The Servilia tomb: an architecturally and pictorially important Roman building

One hundred and eleven samples from the important Servilia Roman tomb have been analysed for the first time by Raman spectroscopy, resulting in a complete characterisation of the pigment palette used for its remarkable wall paintings: 73 different pigment mixtures have been identified for the composition of its 11 colours and their tonalities. Dyer’s weld, an ancient organic yellow pigment, which was described by Vitruvius, has been identified and characterised for the first time in Roman wall paintings. Distinctive Raman spectroscopic signals which differentiate between haematite and caput mortuum (a violet colour from haematite which has been subjected to thermal treatment) are also reported. The use of the very expensive lazurite for a balance relates the importance of this otherwise ordinary instrument with psychostasia (the human soul weighing process) and is not found elsewhere in the tomb. The distribution of white minerals alone or in admixture is not related to any particular colouring pigment or figure; this possibly indicates that there was no specific use for each white mineral and that several craftsmen worked on the paintings, perhaps in different periods, or that the frescoes have been subjected to unrecorded restoration. We conclude that Raman spectroscopy is a valuable analytical technique for the unambiguous identification of mixtures of both organic and inorganic compounds, to study the degree of mineral crystallinity and for identifying treatment. These data are relevant for the holistic interpretation of the artwork in its historical, economical and social context.     

Book reviews

Rachel Sharp (ed.), Apocalypse No: An Australian Guide to the Arms Race and the Peace Movement. Pluto Press, Sydney and London, 1984.

David Martin, Armed Neutrality for Australia. Dove Communications, Blackburn, Vic., 1984, pp. xii + 294. $14.95.

Jeffrey T. Richelson and Desmond Ball, The Ties That Bind. Allen and Unwin Australia, North Sydney, 1985, pp. xvi + 402. $29.95.

Deborah Welch Larson, Origins of Containment: A Psychological Explanation. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1985, pp. xvi + 380. $US40.50.

Michael Ghertman and Margaret Allen, An Introduction to the Multinationals. Macmillan Press for the Institute for Research and Information on Multinationals, London, 1984, pp. 143. $11.95.

Neil Renwick, Multinational Corporations and the Political Economy of Power. Canberra Studies in World Affairs No. 14, Department of International Relations, Australian National University, Canberra, 1983, pp. 207. $10.00.

David Hawdon (ed.), The Energy Crisis: ten years after. Croom Helm, London and Canberra, 1984, pp. iii + 137. $27.95.

Robert L. Downen and Bruce J. Dickson (eds), The Emerging Pacific Community: A Regional Perspective. Westview Press, Boulder (Suppliers Bowker Publishing Co. Epping UK), 1984, pp.245. $US23.00

Donald Denoon, Settler Capitalism: The Dynamics of Dependent Development in the Southern Hemisphere. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1983, p. viii + 280. $56.00.

John Ravenhill, Collective Clientelism The Lomé Conventions and North‐South Relations. Columbia University Press, New York, 1985, pp. xxi + 389. $US49.00.

Miron Dolot, Execution by Hunger: The Hidden Holocaust. W.W. Norton, New York, 1985, pp. xvi + 231. $32.90.

W. Laquer and B. Rubin (eds), The Israel‐Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict. Fourth edition. Penguin Books, New York, 1984, pp. xi + 704. $7.95.

David Newman (ed.), The Impact of Gush Emunim. Croom Helm, London and Sydney, 1985, pp. 276. $35.95.

Alan Dowty, Middle East Crisis: US Decision‐Making in 1958, 1970 and 1973. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1984, pp. xiv +416. $71.95.

Michael Smith, Jane McLoughlin, Peter Large and Rod Chapman, Asia's New Industrial World. Methuen, London and New York, 1985, pp. 136. $8.95.

Lim Joo‐Jock and Vani S. (eds), Armed Communist Movements in Southeast Asia. Gower, Aldershot, 1984, for the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, pp. xviii + 204. $28.50.

Lim Joo‐Jock and Vani S. (eds), Armed Separatism in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 1984, pp. 270. $S44.00 (cloth), $S32.00 (paper).

Beverley Hooper, Youth in China. Penguin Books Australia, Ringwood, 1985, pp. x + 235 pages. $7.95.

Chang Pao‐Min, Kampuchea Between China and Vietnam. Singapore University Press, Singapore, 1985, pp. xi + 204. No price given.

Carmel Budiardjo and Liem Soei Liong, The War Against East Timor. Zed Press, London; Pluto Press, Sydney, 1984, pp. xviii + 253. $14.95.

Michael C. Williams, Sickle and Crescent: The Communist Revolt of 1926 in Banten. Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, Cornell University, 1982, pp. 81. $US6.00.

Patricia Herbert, The Hsaya San Rebellion (1930–1932) Reappraised. Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1982, pp. 17. $3.00.

Abd Chamid. The Poorest of the Poor: Three Case Studies from Indonesia. Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, 1982, pp. 42. $3.00.

Benjamin A. Batson, The End of the Absolute Monarchy in Siam. Oxford University Press (for the Asian Studies Association of Australia), Singapore, 1984, pp. xviii + 349. $13.95.

Kim Richard Nossal, The Politics of Canadian Foreign Policy. Prentice‐Hall Canada, Scarborough, Ont., 1985, pp. 232. No price given.     

The Quadrivium of Online Public Consultation: Policy,Culture, Resources,Technology

Concerned by declining interest, trust, and participation by citizens in democratic politics, governments and political institutions worldwide are turning to the internet in attempts to revitalise democracy through online public consultation and citizen participation, referred to as e-democracy or ‘government 2.0’. This paper reports research into the planning and conduct of a series of online public consultation trials launched by the Australian federal government in late 2008, and it compares and contrasts Australian experiences with international e-democracy developments, including the Obama presidential campaign and findings of the Digital Dialogues review of online technologies to enhance citizen engagement in the UK, the UK Power of Information Task Force review, and experiments conducted as part of the MIT Deliberatorium. This paper presents qualitative analysis of findings in 10 areas, which it argues can be further grouped into four main areas of management focus of which technology, often the major topic of discussion, is important but less significant than policy, culture and resources.     

HMQS Mosquito: the rediscovery and identification of Queensland's first warship

In 2009, the remnants of Her Majesty's Queensland Ship Mosquito, a 2nd‐class torpedo‐boat built in 1883, were relocated. Purchased by the colonial government of Australia in response to heightened tensions between Great Britain and Imperial Russia, Mosquito was assigned to Queensland's capital, Brisbane, where it had a largely uneventful career. Following removal from active duty it was stripped and abandoned on the foreshore of a tributary of the Brisbane River. This paper discusses Mosquito's historical background, and chronicles the rediscovery of the vessel, and the archaeological investigation and identification of its remains. © 2010 The Author     

Developing Spatial Weight Matrices for Incorporation into Multiple Linear Regression Models: An Example Using Grizzly Bear Body Size and Environmental Predictor Variables

In this study, we develop spatial autoregressive (SAR) models relating grizzly bear body length to environmental predictor variables in the Alberta Rocky Mountains. We examine the ability of several different spatial neighborhoods to model spatial dependence and compare the estimated parameters and residuals from a standard linear regression model (LRM) with those from three types of SAR models: error, lag, and Durbin. Further, we examine variable selection in the presence of negative dependence by repeating the modeling process using a SAR model. Two findings are that significant negative spatial dependence was present in the residuals of the LRM and that the choice of spatial neighborhood greatly affects the ability to detect spatial dependence. The incorporation of appropriate spatial weights into SAR models improves the fit and increases the significance of the parameter estimates vis‐à‐vis the linear model. The results of this study indicate that negative dependence may not have as severe negative effects on variable selection and parameter estimation as positive dependence. An examination of spatial dependence in regression modeling appears to be an important means of exploring the appropriateness of a sampling framework, predictor variables, and model form. En este estudio desarrollamos modelos espaciales autorregresivos (SAR) que vinculan la longitud del cuerpo de osos grizzli con variables predictivas ambientales en las montañas rocosas de Alberta, Canadá. Examinamos la capacidad de varias vecindades espaciales para modelar la dependencia espacial y la comparación de los parámetros estimados, así como los residuos de un modelo de regresión lineal estándar (LRM) versus tres tipos de modelos SAR: error, retraso (lag) y Durbin. Además, se examina la selección de variables en la presencia de dependencia negativa mediante la repetición del proceso de modelado con un modelo de SAR. El estudio concluye que: 1) existe dependencia espacial negativa significativa en los residuos de la LRM y; 2) la selección de la vecindad espacial afecta en gran medida la capacidad de detectar la dependencia espacial. La incorporación de ponderaciones espaciales correspondientes a los modelos SAR mejora el ajuste y aumenta la importancia de los parámetros estimados versus el modelo lineal. Los resultados de este estudio indican que la dependencia negativa puede no tener los graves efectos negativos en la selección de variables y la estimación de parámetros si se comparan dichos efectos con = la dependencia positiva. Los autores recomiendan un examen de la dependencia espacial en modelos de regresión como medio importante para explorar la conveniencia de un marco de muestreo, de variables de predicción, y de la forma del modelo. 本文构建了阿尔伯达省落基山脉地区的灰熊体态大小与环境预测变量之间的空间自回归模型（SAR）,检验了几种以不同空间邻域矩阵拟合变量的空间相关性,并比较了标准回归模型(LRM)与几种不同类型的SAR模型（空间残差模型、空间滞后模型和空间杜宾模型）的估计参数和残差大小。进而利用一种SAR模型重复模拟过程,进一步测试变量选择对负相关性存在的影响。研究表明,显著的空间负相关存在于LRM的残差中,且空间邻域权重的选择很大程度上影响模型空间相关性的探测能力。将适当的空间权重引入SAR模型中可提高拟合精度,增加相对于线性模型参数估计的显著性。研究结果表明,负相关性在变量选择和参数估计上严重负影响的程度不如正相关性强。回归模型中空间相关性检验似乎是采样结构、预测变量和模型形式适用性分析的一个重要途径。