A Trial PIXE/PIGME analysis of Pre-Islamic Arabian Coinage

Eight previously published (1) pre-Islamic coins minted in Arabia were subjected to non-destructive ion beam analysis by Proton Induced X-Ray (PIXE) and Gamma-Ray Emission (PIGME) at Lucas Heights. The results (2) were interpreted using Principal Components Analysis (PCA). The relative X-ray intensities of fifteen elements, supplemented with additional L alpha lines for two of the elements, were extracted for this analysis. PCA (results appended) was first carried out on the whole dataset where the distinctive high iron and nickel composition of two coins (331 and 335) resulted in their position as outliers. A second analysis of the subset of silver coins showed the compositional similarity between four coins (44, 222, 226, 359) and distinguished two separate outliers. One of these (369) has a high lead and tin content while the other (354) has a greater proportion of elements present as impurities (?) including iron and nickel. The two outliers and the relatively homogenous compositions of the group of four coins suggest that three compositional types of silver coinage are represented in the dataset: 1. a relatively silver-rich group of four coins; 2. silver coins debased with lead; and 3. silver coins debased with iron and nickel.     

Population growth and redistribution in Australia: 1911–1966

Concentration and redistribution indices are used to analyse the redistribution of population among the Australian states and territories, between 1911 and 1966. The relative importance of internal migration in this population redistribution is assessed. It is found that although the pattern of redistribution altered after the Second World War, the share of land and population held by each state came into closer agreement. Net internal migration was always small in comparison to natural increase and net international migration, but its role in population redistribution was far from insignificant.     

COMMUNICATIONS AND NEWSMAKING BEFORE THE TELEGRAPH: THE STORY OF THE 1845 QUEBEC CITY FIRES

The press made the two huge fires which destroyed two-thirds of Quebec City in 1845 into one of the most important stories of the year. By studying how knowledge of it diffused, how editors in various places presented and interpreted it, and what interest they showed in the way the story was handled elsewhere, we can examine the process of news making in the days before the telegraph was in general use. The process of communications among editors was sophisticated and utilized a wide variety of methods. Innovations designed to speed the delivery of important information and to standardize its form were widely adopted, anticipating the telegraphic wire service. News was created in a fashion that is comparable with modern concepts of editorial management. By focussing on communications and their role in news making, rather than on the technology of dissemination, important parallels between practice in 1845 and modern understanding of news become apparent. ?on;attention portée par la presse aux deux incendies qui ravageèrent la ville de Québec en 1845 fut telle que ces evénements devinrent une des plus grandes affaires de ?on; année. á partir d'une étude qui sepenche sur la question des moyens de diffusion des informations sur ?on;affaire; c'est-à-dire, comment les rédacteurs de différentes régions ?on; ont interprétée et ? ont présentee au public, ainsi que ?on; intérêt qu'ils ont portéà la façon dont ?on; affaire a été traitée ailleurs, il est possible ?on; examiner les processus de la présentation des informations lors ?on; une période ole télégraphe n‘était pas encore en usage courant. Le processus de communications entre éditeurs était déjà sophistiqué et celui-ci employait une variété de differentes méthodes de communications. Une searie ?on; innovations avait été conçue non seulement pour accélérer la livraison ? informations importantes mais également, afin de standardiser la forme de celles-ci. Ces innovations anticipaient alors le service télégraphique. La fa?on dont les informations ont été“interprétées et présentées par la presse a ?on; epoque est comparable aux concepts modernes de la gestion des nouvelles. Une étude qui vise d'abord la communication et son rôle dans la création des nouvelles, et moins la téchnologie de la dissémination, permet de mieux soulever les parallèles importantes qui existent entre la pratique en 1845 et la compréhension contempo-raine des informations.     

The Impact of Urbanisation on the Bed Sediments of South Creek,New South Wales

The textural and geochemical characteristics of the bed sediments in South Creek are examined. The bed substratum in the urbanised reaches differs from that of the rural reaches, in terms of the volume and size of the fine matrix sediment and the concentration of heavy metals. The impact of urbanisation on the river-bed sediment is variable, with less matrix than ‘expected’ within the substratum of the urban reach and more than ‘expected’ in the below urban reach. The urban matrix sediment is also significantly finer in comparison to the rural reach matrix sediment. Heavy metal concentrations within the urbanised matrix sediment are up to 800 times greater than background levels and are considered to be indicative of extreme contamination despite only SO years of urbanisation.     

Sunset,sunrise: China and Russia construct a new relationship

This article argues that 2003–4 were decisive years in Russo‐Chinese relations. Uncertainties over Russia's commitment to supply China with much needed energy revived deep‐seated anxieties about the whole future of their relationship. However, by the autumn of 2004 they had launched plans for strengthening the partnership and widening mutual popular understanding. It also argues that this coincides with new efforts to view their foreign policies through the lens of constructivism, instead of realism. The article then looks at developments in bilateral economic relations and in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, before adumbrating their wider advocacy of multilateralism, linking this to converging relations with India. Finally, it argues that relations with the US will continue to have a significant impact on the direction and closeness of this bilateral relationship. It is still a partnership rather than an alliance. Russia and China may sometimes put a higher priority on their relations with the West rather than on each other. Yet they are also looking at other potential emerging powers and how they can bend that process of emergence to their advantage.     

The Amenity Complex: Towards a Framework for Analysing and Predicting the Emergence of a Multifunctional Countryside in Australia

There is growing consensus among academics, regional development organisations and rural communities that the future growth and development of rural regions is increasingly dependent upon their ability to convey, to both established and prospective residents, the ‘amenity’ of their local physical, social and economic environments. However, little research to date has sought to identify exactly what comprises ‘amenity’ in the rural context, or has examined how this conceptually slippery quality is distributed across rural Australia, or how it influences local demographic, socio‐economic and land use change. This paper attempts a broad scale investigation of rural amenity in the south‐east Australian ecumene, identifying its core components in this context, mapping its distribution and assessing the nature of its influence over in‐migration rates over the past three decades. The paper finds that, at a macro‐scale, amenity tends to follow a general gradient from high to low according to distance from the coast, and that its relationship with in‐migration rates has increased substantially between 1976–1981 and 1996–2001.