Rock Art: A Potential Source of Information about Past Maritime Technology in the South-East Asia-Pacific Region

It is possible that most or all boats and rig-types used in prehistoric times in the South-East Asia-Pacific region have completely disappeared from the record, and that those recorded by Europeans in the 17th century may have been relatively recent innovations. The purpose of this paper is to introduce to the literature a new source of information on ancient boat and rig designs. This source is the information encoded in rock-art depictions of watercraft. This paper provides a technical appraisal of 18 images of watercraft from the Tutuala region of East Timor.
© 2007 The Authors     

Myopia, knowledge development and cluster evolution

This article aims to show how processes of knowledge developmentand their institutional underpinnings make up the core of evolutionaryeconomic geography. We argue that micro level concepts—notablyinnovation, selection and retention—provide insights thatcan be helpful also when investigating evolutionary processesof knowledge creation at the aggregate levels of cities, regionsor nations. We investigate the linkage between drivers, mechanismsand barriers to knowledge creation and acquisition at the micro-level,and the development over time and across spatial settings ofhigher-order phenomena of localized institutions and other capabilities.We apply this distinction on the analysis of the rise, growth,decline and possible rejuvenation of spatial clusters of similarand complementary economic activity.     

Stability and Change in Public Policy: A Longitudinal Study of Comparative Subsystem Dynamics

Using the theoretical framework formulated by Baumgartner and Jones in a most similar systems study of Danish civil defense and Danish national home guard policy from 1949 to 2003, this article shows how particular subsystem characteristics affect the magnitude and frequency of policy punctuations. Despite very similar starting points, the two subsystems have experienced radically different policy evolutions since they were created back in 1948 and 1949. The explanation, it is argued, is to be found in a combination of Baumgartner and Jones’ model of issue definitions and conflict expansion on the one hand, and some particular institutional differences in the foundation of the two subsystems on the other. Hence, the aim of the article is to demonstrate that in a long‐term perspective, certain institutional choices not only enhance stability but also increase the likelihood of future conflict expansions and policy punctuations, given the dynamic model of the policymaking process provided by Baumgartner and Jones.     

Roman lead mining in Germany: its origin and development through time deduced from lead isotope provenance studies

High precision lead isotope analysis by Multi Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry was applied to the investigation of more than 240 Roman lead objects from several archaeological sites in Germany, in order to obtain information on the pattern of Roman mining activity and ore processing in the area. Measurements of ore samples from German deposits east (Siegerland, Lahn-Dill, Ems) and west of the Rhine (Eifel, Hunsrueck) were made and supplemented with data from literature to create a data bank of lead isotope ratios of European lead occurrences. Comparing the isotope ratios of lead objects with those from German ore deposits shows that the source of over 85% of the objects is Eifel ore deposits, but that, in the early years, the Romans also imported lead from the Southern Massif Central and later from Britain.     

Between conflation and denial – the politics of climate expertise in Australia

Scientific warnings about impending climate disaster and experts’ advocacy for more and better climate science have been largely unsuccessful for advancing evidence-based policy in Australia. Continuing expectations to the contrary stem from a reliance on the supposed ability of science to prime political understandings of climate change. This paper shows how scientists undermine this ‘deficit model’ ideal by conflating types and uses of evidence and expertise in policymaking. These tactics are unconvincing for conservative opponents, for whom climate science is far from the last word on what climate change means. This paper examines experts’ rhetorical tactics through the eyes of conservative policymakers and, thereby, proposes a strategy more likely to effect resilient climate adaptation and mitigation policies in Australia.     

Going to war democratically: lessons for Australia from Canada and the UK

This article addresses the role of democracy in Australia’s foreign policy formation. It argues that public debate and deliberation on foreign policy is a normative good. When there is a lack of debate on a government decision, a democratic deficit occurs. Such a deficit is evident in the way Australia goes to war; however, the examples of Canada and the UK show that reforming parliamentary practice is possible. In the context of the ‘war on terror’, this article compares Australia, Canada, and the UK from 2001 to 2015 with regards to ‘war powers’. Drawing from debates recorded in Hansard, it finds that while Canada and the UK took steps to ‘parliamentarise’ their foreign policy formation, the war-powers prerogative of the Australian government remained absolute. It concludes that increasing the role of parliament may go a long way towards democratising the decision of when Australia goes to war. This has practical as well as normative benefits, since it may prevent governments from entering wars that are unsupported by the public. At minimum, it will compel governments to engage more thoroughly in public debate about their proposed policies, and justify their decisions to the nation.