Structural Reform in Australian Local Government

Amalgamation has always been the favoured Australian policy instrument for improving the efficiency of Local government. However, this policy consensus has flown against mounting evidence that amalgamation not only often fails to reduce costs, but also generates significant unintended negative consequences. This note considers various recent reports into Australian Local government and argues that the earlier policy consensus on the efficacy of Local council amalgamation has vanished.     

'Giant Strides' in Documentaries, 'Ascents' in Archaeology: Nautical Archaeology's Relationship with and Place within Popular Culture

This article covers 30 years of the representation of nautical archaeology on television. It criticises and positions current research, then develops an objective methodology for examining television documentaries. The relationships and similarities between television documentaries and academia and the wider professional and amateur discipline is debated. Original research, which argues for a structure that is ever-present in nautical archaeology as in popular culture and academia, is deconstructed, and the implications reviewed. A sequence of images is defined and it is demonstrated that this forms a 'unique selling-point' used by both television and the academic discipline.
© 2008 The Author     

Stable Lead Isotope Studies of Black Sea Anatolian Ore Sources and Related Bronze Age and Phrygian Artefacts from Nearby Archaeological Sites. Appendix: New Central Taurus Ore Data

The accumulated published database of stable lead isotope analyses of ore and slag specimens taken from Anatolian mining sites that parallel the Black Sea coast has been augmented with 22 additional analyses of such specimens carried out at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Multivariate statistical analysis has been used to divide this composite database into five separate ore source groups. Evidence that most of these ore sources were exploited for the production of metal artefacts during the Bronze Age and Phrygian Period has been obtained by statistically comparing to them the isotope ratios of 184 analysed artefacts from nine archaeological sites situated within a few hundred kilometres of these mining sites. Also, Appendix B contains 36 new isotope analyses of ore specimens from Central Taurus mining sites that are compatible with and augment the four Central Taurus Ore Source Groups defined in Yener et al. (1991).     

Managing Knowledge and Storing Wisdom? New Forms of Foreign Aid?

Aid agencies claim that their development expertise and advisory services are more important than their funds. Development research databases highlight broader problems in the knowledge management systems that have been established to record and distribute that expertise. In practice, distilled digested mini‐facts disseminated electronically risk perpetuating rather than reducing dependence. A banking model of knowledge and knowledge sharing stymies learning because it undermines and devalues learners’ initiative and responsibility. More consequential than detached bits of information is learning, largely initiated, maintained, and managed by those seeking to change their situation. Problem‐solvers must be directly involved in generating the knowledge they require. Achieving information affluence in poor countries cannot rest on transfer and absorption but rather requires a generative process with strong local roots.     

An exploration of Hul’qumi’num Coast Salish peoples’ attitudes towards the establishment of no‐take zones within marine protected areas in the Salish Sea,Canada

The Canadian Government has committed to establishing a national network of Marine Protected Areas. Progress in the Salish Sea (Strait of Georgia) of British Columbia has been slow. Opposition by First Nations is a factor as these protected areas have the potential to impact on Aboriginal rights. This case study with the Hul’qumi’num First Nations examines their approaches to marine conservation and their perspectives on “no‐take zones” as a component of marine conservation. The study used a variety of community engagement procedures including relationship building, hiring of a Hul’qumi’num research assistant, conducting individual interviews, focus groups, and field surveys. Interviews were conducted with 41 participants contacted because of their knowledge and interest in marine resource use. The views reported provide a rich understanding of Hul’qumi’num attitudes, but cannot be generalised to the whole population. There was widespread support for efforts to involve local First Nations communities in the development of management plans for marine resources, and also for recognition of First Nation reliance on marine resources for food, social, and ceremonial needs and for economic development opportunities. The establishment of permanent no‐take zones was met with both opposition and support. The most highly endorsed statement about no‐take zones is one of principle—that they are a violation of Aboriginal rights. However, there was also strong agreement that permanent no‐take zones would help reduce over‐fishing. The National Marine Conservation Area program is in its infancy and it remains to be seen how the “strictly protected” zone of the legislation will be interpreted in relationship to Aboriginal harvesting practices. However it is clear that successful conservation will only occur with Aboriginal consent in many areas and there needs to be greater investment in understanding Aboriginal perspectives on marine conservation.     

Presidential Signing Statements and the Durability of the Law

Prior literature suggests that presidents use signing statements to unilaterally move policy closer to their own ideal point after Congress has already voted on and passed a particular bill. Congress, however, retains the ability to revisit and amend the law by passing another bill. A presidential signing statement may thus make a law less durable and more likely to be amended in the future. To investigate this relationship, we examine all laws passed from the 95th through the 108th Congresses in order to demonstrate the specific influence of presidential signing statements on future congressional amendment activity. The results of our analysis lend support to the theory that laws receiving presidential signing statements are in fact more likely to be revisited and revised by Congress. These findings add to the literature both on presidential signing statements as well as the evolution of laws.