Making hay while the sun shines? Socio-economic change,cereal production and climatic deterioration in Early Medieval Ireland

The Early Medieval period in Ireland (c. A.D. 400–1150) has been the subject of much archaeological and historical study. The recent application of various forms of archaeological sciences, as well as palaeoenvironmental studies, to the archaeological record have, however, added fresh impetus to this study area. It seems increasingly evident that significant changes to economy and society occurred during this period and were not recorded in detail in the contemporary documentary sources. This paper will attempt to outline those changes and to assess whether, or to what extent, they were influenced by climate change.     

Reviews

A THEORY OP FOREIGN POLICY. George Modelski. London, Pall Mall Press, 1962. Pp. xiv + 152. Stg. 21/‐.

THE CONTROL OP THE ARMS RACE. Hedley Bull. For the Institute for Strategic Studies. London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1961. Pp. xiv + 215. Stg. 12/6.

SOCIALISM IN THE NEW SOCIETY. Douglas Jay. London, Longmans, 1962. Pp. vi + 414. Australian price 42/3.

THE CONSPIRATORS: A STUDY OF THE COUP D'ETAT. D. J. Goodspeed. London, Macmillan & Co., 1962. Pp. xii + 252. Australian price 31/‐.

ELOGE DU COLONIALISME: ESSAI SUR LES REVOLUTIONS D'ASIE. Julien Cheverny. Paris, Rene Julliard, 1961. Pp. 372.

THE KREMLIN SINCE STALIN. Wolfgang Leonhard. Translated from the German by Elizabeth Wiskemann and Marian Jackson. London, O.U.P., 1962. Pp. 403. Australian price 62/‐.

EAST CENTRAL EUROPE AND THE WORLD: DEVELOPMENTS IN THE POST‐STALIN ERA. Stephen D. Kertesz (ed.). University of Notre Dame. Press, 1962. Pp. x + 386. Price, U.S. $6.50.

THE ACTION FRANCAISE. Edward R. Tannenbaum. N.Y., John Wiley & Sons, 1962. Pp. x + 316. U.S. $7.50.

TOWARDS A MALAYAN NATION. T. H. Silcock. Singapore, Eastern Universities Press, 1961. Pp. vi + 112. Malayan price $5.

JAREN VAN RECONSTRUCTS: NIEUW‐GUINEA VAN 1949 TOT 1961. C. S. I. J. Lagerberg. ’s Hertogenbosch, Zuid‐Nederlandsche Drukkerij N. V., 1962. Pp. 232. 10 Guilders.

AUSTRALIAN DIPLOMACY AND JAPAN, 1945–1951. B. N. Rosecrance. Melbourne, M.U.P., 1961. Pp. xii + 288. Australian price 45/‐.

AUCUPARIUS: RECOLLECTIONS OF A RECRUITING OFFICER. Ralph Furse. London, O.U.P., 1962. Pp. xv + 330. Stg. 35/‐.     

Necrocapitalism in the Gig Economy: The Case of Platform Food Couriers in Australia

Although recent deaths of multiple couriers on the road have raised awareness of the dangers of on-demand food delivery, there remains limited government regulation of the industry in many jurisdictions. In this article, we argue that the labour conditions of platform couriers in Australia constitute a case of necrocapitalism (Banerjee), a contemporary form of accumulation through which organisational structures harness the power of debilitation and death for economic gain. After contextualising food delivery within the Australian gig economy, our analysis underscores how necropower operates through courier labour. We illustrate three dimensions: how this form of labour entails corporeal risks and harms; how these harms are heightened by platform infrastructures; and how strategic regulatory inaction maintains necropolitical orders. The article concludes with a reflection on how this contemporary example of necrocapitalism illuminates intersecting vectors of domination underpinning the logics and practices of platform governance.     

Reviews

Australian. Robert Manne, The Petrov Affair: Politics and Espionage, Sydney, Pergamon, 1987, pp.310. $28.50 (cloth), $19.00 (paper).

P. Loveday and D. Wade‐Marshall (eds), Economy and People in the North, Australian National University & North Australia Research Unit, Darwin, 1985, pp. 294. $18.00 (paper).

Barry M. Coldrey, Critical Issues in Peace Studies, Melbourne, Edward Arnold, 1987, pp. 151. $15.95 (paper).

G. Zdenkqwski, C. Ronalds and M. Richardson, The Criminal Injustice System, Volume 2, Pluto Press, Sydney and London, 1987, pp.325. $19.95 (paper).

Drew Hutton (ed.), Green Politics in Australia, Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1987, pp. 245. $14.95 (paper).

Philip Ayres, Malcolm Fraser: A Biography, Melbourne, Heinemann, 1987, pp. 518. $39.95 (cloth).

Denis White & David Kemp (eds), Malcolm Fraser on Australia, Melbourne, Hill of Content, 1986, pp. 240. $19.95 (paper).

Comparative and International. Gavan McCormack & Yoshi Sugimoto (eds), Democracy in Contemporary Japan, Sydney, Hale & Iremonger, New York, M.E. Sharpe Inc.; 1986, pp.272, $14.95 (paper).

Richard Robison, Indonesia: the Rise of Capital, Sydney, Allen & Unwin, 1986, pp. 425. $19.95 (paper).

Frederic Spotts and Theodor Wieser, Italy: A Difficult Democracy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1986, pp.329. $32.00 (paper).

Ferenc Feher and Agnes Heller, Doomsday or Deterrence? On the Antinuclear Issue, New York, Sharpe, 1986, pp.153. U.S.$12.95 (paper).

Rasul B. Rais, The Indian Ocean and the Superpowers, London, Croom Helm, 1986, pp. 215. £25.00 (cloth).

Neil Harding (ed.), The State in Socialist Society, Oxford/London, St Antony's/Macmillan, 1984, pp.316. $18.95 (paper).

Peter Raina (ed.), Poland 1981: Towards Social Renewal, London, Allen & Unwin, 1985, pp. 472. $55.00 (cloth).

Rasma Karklins, Ethnic Relations in the USSR: The Perspective from Below, Boston, Allen & Unwin, 1986, pp. 256. $54.00 (cloth).

A.E. Holmans, Housing Policy in Britain, London, Croom Helm, 1987, pp. 489. £29.95 (cloth).

William H. Flanigan and Nancy H. Zingale, Political Behavior of the American Electorate. Boston, Allyn and Bacon, sixth edition, 1987, pp. 221. $33.95 (paper).

Political Theory and Methodology. Andrew Cox. Paul Furlong and Edward Page, Power in Capitalist Society: Theory, Explanations and Cases, Brighton UK, Wheatsheaf Books, 1985, pp. 235. $29.95 (paper).

Harry Beran, The Consent Theory of Political Obligation, Sydney, Croom Helm, 1987, pp.167. £25.00 (cloth).

John Dunn, The Politics of Socialism: An Essay in Political Theory, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1984, pp.103. $13.25 (paper).

John Gyford, The Politics of Local Socialism, London, Allen & Unwin, 1985, pp. 124. $16.95 (paper).

Andrew Levine, Arguing For Socialism: Theoretical Considerations, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984, pp.241. $39.95 (cloth).

Peter Beilharz, Trotsky, Trotskyism and the Transition to Socialism, London and Sydney, Croom Helm, 1987, pp. 197. $82.95 (cloth).

William Borman, Gandhi and Non‐Violence, Albany, N.Y., State University of New York Press, 1986, pp. 287. US$39.50 (cloth), US$12.95 (paper).

Women. Judith Evans et al., Feminism and Political Theory, London, Sage, 1986, pp.155. £5.95 (paper).

Colleen Burke, Doherty's Corner, Sydney, Sirius Books, 1987, pp.154. $9.95 (paper).     

Political information among first‐year Australian politics students: Queensland

This paper is a preliminary investigation into the process of acquiring political information. Data are derived from a survey of students enrolling in the introductory Australian politics course at the University of Queensland in 1980 and compared with similar data from earlier surveys at two NSW Universities. Two types of political information are distinguished—information about political institutions and recognition of political figures. The effects of ten independent variables are shown to be different for the two types of political information. It is hypothesized that information about political institutions is dependent primarily on attitudes towards politics, while recognition of political figures is dependent primarily on exposure to information about them. Sex of the respondents is found to have a powerful and independent effect on both types of political information.     

Plotting Jane Austen: heritage sites as fictional worlds in the literary tourist’s imagination

Fans seeking engagement with Jane Austen and her fictional creations seek out heritage locations linked both temporally and geographically to her life and works. This article adopts a multidisciplinary framework that triangulates fan studies, literary criticism, and heritage studies to analyse three Austen-linked fan spaces: Chawton Cottage (Austen’s former home and now a museum), Lyme Park (‘Pemberley’ in B.B.C.’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice), and two Austen-themed literary walks. I argue that the fan’s desire for connection is by no means an organic or natural quality of the heritage site itself. Rather, creating connections between the revered object (Austen) and the physical spaces that purport to contain her necessitates imaginative work on the part of the literary tourist. That such performative work is necessary in both the ‘real’ (Chawton) and ‘fictional’ (Lyme Park) locations demonstrates the problematic nature of previous critical emphases on the authenticity – or lack thereof – of such spaces. The significance of the fan’s pilgrimage to Austen-linked heritage sites lies not in the author to be ‘found’ there but in how the tourist actively constructs ‘their’ Jane by inscribing her presence – and those of her characters – onto these spaces.     

Reviews and book notes

The Philosophy of Money, by Georg Simmel, trans. Tom Bottomore and David Frisby. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1978, pp. 512. £12.50.

Jean Holmes and Campbell Sharman, The Australian Federal System (Allen and Unwin: 1977).

? Royal Institute of Public Administration National Monograph Series Nos. 1–4, all published by National Council, Royal Institute of Public Administration, Brisbane:.

1. Helen Dent, Stuart Hamilton, Sue Hamilton, Trevor Matthews: Index to the Report of the Royal Commission on Australian Government Administration, 1977, pp. 31, $1.95 posted.

2. Michael Court: Towards a Nationally Integrated Health‐Welfare System for Australia, 1977, pp. 47, $2.95 posted.

3. Nancy Viviani and Peter Wilenski: The Australian Development Assistance Agency — A Post‐Mortem Report, 1978, pp. 29, $3.50 posted.

4. Bernard Schaffer and Elizabeth O'Keeffe: People and Agencies, 1978, pp. 58, $3.30 posted.

Australasian Political Studies Association, Australian Labor Party — National Committee of Inquiry Discussion Papers. APSA Monograph No. 23, 1979. $5.00.

John Summers, Dennis Woodward and Andrew Parkins (eds), Government, Politics and Power in Australia, Flinders University of SA, 1979.

Broido, Vera, Apostles into Terrorists: Women and the Revolutionary Movement in the Russia of Alexander II, Maurice Temple Smith, London, and ANU Press, Canberra, 1979, 238 pp.