Discriminant function analyses in archaeology: are classification rates too good to be true?

The use of discriminant function analyses (DFA) in archaeological and related research is on the increase, however many of the assumptions of this method receive a mixed treatment in the literature. Statisticians frequently use complex statistical models to investigate analytical parameters, but such idealised datasets may be hard to relate to “real-life” examples and the literature difficult to assess. Using two faunal datasets that are more typical of archaeological and related research, one comprised of size-corrected linear measurements of bovid humeri and another of 3D geometric morphometric (GMM) shape data of African monkey skulls, and two simulated datasets, we illustrate some of the most important but often ignored issues of DFA. We specifically show why it is paramount to address “over-fitting” by cross-validation when applying this method and how the probability of correctly classifying cases by chance can be properly and explicitly taken into account.     

DO LOCATION‐BASED TAX INCENTIVES IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE AND QUALITY OF BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT?

We examine how location‐based tax incentives affect quality of life and business environment through changes in property values and equilibrium wages. Using the federal Empowerment Zone program, we determine whether offering tax incentives to firms improves the welfare of the citizens and attractiveness to firms. We demonstrate that quality of life methodologies can be applied using small geographically aggregated data, such as census block groups. We find that the tax incentives offered by the program notably enhances the quality of business environment for firms in the area while modestly improving the quality of life for the individuals living in the area.     

秦俑二号坑土壤干缩特征研究

通过对秦俑二号坑土壤胀缩作科学研究,监测数据对比,运用土壤干缩特征理论,构建了秦俑二号坑土壤干缩特征曲线,结果发现秦俑二号坑干燥进程较为迅速,2000年以前二号坑干燥化尚未对彩绘陶器造成威胁和侵害,但近年来土壤含水量已由挖掘初期的15%～20%,降低到目前的2%～8%,对坑下文物表面彩绘构成威胁。通过补充土壤水份等办法可以减缓这种变化。     

‘Hustlers vs dynasties’: Confronting patrimonial capitalism in Kenya's 2022 elections

During Kenya's 2022 presidential race, William Samoei Ruto, the country's ex-Deputy President, successfully leveraged his ‘Hustler Nation’ campaign to clinch victory. This campaign played on the struggles of the informal economy labourers, pledging a ‘hustler’ government dedicated to their cause. However, Ruto's campaign also utilized rhetoric against the deeply rooted ‘dynasties’ of Kenya's patrimonial capitalism, exploiting widespread dissatisfaction with the political and economic dominance of the Kenyatta family, including the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta. Throughout the campaign, voters debated the acceptable extent of wealth held by the country's affluent families and the potential of such wealth to manipulate democratic politics. This concise article unpacks the moral undertones of Kenyan disillusionment with Kenyatta supremacy, calling for reinvigorated anthropological scrutiny of the confrontations against modern patrimonial capital and the emerging resistances framed in the discourse of economic justice.