Associations between coastal proximity and children’s mental health in Australia

Limited research has explored associations between blue spaces and mental health, specifically in children. This study assessed links between coastal proximity and depression and anxiety among children in Australia and tested whether duration of residency at current address moderated associations. It also explored associations between within-individual changes in coastal proximity and changes in depression and anxiety. Data were from 2400 children aged 11–12 years in Wave 5 (2012) and aged 14–15 years in Wave 6 (2014) of the national Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Outcomes were children’s self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Exposure was coastal proximity (<2, 2–<5, 5–<10, 10–<20, 20–<50, and ≥50 km). Linear models were fitted to examine cross-sectional associations and fixed effects models for within-individual associations. After adjustment for potential confounders, findings suggested that those living close to the coast (<2 km) had lower levels of depression than those living the furthest from the coast (≥50 km) during childhood (Wave 5) but not adolescence (Wave 6). No associations were observed with anxiety. There was weak evidence to suggest residency duration moderated associations. No associations were observed for within-individual changes. Further research is needed to understand whether and what characteristics of coastal environments may benefit children’s mental health.     

PLAYING AT BEING MEN

Among the Gende people in Madang Province the game of Last Card is played almost exclusively by young men. Requiring greater concentration and skill than the more popular games of Three Leaf and Seven, Last Card is rejected by older players on the grounds that it angers them when their carefully planned strategies are upset by the lucky draw of a less skilled opponent. This paper examines Last Card's appeal for young men and puts forward the proposition that, in many respects, Last Card is a functional equivalent of traditional male initiation. Providing frequent opportunity for public displays of self-control and mastery, games of Last Card give otherwise undistinguished village youths a chance to attract the attentions of potential mates and brideprice supporters. For players who are especially talented (or lucky) Last Card is a source of income to be invested in exchange relations with other youths as well as older men and women. Finally, although older card players rarely play Last Card, they are keen observers of the game and will sponsor new players by giving them the initial stakes.     

Review

Key Issues in Hunter-Gatherer Research Edited by E.S. Burch Jr. and L.J. Ellanna. Oxford; Berg, 1994. Pp. x + 534     

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.     

Police power and fettered freedom: regulating coastal freedom camping in New Zealand

Freedom camping is a form of tourism entailing overnight stays in public open spaces, rather than formal campgrounds. It presents varied challenges for local governments charged with maintaining safe and orderly public spaces. This article provides empirical and conceptual insights into the regulation of coastal freedom camping in New Zealand, drawing on the notion of police power. This form of law is centrally concerned with preventing disruption and disorder in public space, and seeks to advance collective welfare rather than individual rights. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, we consider why and how local governments in New Zealand regulate coastal freedom camping, focusing on a case study of the Coromandel district. Second, we consider how freedom campers understand and experience the regulation of their activities, drawing on a survey of 61 campers in three North Island coastal areas. We find that the policing of freedom camping proceeds through regulation of space, objects and behaviours. Underpinning this approach is an understanding of the activity as inherently problematic. Freedom campers themselves were generally aware of local regulations, but had little experience of enforcement. Most sought to perform camping responsibly, whilst noting that some others required policing.     

The poverty of GIS theory: Continuing the debates around the political economy of GISystems

Over the past several decades, GISystems and GIScience have become established and valorized within the field of geography and geographic education. With the recent explosion in daily use of devices producing spatial data, such as smartphones, has come a renewed call to broaden the purview of Critical GIS beyond the desktop and towards these new systems of capitalist accumulation. In this viewpoint, we argue that any re‐examination of the role of Critical GIS must also consider the political economy of geography and geographic education in which GISystems are used for research and taught. We explicate three registers at which GISystems function within geography: that of the individual educator, that of the GIS user, and that of the military‐industrial complex in which GISystems were and are developed.     

Colonial Institutions: Uses,Subversions, and Material Afterlives

Archaeologically based explorations of colonialism or institutions are common case-studies in global historical archaeology, but the “colonial institution”—the role of institutions as operatives of colonialism—has often been neglected. In this thematic edition we argue that in order to fully understand the interconnected, global world one must explicitly dissect the colonial institution as an entwined, dual manifestation that is central to understanding both power and power relations in the modern world. Following Ann Laura Stoler, we have selected case studies from the Australia, Europe, UK and the USA which reveal that the study of colonial institutions should not be limited to the functional life of these institutions—or solely those that take the form of monumental architecture—but should include the long shadow of “imperial debris” (Stoler 2008) and immaterial institutions.