Asia and the Pacific. Challenges for US Policy. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press, 1992. vii + 182 pp. $33.95 (paper).

Toshio Watanabe. Asia: Its Growth and Agony. Honolulu: East‐West Center, Institute for Economic Development and Policy, 1992. xiv+175 pp. $US16.00 (paper).

Wang Jiye and T.H. Hull (eds). Population and Development Planning in China. Sydney. Allen and Unwin, 1991. xx + 311 pp. $24.95 (paper).

Ruth McVey (ed.). Southeast Asian Capitalists. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 1992. 218 pp. No price given.

Heiner Hänggi. ASEAN and the ZOPFAN Concept. Pacific Strategy Paper No.4. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1991. 82 pp. $US9.00 (paper).

Joel S. Kahn and Francis Loh Kok Wah (eds). Fragmented Vision: Culture and Politics in Contemporary Malaysia. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1992. vi + 327 pp. $24.95 (paper).

Joan Hardjono (ed.). Indonesia: Resources, Ecology, and Environment. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1991. xvi + 262 pp. $44.95.

Shannon L. Smith. The Politics of Indonesian Rainforests. Monash University Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Working Paper No.76, 1992. 59 pp. $6.00.

Amando Doronila. The State, Economic Transformation, and Political Change in the Philippines, 1946–1972. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1992. xii+199 pp. $37.50.

K.E. Bauzon. Liberalism and the Quest for Islamic Identity in the Philippines. Durham, NC: The Acorn Press, 1991. ix + 219 pp. No price given.

Philippe Regnier. Singapore: City State in South‐East Asia. London: Christopher Hurst, 1991. 301 pp. £27.50.

Dean Forbes, Terence Hull, David Marr and Brian Brogan (eds). Dot Moi: Vietnam's Renovation, Policy and Performance. Political and Social Change Monograph No.14. Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1991. 263 pp. $18.00 (paper).

M.C. Williams. Vietnam at the Crossroads. London: Pinter/Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1992. viii + 104 pp. £22.50 (cloth), £8.95 (paper).

David P. Chandler. A History of Cambodia. Second edition. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press/Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1992. xvi + 287 pp. $29.95.

Michael Haas. Cambodia, Pol Pot and the United States: The Faustian Pact. New York: Praeger, 1991. xv+ 163 pp. $US37.95.

Helen M. Hintjens and Malyn D.D. Newitt (eds). The Political Economy of Small Tropical Islands: The Importance of Being Small. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1992. xxii + 247 pp. £29.50.

Elizabeth Watkins. Jomo's Jailor: Grand Warrior of Kenya. The Life of Leslie Whitehouse. Calais: Mulberry Books, 1992. xv+266 pp. £8.50 (paper).

John Rowland. Two Transitions: Indochina 1952–1955, Malaysia 1969–1972. Australians in Asia Series No.8. Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Griffith University, Brisbane, 1992. 69 pp. $8.00 (paper).

L.A. Crozier. The Golden Land. Australians in Asia Series No.9. Centre for the Study of Australia‐Asia Relations, Griffith University, Brisbane, 1992. 109 pp. $12.00 (paper).     

Picturing the poor: fundraising and the depoliticisation of homelessness

In this paper, we discuss the role images play in attracting charitable donations in an English homeless shelter. Focusing in particular on two image-based projects which feature service-users (one series of black-and-white still photography and one series of film clips posted on YouTube), we draw on interviews with fundraisers and the homeless participants themselves to discuss how they motivated their involvement and what impact they hoped the images would achieve. We conclude by providing some snapshots of how earlier images produced in the shelter have been circulated.