Urban Neighborhoods as a National Resource: Irreversible Decisions and Their Equity Spillovers

The differential timing and pace of private versus public sector disinvestments in declining neighborhoods have some positive spillovers for their residents. Public services are not withdrawn or reduced as rapidly as private investments and the opportunity is preserved for future redevelopment or rehabilitation. This “public service bonus” is vulnerable, however, during periods of austerity and general retrenchment. During such crises, the pressures to rationalize service provision are able to overcome local political and bureaucratic resistance to service reallocations. The analysis is based upon the investment theory literature dealing with irreversible decisions and is exemplified by the reallocation of services in New York City's declining neighborhoods during the past decade.     

Reviews

EUROPEAN UNIFICATION IN THE SIXTIES. FROM THE VETO TO THE CRISIS. Miriam Camps. London, Oxford University Press, 1965. Pp. 257. $5.80.

CONTEMPORARY SOVIET GOVERNMENT. L. G. Churchward. London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968. Pp. xix + 366. $2.50.

SOUTH WEST AFRICA AND ITS HUMAN ISSUES. J. H. Wellington. Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. xriv + 461. $13.10.

ASIAN BUREAUCRATIC SYSTEMS EMERGENT FROM THE BRITISH IMPERIAL TRADITION. Ralph Braibanti (ed.). Duke University Press, 1966. Pp. xx + 733. U.S.$17.50.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN NEWER NATIONS. Harold F. Alderfer. Praeger, 1967. Pp. xii + 206. U.S.$12.50.

ISSUES OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. Charles W. Anderson, Fred R. von der Mehden, Crawford Young. Prentice‐Hall, 1967. Pp. viii ‐f 248. £Stg.1.12.0.

COMMUNISM IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE. A CONTEMPORARY SURVEY. Justus M. van der Kroef. The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 1967. Pp. viii + 268. Guilders 40.60.

INDIA'S QUEST FOR SECURITY: DEFENCE POLICIES, 1947–1965 Lorne J. Kavic. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1967. Pp. 263 + maps. $7.95 (U.S.).

DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC CHANGE IN INDIA. George Rosen. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, Revised Edition 1967. Pp. xviii + 340. $2.25 (U.S.).

INDIA'S POLITICAL SYSTEM. Richard L. Park. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice‐Hall, Inc., Revised Edition 1967. Pp. ix + 116. $2.55.

CAN WE WIN IN VIETNAM? Frank E. Armbruster, Raymond D. Gastil, Herman Kahn, William Pfaff, Edmund Stillman. Pall Mall, 1968. Pp. xiv + 427. $10.10.

VIET‐NAM AND THE WEST. Ralph Smith. Heinemann Educational Books, 1968. Pp. ix + 206. $4.80.

THE CHINESE IN AUSTRALIA. Arthur Huck. Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1968. Pp. x + 117. $4.50.

FROM ASSIMILATION TO GROUP SURVIVAL. A POLITICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF AN AUSTRALIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY. P. Y. Medding. Melbourne, F. W. Cheshire, 1968. Pp. xxii + 300. $6.00.

ISAAC ISAACS. Zelman Cowen. Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1967. Pp. 280. $6.00.

CONTEMPORARY CANADA. Richard H. Leach (ed.) Duke University, Commonwealth Studies Center. Pp. xii + 328. $10.00 (US).

AUSTRALIAN TRADE POLICY 1942–1966. A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY. J. G. Crawford, assisted by Nancy Anderson and Margery G. N. Morris. Canberra, A.N.U. Press, 1968. Pp. xxvii + 641. $10.50.     

The Potential Performance of Ancient Mediterranean Sailing Rigs

A common statement in the academic literature relating to the ancient Mediterranean is that the lateen/settee rig superseded the Mediterranean square‐sail because it provided superior upwind performance, greater manoeuvrability and higher overall speed. This statement has been repeated so often that it is now commonly accepted. Research by the author sets out to develop an insight into the relative performance of both types of rig, based on historical sources, ethnographic records and the performance of representative, full‐size sailing vessels. This allows a reassessment to be made of the underlying reasons behind the adoption of the lateen/settee rig in the Mediterranean. © 2010 The Author     

Rock art on Socotra,Yemen: the discovery of a petroglyph site on the island's south coast.

Recent fieldwork on the south coast of the island of Socotra, Yemen, has revealed a hitherto unknown petroglyph site. This site represents the first rock art to have been recorded on the south coast, an area generally regarded as being unpopulated up until the recent past. The corpus of recorded petroglyphs includes feet, cupules, anthropomorphic figures and geometric motifs, whose designs parallel those from known rock‐art sites on the north coast. The importance of this site is that it provides us with the first glimpse into the religious and socio‐political lives of the inhabitants of the previously unknown southern half of Socotra. Placing these petroglyphs within the broader context of rock‐art studies on the island of Socotra has also allowed us to begin to disentangle the skewed view of Socotra's inhabitants.