River meander behaviour and instability: a framework for analysis

Recent empirical and theoretical work on river meanders suggests that instability is inherent. Within this context, an occurrence of multiple cut-offs could be interpreted as a clustering associated with self-organized criticality. Types of meander behaviour ranging from stable to chaotic are examined as trajectories or attractors within the phase space of rate of meander movement and bend curvature and change to the system is explored as shift from one attractor to another. It is suggested that this new approach provides insights into meander dynamics and provides a basis to identify the conditions, limits and constraints under which different behaviour occurs. Basic controls of energy and resistance underlie planform behaviour, but need to be refined in relation to the morphology and stability of channel courses.     

Did Organization Really Matter? Party Organization and Conservative Electoral Recovery, 1945-59

Organizational recovery has traditionally been considered animportant factor in any explanation of the Conservative Party'selectoral recovery during the fifteen years after 1945. Thisarticle examines the extent of this recovery in three marginalseats, which the Conservatives either held or regained to formtheir new parliamentary majority. It demonstrates that, in anumber of constituencies, whatever the wider community mighthave thought, the reality of local organization—whetherin terms of financial health, membership numbers, the deliveryof political education, election campaigning, the effectivenessof party agents, or level of activity—was considered tobe less than impressive to those involved intimately. The articleconcludes that although the value of the Conservative Party'sextensive grass roots should not be denied, the precise roleand effectiveness of local organization should be reconsidered.     

Knowing the Ropes: The Need to Record Ropes and Rigging on Wreck-Sites and Some Techniques for Doing So

Wreck-sites often produce large quantities of rope and rigging. For a number of reasons these are seldom systematically recorded or interpreted. It is argued here that the justifications produced for this are in many cases not tenable. However, one problem has been a lack of practical techniques, and insufficient training in how and what to record. This issue is discussed and some solutions offered. It is also argued that study of rigging could tell us much about the vessels, the processes of their wrecking, and the maritime world in which they operated.
© 2009 The Author     

Native-American Camas Production and Trade in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountains

Traditional Native-American subsistence in the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains followed annual cycles of fishing, hunting, and gathering. Camassia was the most widely used vegetable food. Camas bulbs were so highly regarded that native management strategies evolved to maintain their productivity and to prevent overexploitation. Tactics included control of access to tribally-held camas grounds, regulation of individual allocations of camas bulbs, private ownership of camas prairies, and application of quasi-agricultural practices toward increasing camas production.