Political Power and Policy Design: Why Are Policy Alternatives Constrained?

Little research examines the stage of the policy process during which policy alternatives are formulated. Using quantitative and qualitative data from Swedish local politics, we address this deficiency by analyzing the process by which the number of specific policy alternatives is reduced. The findings suggest that, in approximately 20 percent of issues, more than one alternative will reach all politicians making the binding decisions. Most local politicians, in both the majority and opposition factions, think that they lack sufficient information on alternative policy designs. We also find a “political bias,” that is, alternatives are discarded at an early stage because they are deemed not politically feasible. Politicians outside the inner circles, especially those with higher education, would like to see more policy alternatives to discuss and from which they can make choices.     

Porotic hyperostosis in a Late Upper Palaeolithic skeleton (Villabruna 1, Italy)

Porotic hyperostosis (PH) is a well‐recognised skeletal indicator of physiological stress occurring during the early years of childhood growth. Although frequently found starting from the Neolithic, PH is poorly documented among earlier Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers. This study reports a case of PH in a Late Upper Palaeolithic skeleton (Villabruna 1) from northern Italy. Macroscopic and radiographic examinations of the skeleton show symmetric porotic lesions of the cranial vault, hair‐on‐end appearance, thinning of the cortical bone, diploic expansion and very slight cribra orbitalia (CO). All lesions are highly remodelled and suggest a condition suffered long before death. A differential diagnosis, carried out in order to discriminate between infectious and acquired conditions, points to anaemia as likely aetiology for the changes observed. Absence of postcranial involvement, lesion healing and survival to adulthood suggest a diagnosis of acquired anaemia. Among acquired anaemias, both dietary and infectious models are discussed in light of the individual's skeletal characteristics, as well as geographic location, paleoenvironmental data, subsistence modality and dietary information. The combined analysis of these data suggests that parasitic infestation resulted in megaloblastic anaemia in this individual. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nature now and then

Science Incarnate: Historical Embodiments of Natural Knowledge. Edited by Christopher Lawrence and Steven Shapin (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998) vii + 342 pp. $55.00 cloth, $15.25 paper.

Modern Environmentalism: An Introduction. By David Pepper (London: Routledge, 1996) viii +376 pp. £40 cloth, £13.99 paper.     

Death by gunshot: Biocultural implications of trauma at Mission San Luis

Contrary to the popular myth known as the Black Legend, very little evidence of traumatic injury and death of Native Americans at the hands of Spaniards in the southeastern USA has been uncovered in the archaeological record. This paper reports on the circumstances of death of an individual from Mission San Luis de Talimali (AD 1656-1704), located in northern Florida. A determination of biological affinity of the victim is not possible based on currently available skeletal and contextual evidence. Presence of .44 calibre lead shot in the region of the lumbar vertebrae indicates that the individual probably died from a gunshot wound or complications that followed. To our knowledge, this is the only instance of death in this manner known from Spanish Florida. Bioarchaeological evidence indicates that death resulting from the use of firearms was apparently minimal in this region of colonial America, and other factors—including infectious disease, malnutrition, and forced relocation—were of far greater importance in explaining the precipitous decline and depopulation of native groups in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, at least in Spanish Florida.     

An officer and an activist: Futuring,precarity and life after exile in Namibia

This article explores the life histories of two Namibians who grew up in SWAPO's exile camps in Angola and their ‘futuring’ trajectories once they returned home to Namibia after independence. Presenting these actors’ life histories of navigating Namibian society helps challenge a one-sided economic interpretation of precariousness. More critical than asserting dichotomies between ‘elite’ and ‘precariat’ are the stratagems and choices shaping lived experiences.