mtDNA and osteological analyses of an unknown historical cemetery from upstate New York

Thirteen burials located on Jackson Street in Youngstown, NY, USA were recovered from a construction site and excavated in 1997. Based on the artifact assemblage, it was suggested that the cemetery was used sometime between the late 1700s and 1840. No historical records existed, and initial assessment of the skeletal remains was not able to determine any cultural affiliation. We carried out osteological and genetic investigations in order to gain insight into ancestral affiliation and kinship of the unknown individuals from the burials. Due to poor preservation of the remains, dental traits and limited osteological observations were available for only a few individuals. We performed DNA extraction and sequenced the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region following standard ancient DNA procedures. Our results suggest that ten individuals have evidence of biological affiliation with Native Americans, and in particular, four individuals have maternal Native American ancestry. One male individual was determined to be of European ancestry, from both the mtDNA and osteological results. This burial may reflect admixture as a result of frequent contact between Native Americans and Europeans during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and attempts by missionaries to convert Native Americans to Christianity. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of a multifaceted approach through archaeological, osteological, and genetic analysis that provides valuable perspectives in understanding the individuals buried at the Jackson Street Burials.     

Paleoenvironmental catastrophies on the Peruvian coast revealed in lagoon sediment cores from Pachacamac

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction combining data from diatom, pollen, macrophytic, and archaeological analyses had not been attempted previously for coastal Peru. We analyzed two radiocarbon-dated sediment cores extracted from the “sacred” Urpi Kocha Lagoon at the pre-Hispanic religious center of Pachacamac (ca. AD 350-1533), near Lima, to characterize the paleoenvironment of the site. The data reveal an environmental history characterized by alternating periods of severe drought and catastrophic flood. Recurrent pulses with distinctive sediment, diatom, pollen, and macrophytic characteristics reflecting variations in water depth, substrate, turbidity and salinity, usually contain a thick basal sandy storm deposit overlain by thin organic accumulations of peat, gyttja, and snails. The most intense of these disturbance pulses, when correlated with pollen, plant macrofossils, radiocarbon dates, and regional proxy data, provide local evidence of four major floods associated with sustained, catastrophic El Niño events, tsunamis and/or severe storms in the Andean highlands over the last 2000 years.     

Interorganizational Collaboration Networks in Economic Development Policy: An Exponential Random Graph Model Analysis*

Regional economic development competition can be inefficient and destructive because decisions by one governmental unit can impose both externalities on its neighbors. Collaborative networks of multiple stakeholders within and across jurisdictions are an increasingly crucial component of regional economic development. In this article, we focus on the emergence of voluntary and self‐organizing network relationships among local governments to address economic development concerns. The motivations and decisions of local actors play a critical role in shaping and implementing regional collaboration. On a micro level, the collaboration choices are shaped by three primary factors: the transaction costs reflected in the configuration of relationships in which an actor is embedded; the organizational similarities (homophily); and the resource dependencies that shape the local actors' preferences for forming relationships with other specific actors. We utilize an exponential random graph model (ERGM) to test hypotheses regarding the most prominent observed patterns of network relationships within and across different organizational sectors. The results demonstrate that both reciprocity and social clustering structures are preferred by both government and nongovernment organizations. These results suggest that interorganizational collaboration for economic development requires more than simple exchange relationships. Rather, network actors may be better served by participating in a densely clustered network that is capable of maintaining credible commitments to collective solutions.     

New spaces for the local welfare state? The case of General Relief in Los Angeles County

The current 'hollowing out' and devolution of the national welfare state produces new spaces for the local welfare state, theoretically allowing more leeway to dismantle, privatize, further devolve, or even experiment with new local bureaucratic structures. At the same time, national devolution places greater burdens on local resources. Over the past twenty years, a series of theoretical frameworks have been proposed to understand local welfare strategies under these concomitant opportunities and pressures, including street-level bureaucracy, shadow and workfare states. Despite the usefulness of these frameworks, they have rarely been applied to the long-term evolution of specific local programmes. A particularly glaring omission is General Assistance (GA), which constitutes a major component of many local welfare states. To address this gap, we examine the past twenty years of General Relief (GR) policies in Los Angeles County. GR is a locally funded mandatory programme that provides aid of last resort for indigent individuals. In the face of exploding demand and rising expenditures, and unable to directly eliminate the programme, the County employed a variety of strategies designed to ration services and depress demand. In the 1980s, these strategies were articulated through low-level and indirect bureaucratic disentitlements, including quality control and spatial consolidation. By the 1990s, the County took a more direct route, cutting benefits in 1993 and imposing time-limits and workfare in 1997. Despite severe constraints, the evolution of GR strategies in Los Angeles County does suggest the emergence of genuinely new regulatory spaces, including a diminution of outlays, counter-balanced by the increasing micro-management of clients and the materialization of a workfare and even shadow state. At present, the local welfare state in Los Angeles County combines the convolution of Franz Kafka with the misery of Charles Dickens. While our review goes some way in redressing the critical lack of local case studies, there remains a need to investigate instances of new local regulatory spaces, to understand in depth the engagement of various strategies, mechanisms and even resistance. Le démantèlement courant de l'Etat-providence à l'échelle nationale cède la place à de nouveaux services sociaux à l'échelle locale, ouvrant en théorie la voie à la privatisation, la réorganisation et l'expérmentation de nouvelles structures bureaucratiques. Toutefois, le démantèlement du système national impute un plus grand fardeau aux ressources locales. Au cours des vingt dernières années, plusieurs cadres théoriques ont été proposés afin de comprendre les stratégies locales de distribution de services sociaux face à ces pressions et opportunités, incluant les concepts de bureaucracie de rue et 'workfare state.' Malgré que ces cadres d'analyse soient utiles, ils ont rarement servi à étudier l'évolution à long terme de programmes locaux spécifiques. Ce manque est particulièrement flagrant en ce qui a trait à l'Assistance Générale ('General Assistance', GA) qui constitue un élément majeur de beaucoup de services sociaux locaux. Afin de corriger cette lacune, nous analysons les vingt dernières années de politiques économiques et sociales reliées au Secours Général ('General Relief', GR) dans le comté de Los Angeles. GR est un programme obligatoire distribuant une aide de dernier recours aux personnes sans resource. Face à une demande et des coûts grandissants et pourtant incapable d'éliminer directement le programme, le comté mit en pratique une série de tactiques dans le but de rationner les services et faire baisser la demande. Dans les années 1980, ces tactiques furent déployées par le biais de droits bureaucratiques, incluant contrôle de la qualité et consolidation spatiale. Dès les années 1990 le comté adopta des moyens plus directs, coupant les allocations en 1993 et imposant des échéances et programmes de support à l'emploi (workfare) en 1997. Malgré ces sévères contraintes, l'évolution des stratégies de secours général dans le comté de Los Angeles indique l'émergence de nouveaux espaces régulatoires - incluant la diminution des dépenses - dont le contrepoids est la présence grandissante de 'micro-gérance' des clients et la matérialisation de l'aide à l'emploi et de l'ombre étatique. Au moment présent, l'Etat-providence local dans le comté de Los Angeles est à mi-chemin entre les circonvolutions de Franz Kafka et la misère de Charles Dickens. Si notre survol cherche à corriger le manque critique d'études locales, le besoin demeure présent d'investiguer les exemples de nouveaux espaces régulatoires afin de comprendre à fond le chevauchement des différentes stratégies, mécanismes et résistances. La 'excavación' y la delegación actuales del estado de bienestar nacional producen nuevos espacios para el estado de bienestar local, lo cual, en teoría, permite el desmontaje, la privatización y más delegación de la burocracia local o hasta la oportunidad de experimentar con nuevas estructuras de burocracia local. Al mismo tiempo, delegación nacional consume limitados recursos existentes en el ámbito local. En los últimos veinte años han sido propuestos una serie de marcos teoréticos para mejor entender las estratégicas de bienestar local implementadas bajo estas oportunidades y presiones concomitantes, incluso la burocracia al nivel de la calle, y los 'workfare states'. A pesar de la utilidad de estos marcos, raras veces han sido aplicados a la evolución a largo plazo de específicas programas locales. Una omisión destacable es General Assistance (Asistencia General), lo cual constituye un componente importante de muchos estados de bienestar locales. Con el fin de cerrar esta brecha, examinamos las políticas de General Relief (GR) (Ayuda General) de los últimos veinte años en Los Angeles County. GR es un programa mandatario, elaborado con fondos locales y que proporciona ayuda en último caso a individuos indigentes. En vista de la aumentando demanda y los gastos incrementados, y sin la autoridad de eliminar el programa de forma directa, el County empleó varias estratégicas con el fin de racionar sus servicios y hacer bajar la demanda. En los años 80, estas estratégicas fueron articuladas por desautorizaciones burocráticas, a bajo nivel e indirectas, y que incluían control de calidad y consolidacio´n espacial. En los años 90, el County tomó una ruta más directa; redujo subsidios en 1993 e impuso límites-temporales y 'workfare' en 1997. A pesar de las severas restricciones, la evolución de las estratégicas de GR en Los Angeles County sugiere la aparición de espacios reguladores verdaderamente nuevos, incluso una disminución de desembolsos, contrapesada con un aumento en el micro-manejo de clientes y la materialización de un 'workfare' o hasta 'shadow state'. Actualmente, el estado de bienestar en Los Angeles County combina la circunvolución de Franz Kafka con la miseria de Charles Dickens. Mientras que nuestra crítica compensa, hasta cierto punto, la carencia tan grave de estudios de casos locales, todavía hace falta una investigación de ejemplos de nuevos espacios reguladores locales, para profundizar nuestro conocimiento del empleo de varias estratégicas, mecanismos y hasta resistencia.     

The 2012 TRIP survey of international relations in Australia: one problem to rule us all

This article analyses the results of the most recent and largest cross-national survey on the international relations discipline. Completed by scholars in 20 countries, the survey covered the areas of teaching, research, foreign policy, the profession, and the relationship between policy and academia. From an Australian perspective, the key findings include the strong link between what academics teach and research; the narrowing epistemological gap between the USA and Australia; the curious pessimism of scholars on a wide range of foreign policy issues; and the ability of scholars to define research quality independently of other national settings. The most significant and alarming finding, however, concerned how the present structure of the field is undermining scholars'attempt to forge closer, more influential ties with policy makers in Canberra. In fact, it is clear from the results that what academics research and how they go about it is actually counterintuitive to this goal. The article concludes with three recommendations aimed at rectifying this problem.     

Response of cathodoluminescence of alkali feldspar to He+ ion implantation and electron irradiation

Cathodoluminescence (CL) of minerals such as quartz and zircon has been extensively studied to be used as an indicator for geodosimetry and geochronometry. There are, however, very few investigations on CL of other rock-forming minerals such as feldspars, regardless of their great scientific interest. This study has sought to clarify the effect of He+ ion implantation and electron irradiation on luminescent emissions by acquiring CL spectra from various types of feldspars including anorthoclase, amazonite and adularia. CL intensities of UV and blue emissions, assigned to Pb²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ impurity centers respectively, decrease with an increase in radiation dose of He⁺ ion implantation and electron irradiation time. This may be due to decrease in the luminescence efficiencies by a change of the activation energy or a conversion of the emission center to a non-luminescent center due to an alteration of the energy state. Also, CL spectroscopy of the alkali feldspar revealed an in-crease in the blue and yellow emission intensity assigned to Al-O^?-Al/Ti defect and radiation-induced defect centers with the radiation dose and the electron irradiation time. Taken together these results indicate that CL signal should be used for estimation of the α and β radiation doses from natural radionuclides that alkali feldspars have experienced.     

An early Miocene ant (subfam. Amblyoponinae) from Foulden Maar: the first fossil Hymenoptera from New Zealand

Kaulfuss, U., Harris, A.C., Conran J.G. & Lee, D.E., 2014. An early Miocene ant (subfam. Amblyoponinae) from Foulden Maar: the first fossil Hymenoptera from New Zealand. Alcheringa 38, 568–574. ISSN 0311-5518.

The ant subfamily Amblyoponinae is presently represented in New Zealand by one endemic species in the cosmopolitan genus Stigmatomma and an introduced Australian species of Amblyopone. The fossil record of the group is restricted to two species of Stigmatomma from late Eocene Baltic Amber. Here, we describe the third fossil record, an Amblyopone-like specimen from the early Miocene of Otago, southern New Zealand, based on a winged male that resembles the extant A. australis Erichson in size, general habitus and characters of wing venation, but also shares features with the African amblyoponine genus Zymmer. This represents the first fossil record of Amblyoponinae from the Southern Hemisphere and the first example of Hymenoptera among the few pre-Quaternary insect fossils known from New Zealand. It suggests a long history of Amblyoponinae in New Zealand and Australia.

Uwe Kaulfuss [uwe.kaulfuss@otago.ac.nz] and Daphne E. Lee [daphne.lee@otago.ac.nz], Department of Geology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand; Anthony C. Harris [anthony.harris@otagomuseum.govt.nz], Otago Museum, PO Box 6202, Dunedin 9059, New Zealand; John G. Conran [john.conran@adelaide.edu.au], ACEBB & SGC, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Benham Bldg, DX 650 312, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia. Received 18.3.2014; revised 15.5.2014; accepted 23.5.2014.