Interest rates and the 2004 Australian Election

During the October 2004 Australian federal election campaign the expected or possible effect of the election outcome on interest rates was a key point of differentiation between the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal–National Party coalition. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we examine whether this effect was a significant factor in the election outcome, as measured by the percentage swing towards the coalition in each electorate. Second, we use standard methodology from financial economics to examine whether the election outcome had an effect on interest rates. Contrary to media coverage of the campaign, we find that the election result did have an effect on interest rates but that the possibility of interest rate changes was not a dominant factor in the election result.     

Over a Century of Explorations at Etowah

The Etowah site is one of the larger and more famous Mississippian period mound centers in the American Southeast. Despite the fact that over a century of archaeological investigations have been conducted at the site, its history is not as well-understood as sequences of other major Mississippian centers like Moundville or Cahokia. This is because few attempts have been made to synthesize existing information and place the site in a broader social context. In this paper I review previous research at Etowah and present a reconstruction of the site's history as a chiefdom capital. In attempting to understand that sequence, I draw upon the distinctions made by dual-processual theory concerning the orientation of chiefdom political economies and how they vary. Both the specific history of Etowah and the parallels it shares with the sequences of other chiefdom capitals have important implications for understanding more generally the emergence and operation of ranked societies.     

Bronze Age upland settlement decline in southwest England: testing the climate change hypothesis

The division of land on Dartmoor during the Bronze Age by the construction of moor-wide boundaries known as reaves represents a significant development in agricultural practice and land tenure. Previous research relating to the Dartmoor reaves suggests this way of life may have continued for no longer than 200–400 years. It has been suggested that their abandonment occurred as the result of a deteriorating climate, although there are no published palaeoclimatic reconstructions from the area. We therefore test the hypothesis that on Dartmoor, a marked climatic deterioration occurred in the late Bronze Age that can be linked to the abandonment of the reaves. A palaeoclimatic reconstruction derived from testate amoebae and peat humification analyses is presented from Tor Royal Bog, central Dartmoor, the first such record from southwest England. A major shift to a cooler and/or wetter climate is inferred from ca. 1395 to 1155 cal BC that is coincident with the period hypothesised as encompassing the abandonment. This climatic deterioration is replicated in sites in northern Britain, suggesting it was a widespread event. It is concluded that while the evidence supports a climatically forced retreat, there are a range of other socio-economic factors that must also be taken into consideration.     

Ask and Tell: Gay Veterans, Identity, and Oral History on a Civil Rights Frontier

In 1993 the "don't ask, don't tell" policy legislated the silenceof gay and lesbian soldiers on active duty and in the reserves.This silence about gays in the military has led to a collectiveamnesia about the patriotic service and courageous sacrificesof homosexual troops. If we forget that gay and lesbian Americanshave served their country, then we as a nation are much lesslikely to view them as full citizens, deserving of civil rightsand equal protection of the law. Oral history provides one wayto break this silence, to "ask and tell" about the militarycareers of gay and lesbian soldiers and to allow these veteransto speak for themselves about the current military policy. Basedon more than fifty interviews with gay and lesbian veterans,this article chronicles the evolution of military policy regardinghomosexuality since World War II, and it explores the intersectionof veterans' identities based on race, sexuality, and militaryservice. As these interviews illustrate, gays and lesbians haveserved honorably in the military during times of war and peace.Far from undermining unit cohesion or morale, these troops havestrengthened America's armed forces. Interviews with gay andlesbian veterans provide an opportunity to explore several themesunderlying the debate about homosexuality and military service:1) the relationship between racism and homophobia in the military;2) varying attitudes about military service within gay communities;3) contrasting experiences of gay men and lesbians in the military;and 4) the evolving nature of gay veterans' identities.