Australian children's independent mobility levels: secondary analyses of cross-sectional data between 1991 and 2012

This study investigated changes in Australian children's independent mobility levels between1991 and 2012. Data from five cross-sectional studies conducted in 1991, 1993, 2010, 2011 and 2012 were analysed. Parent and child surveys were used to assess parental licences for independent mobility and actual independent mobility behaviour in children aged 8–13 years. Findings show declines in the proportion of young children (≤10 years of age) being allowed to travel home from school alone (1991: 68%, 1993: 50%, 2010: 43%, 2011: 45%, 2012: 31%) and travel on buses alone (1991: 31%, 1993: 15%, 2010: 8%, 2011: 6%, 2012: 9%). Furthermore, the proportion of children travelling independently to school decreased (1991: 61%, 1993: 42%, 2010: 31%, 2011: 32%, 2012: 32%). Significantly fewer girls than boys travelled independently to school at each time point (p?≤?.001). Overall, the findings suggest that Australian children's independent mobility levels declined between 1991 and 2012.     

Sexual Harassment Policy

This research explores hew public-sector employees feel about sexual harassment policies in their workplace, identifies policy attributes that appear to lead to dissatisfaction, and examines employee suggestions for policy improvement. Based on a survey of employees in two public-sector organizations, it concludes that satisfaction with policies is mixed and uncertainty is high, while reporting rates are low relative to harassment experiences. And, while employees are better able to identify problems than propose solutions, recommendations for policy improvements include training on the nature of sexual harassment, use of an ombudsperson, and increased accountability of supervisors.     

The effects of political participation on political efficacy: A simultaneous equations model

The absence of studies investigating the influence of political participation on individuals’ perceptions of political efficacy constitutes a significant gap in our knowledge of political behaviour. While many researchers have investigated the influence of efficacy on political participation, and there has been some endeavour to examine the reciprocity of the relationship between the variables, none has estimated a comprehensive model of the impact of individuals’ participation is different kinds of political activity on different aspects of their perceptions of political efficacy. We redress these particular deficiencies in our knowledge of political behaviour, investigating the influence of participation in three different modes of activity—partisan activism, community activism and political extremism—on individuals’ perceptions of internal and external efficacy; that is, their perceptions of political self‐competence and system responsiveness. Our findings confirm that the relationships between different modes of participation and efficacy are both reciprocal and varied, and that they vary in ways which have important implications for theories of participatory democracy.     

Reviews

The Book in the Americas: The Role of Books and Printing in the Development of Culture and Society in Colonial Latin America. By JULIE GREER JOHNSON. Providence: The John Carter Brown Library, 1988. Pp. xx, 142.

Emigrants and Society: Extremadura and Spanish America in the Sixteenth Century. IDA ALTMAN. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. Pp. viii, 372.

Migration in Colonial Spanish America. Edited by DAVID J. ROBINSON. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Pp. xvii, 399.

Trajinantes: caminos indígenas en la sociedad colonial, siglos XVI y XVII. By LUIS MIGUEL GLAVE. Lima: Instituto de Apoyo Agrario, 1989. Pp. 461.

Indigenous Migration and Social Change: The Forasteros of Cuzco, 1570–1720. By ANN WIGHTMAN. Durham: Duke University Press, 1990. Pp. 315.

Sátira hecha por Mateo Rosas de Oquendo a las cosas que pasan en el Pirú, año de 1598. Study and critical edition by PEDRO LASARTE. Madison: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1990. Pp. xci, 181.

A sátira e o engenho: Gregório de Matos e a Bahia do século XVII. JOAO ADOLFO HANSEN. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras: Secretaria do Estado e da Cultura, 1989.

Obras completas de Juan del Valle y Caviedes. Edición y estudios de MARÍA LETICIA CÁCERES A. C. I., LUIS JAIME CISNEROS y GUILLERMO LOHMANN VILLENA. Lima: Banco de Crédito, 1990. Pp. 962.

Historia de la revolución de la Nueva España de Fray Servando Teresa de Mier. Edición crítica de A. SAINT‐LU y M‐C. BÉNNASY‐BERLING (Coordinadores). J. CHENU, J‐P. CLÉMENT, A. PONS, M‐L. RIEU‐MELLAN y P. ROCHE. Prefacio de DAVID A. BRADING. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1990. Pp. 690     

The triangular model as an instrument for visualising and analysing residuality

Over the last thirty years, residuality has developed into a major research topic in archaeology. In these studies, several ways of visualising residuality have been proposed, facilitating the analyses of archaeological contexts. These all started from linear temporal concepts, though. In the present article, a new approach is proposed, which makes use of an extra dimension. This enables the inclusion of extra variables and, hence, a more balanced analysis of the contexts through their graphic representations. Archaeological contexts from recent excavations in Carthage are used to illustrate the potentials of the model and its application in the archaeological practise.     

The Technology of the Early Oakhurst Lithic Techno-Complex from Klipdrift Cave,Southern Cape,South Africa

The analysis of the lithics recovered from the layers dating between cal bp 10,700 and cal bp 13,700 at Klipdrift Cave, southern Cape, South Africa, provides new information on the Oakhurst techno-complex. A comparison with contemporary sites such as Matjes River Rock Shelter indicates not only technological similarities, but also unexpected differences. The Klipdrift Cave Oakhurst shares many characteristics typical of this techno-complex from the southern Cape, for example, in the dominance of quartzite, irregular and unstandardised flakes; the occurrence of irregular cores; and typical large side and end scrapers. It differs from most coastal Oakhurst sites however, in the more intensive exploitation of quartz, and the presence of a blade component, especially in the lowermost layers. Palaeoenvironmental data, derived from stable isotope analysis of ostrich eggshell, suggest that it was dry in this region during this time period. This was partially a result of the colder conditions that prevailed during the Younger Dryas. The lithic technological production techniques are stable at Klipdrift Cave during the period that the site was occupied from cal bp 13,700 to cal bp 10,700. Our data suggest that the lithic technology did not change in response to possible climatic variability.     

Lightning whelk natural history and a new sourcing method

Artifacts made from sinistral (left-handed) whelk shells are commonly found at inland archaeological sites in eastern North America. Past attempts to source the coast of origin of these marine shells based on chemical analyses have provided tentative results. A knowledge of sinistral whelk natural history is essential before attempting shell sourcing studies. The common occurrence of sinistral whelks in the Gulf of Mexico and their uncommon occurrence along both the South Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic bights are documented. Critical biogeographical and morphological information is presented, as well as a new method of sourcing artifacts based on spire-angle measurements. Sinistral whelk artifacts from Spiro, East St. Louis, and Cahokia probably came from the eastern Gulf of Mexico.     

Swift Creek paddle designs and the imperative to be unique

ABSTRACT

The emergence of the Swift Creek style tradition represents a shift from two or three simple carved paddle designs to many thousands of unique paddle designs by middle Swift Creek then back to merely a few in late and post Swift Creek times. This explosion in designs is a striking phenomenon, in need of consideration. Increased design diversity implicates a rise in creativity, verging on an imperative to be unique, where none previously existed in this medium. In this paper, we offer a revised model of Swift Creek social dynamics by reference to the new-found creativity of paddle makers situated within the context of ethnographic case studies.