National defence in the age of austerity

Preparations for the next UK defence review are under way; a struggle is imminent and the lines of battle are being drawn. There is a grave danger that in the new 'age of austerity' defence planning—and strategy generally—will be driven by tribal conflicts, either between supporters of one or other of the armed services or between contending viewpoints about the nature of conflict. And there will be others who will argue that the defence review should be driven simply by the need to reduce government expenditure, as quickly as possible. These arguments not only reduce the defence debate to a struggle between various incompatible and uncompromising tribal beliefs—'war among the fetishes', perhaps—they also miss the point. This article gauges the extent of the economic challenges which the UK defence establishment will confront over the coming decade. The authors consider how best to approach the problem of undiminished (and even expanding) commitments at a time of decreasing resources. They argue that defence planning should be driven by the notion of value (the ratio of function to cost), which in turn requires both a clear national political vision and a defence establishment which is output- rather than input-oriented. Finally, the authors assert that defence must transform itself to be able to achieve the outputs required in the most efficient and responsive manner.     

A Comparison of Holocene and Historical Channel Change along the Macdonald River,Australia

Changes in channel morphology that occurred along the Macdonald River between 1949 and 1955 are often cited as an example of catastrophic channel change. However, the question of whether these changes represented one component of a cyclical evolutionary pattern, or a systematic and persistent shift to a new morphologic state remains to be clearly defined, as does the significance of these dramatic channel changes when viewed against the river's longer‐term Holocene history. In this paper, new measurements of the Macdonald River's channel morphology are used to resolve the river's evolution in the ～50 years since these major channel‐altering floods. By 2002, the Macdonald River's bed had narrowed considerably from its 1955 post‐flood maximum due to the construction of a new floodplain surface within the widened channel. In some locations, the 2002 bed width is comparable to that of the pre‐1949 channel. This aspect of the river's evolution follows models of cyclical channel evolution proposed for the region. However, in light of recent research into the river's longer term Holocene evolution, it is clear that other channel changes that occurred in response to the 1949–1955 floods, particularly the 2 metres of river bed aggradation and 7 kilometres down‐valley shift in the thalweg's intersection with mean sea level, are less cyclic in nature. The capacity of coastal rivers to prograde into estuaries, which in turn induces river bed aggradation, can be seen in this case to counteract the incisional tendencies associated with post‐flood channel contraction, such that persistent river bed aggradation occurs.     

NEW APPROACHES ON THE ARCHAIC TRADE IN THE NORTH‐EASTERN IBERIAN PENINSULA: EXPLOITATION AND CIRCULATION OF LEAD AND SILVER

A wide‐ranging study based on compositional and isotopic analyses of minerals and manufactured objects from the north‐eastern Iberian Peninsula and their respective archaeological and cultural contexts demonstrates significant lead mineral exploitation in the El Priorat area (Tarragona province) linked to Phoenician trade (seventh–sixth centuries BC). This exploitation continued, despite losing intensity, until the Romanization of the territory. Our project also aims to determine the nature and origin of the lead and silver supply in the northern Iberian territory surrounding the Phocaean enclave of Emporion, especially with regard to the demands of the colonial mint. The behaviour pattern of the circulation of lead, silver and copper in Catalonia in the period studied indicates a plurality of contemporary supply sources, although, at least from the fifth century BC onward, minerals and metals from the south‐eastern Iberian Peninsula take on considerable importance.     

History and Effects of Channelisation on the Latrobe River,Victoria

Channel changes on the lower Latrobe River since the late 1800s include a 25 per cent reduction in channel length due to artificial meander cutoffs, increases in mean channel width, increased channel instability and incision of up to 1.05 m. Hydraulic changes at the Rosedale gauge include increases in bankfull flow velocity and a 67 per cent increase in channel capacity, resulting in a threefold reduction of over-bank flow duration. The extensive channelisation works have reduced the frequency of minor flooding and the period offloodplain inundation, but these and other human impacts have severely degraded the stream environment.     

Auto-production systems in Japan: organisational and locational features

Through their highly controlled production systems Japanese auto-makers have succeeded to a considerable degree in extending the basic principles of modern factory production–specialisation and timing–to regional space. Thousands of firms, large and small, hierarchically connected in subcontracting layers supply a myriad of parts and engineering services to the auto-makers. Automakers minimise the level of stocks of parts at their plants by requiring their direct suppliers to make frequent deliveries. These firms function as extensions of the auto-maker's plant with the result that the regional production system functions with precision approaching that of a single well-organised factory.