Structural Investigation of 18th-Century Ogival Masonry Domes: From Carlo Fontana to Bernardo Vittone

In this study a structural investigation on the ogival masonry domes is performed with particular attention to the significant debate between mathematicians and architects mainly of the French and Italian schools that characterized the 18th century. In this period, analytical approaches to investigate the static of dome structures were developed concurrently for the affirmation of the proportional methods, as reported in several architectural treatises in which graphical constructions for the design of masonry domes can be found. It is well known that Carlo Fontana, in 1694, was the first to show in detail the geometrical rules for the design of a masonry dome. Later, in 1760, the Italian architect Bernardo Antonio Vittone proposed some variations to the rules written by Fontana in order to increase the height of the dome and the slope of the meridian section at the intersection with the lantern. In this study, Vittone’s dome has been analyzed and compared with Fontana’s dome by means of an analytical approach that also considers the influence of the lantern at the top. The obtained results confirm that Vittone’s rules lead not only to architectural, but also structural improvements.     

Women’s changing domestic responsibilities in neoliberal Africa: a relational time-space analysis of Lesotho’s garment industry

Since 2001 when Lesotho embraced the neoliberal African Growth and Opportunities Act that offers preferential access to the US market, its garment industry has expanded dramatically to become the nation’s leading employer. Elsewhere, large-scale employment of women in low-paid factory jobs has entailed spatial restructuring of gender and age relations. Lesotho is a distinctive context, with socio-spatial relations historically adjusted to male labour migration, high levels of contemporary male unemployment and alarming AIDS prevalence. Based on semi-structured interviews with 40 female factoryworkers and 37 dependents, this article applies a relational time-space analysis to explore how financial and spatio-temporal aspects of factory employment articulate to alter women’s relationships with those for whom they have culturally determined responsibilities: their children, those suffering from ill health and their (generally rural) home communities. The analysis highlights that such employment is not merely adding to women’s responsibilities, but transforming how they are able to undertake social reproduction, as practical, social and emotional roles are converted to largely financial obligations.     

Participatory Feedback and Dissemination with and for Children: Reflections from Research with Young Migrants in Southern Africa

In this contribution we discuss the process of feedback and dissemination that we adopted following research with children affected by AIDS in southern Africa. We outline our reasons for engaging in detailed feedback and dissemination, distinguishing between active or passive processes and discuss the participatory methods we adopted. Through our reflections we consider feedback as an obligation to participants and dissemination as a potential agent of social change. In addition we evaluate the effectiveness with which we were able to truly incorporate the voices of young people in our dissemination and relinquish control of the outcomes to make them available for action among policy-makers. In conclusion we highlight that active dissemination, although not able to guarantee that research recommendations will be acted upon, at the very least opens dialogue and enhances understanding among those able to implement action.     

Interpreting Oral Pathology at Machu Picchu,Peru

This study analyzes oral pathological conditions—caries, antemortem tooth loss, and occlusal macrowear—among adults (N = 70) interred at Machu Picchu, Peru. Previous isotopic diet reconstructions at Machu Picchu suggest substantial early‐life variation that may have narrowed somewhat by the last decade of life. This study seeks to further elucidate the intersection of diet, sex, and health at Machu Picchu by analyzing oral pathological conditions with existing carbon and nitrogen isotopic data. Observed caries prevalence is corrected to control for age and tooth loss, and is described for both anterior and posterior teeth; wear data are scored and reported for individual tooth types. Results indicate caries prevalence consistent with carbohydrate‐rich diets and no significant difference between males and females. However, no significant isotopic parameters are associated with caries prevalence in young adult males, while caries prevalence is significantly associated only with enamel carbonate δ¹³C in older adult males. Dietary protein sources, but not C₄ resources, are associated with caries prevalence in young adult females, and to a lesser degree in older adult females. Significant associations between occlusal wear and caries exist among young adult males and young adult females, but involving different tooth types. These findings suggest differential protein consumption at Machu Picchu between males and females, and separate masticatory and physiological processes shaping caries prevalence between the sexes at the site. This study therefore underscores the role that gender roles may have played in diet variation among this population and the need to account for sex in analyzing oral pathology. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

INVESTMENT RISK AND THE TRANSITION INTO HOMEOWNERSHIP*

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the extent to which house–price uncertainty affects the transition of renter households into homeownership. Using a 14‐year household panel from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics during the years 1984–1997 and measures of the time‐varying risk and return to owner‐occupied housing, we estimate a Cox proportional hazard model of the effect of house–price volatility on the transition into homeownership. Results indicate that house–price uncertainty has a negative and dramatic impact on transitions into homeownership. In addition, we find that the low‐wealth renters are particularly sensitive to house–price risk.     

Biocultural Consequences of Spanish Contact in the Lambayeque Valley Region of Northern Peru: Internal Enamel Micro‐Defects as Indicators of Early Life Stress

The present study utilises dental histological methods to analyse enamel micro‐defects as indicators of early life stress in indigenous Muchik individuals interred at two sites: La Capilla Santa María Magdalena de Eten (CSMME) (n = 15) and La Capilla del Niño Serranito (CNS) (n = 15), both located in the Lambayeque Valley region of northern Peru. Individuals interred at CNS date to the Early Colonial Period (AD 1533–1610), and individuals interred at CSMME date to the Middle/Late Colonial Period (AD 1625–1760), thus permitting comparison of childhood stress events between the Early and Middle/Late Colonial Periods. Results reveal a high prevalence of Wilson bands at both sites, although a lower prevalence at the CSMME was observed in comparison with the CNS. This indicates that, over time, Muchik individuals in this town may have been able to acclimate to life under Spanish oppression. Stress chronologies suggest that early life stress possibly resulted from inadequate and less than desirable food and/or water available for supplemental feeding during early infancy, especially around the ages of 4 and 5 months. Furthermore, results show that individuals with enamel defects in the form of Wilson bands at both the CNS and CSMME had an earlier mean age‐at‐death (9.6 and 4.05 years, respectively) in comparison with those without observed Wilson bands (19.75 and 8.8 years, respectively). These results underscore the importance of not only regional and temporal studies of the biological consequences of Spanish contact in the Americas but also of investigating the relationship between early life stress and adult health and longevity in archaeological populations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tracing Process to Performance of Collaborative Governance: A Comparative Case Study of Federal Hydropower Licensing

Despite collaborative governance's popularity, whether collaboration improves policy performance remains uncertain. This study assesses the link between collaborative decision making and licensed environmental management protocols in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) process for licensing hydropower facilities in the United States. Using results from a previous study of FERC relicensing (Ulibarri, forthcoming), one high‐, one medium‐, and one low‐collaboration case were selected. Using documents including meeting minutes, public comments, and issued licenses, I assessed collaboration and license outputs, then conducted process tracing to examine whether and how differences in collaboration produced differences in license quality. High collaboration resulted in jointly developed and highly implementable operating regimes designed to improve numerous resources, while low collaboration resulted in operating requirements that ignored environmental concerns raised by stakeholders and lacked implementation provisions. These results support the hypothesis that collaboration can improve environmental outcomes, revealing the pragmatic value of collaboration. [Correction added on 13 January 2015, after first online publication: the occurrences of ‘0’ in the abstract were erroneous and have now been corrected.]     

Negotiating Authority between UNHCR and ‘The People’

Refugee camps are exceptional places that are left to the benevolent governing of international humanitarian agencies, and offer unique opportunities to explore the making and un‐making of public authority. This article examines how certain groups of young men in a refugee camp in Tanzania manage to establish public authority by relating to ideas of a Burundian moral order, while at the same time relating to the ‘development‐speak’ of international relief operations. The refugees' attempts to establish public authority are highly contested and highly politicized, clashing with the relief agencies' vision of the camp as non‐political. Ironically, the young men who engage in politics in the camp are also closely linked to these relief agencies in their role as brokers between the agencies and the ‘small people’. Public authority is partly produced by the powers that are delegated to them by the agencies and partly formed in the ‘gaps' in the agencies’ system. Similarly, authority rests in part on the respect that these brokers gain from other refugees — a respect that is earned in numerous ways, including outwitting the international organizations — and in part on the recognition that they get from the very same organizations. In other words, public authority rests on complex relations between legitimacy and recognition and between sovereignty and governmentality.     

Bahamian Ship Graffiti

In the Age of Sail the Bahamas was on major routes between the Americas and Europe. Bahamians developed a way of life using their location to advantage. Ship graffiti are the first archaeological evidence of Bahamian shipping activity. The graffiti are unique in the region, being incised into a variety of stone surfaces, and probably other surfaces which have not survived. Images depict locally-built vessels such as sloops and schooners as well as larger, ocean-going ships. Graffiti locations are predominantly associated with people of African heritage and lower socio-economic status. Details suggest artists were familiar with ship construction and rigging.
© 2006 The Author