The End of Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (2003–17)

The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) ended in June 2017 after 14 years. It was an initiative of the Pacific Islands Forum authorized under the Biketawa Declaration of 2000, which enabled a regional response to crises in the region. Between 1998 and 2003, Solomon Islands had undergone a period usually called the ‘tenson’ in Solomons Pijin, or the ‘Tension’ or ‘Ethnic Tension’ in English, when government processes failed and two rival militia groups out of Malaita and Guadalcanal terrorized Honiara and its surrounds. Prime Minister Ulufa‘alu was removed in a de facto coup in 2000. Although all Pacific Islands Forum nations participated, Australia paid 95 per cent of the costs. This was the first time Australia and New Zealand had led a substantial intervention mission beyond their borders that was not under United Nations auspices. The article places Solomon Islands politics and governance issues into a 20-year perspective and examines the success and failures of RAMSI, which was far more adaptable than is usually admitted. The article also considers the appropriateness of the Westminster system to government in Solomon Islands.     

Bone stable isotope studies in archaeology

Stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in bone have become increasingly frequent inclusions in archaeological reports over the past few decades. The majority of such studies has been done in North America, where the use of marine foods and the introduction of maize have been monitored. Similar questions have been addressed in Mesoamerica and South America. In Europe, stable isotope ratios have documented the shift from marine fishing and gathering to agriculture in coastal areas and the introduction of millet in parts of eastern and southern Europe. Much work remains to be done in Asia, where millet replaced early C3 plant foods and, in turn, was replaced by rice. In Africa marine adaptations, freshwater fishing, agriculture, and pastoralism all yield diagnostic isotopic signatures. We review these studies, discuss areas requiring further study, and close with discussions of areas promising interesting future developments.     

Going out,getting about: atmospheres of mobility in Melbourne's night-time economy

Drawing from recent affective geographies of drinking and drunkenness, this article explores the affective atmospheres of spaces of mobility in Melbourne's night-time economy and how these atmospheres shape the experience of alcohol-related problems. Our discussion is grounded in the analysis of interview data collected in 2012 among 60 young adults living in Melbourne. Participants included youth residing in the inner-city who reported taking a tram, walking or cycling to nearby venues along with youth from periurban communities who used trains, buses or taxis to travel to and from venues in the inner-city. Each group reported spending varying amounts of time on the move during a night-out drinking, although the atmospherics of mobility differed for each group. Inner-city participants described ‘comfortable’ or ‘fun’ journeys on the tram, walking or cycling, whereas participants from periurban communities spoke of ‘boring’ or ‘unpleasant’ journeys via train, night-bus or taxi. Moving beyond reports of the ‘priming’ effects of affective atmospheres, we conclude that these atmospheres are (co-)constituted in encounters between bodies, human and non-human, as they move. We close with a brief discussion of the implications of our analysis for the study of alcohol-related problems in the city at night.     

Fluid inclusion and stable isotope constraints on the genesis of the Jian copper deposit,Sanandaj–Sirjan metamorphic zone,Iran

The Jian copper deposit, located on the eastern edge of the Sanandaj–Sirjan metamorphic zone, southwest of Iran, is contained within the Surian Permo‐Triassic volcano‐sedimentary complex. Retrograde metamorphism resulted in three stages of mineralization (quartz ± sulfide veins) during exhumation of the Surian metamorphic complex (Middle Jurassic time; 159–167 Ma), and after the peak of the metamorphism (Middle to Late Triassic time; approximately 187 Ma). The early stage of mineralization (stage 1) is related to a homogeneous H₂O–CO₂ (XCO₂ > 0.1) fluid characterized by moderate salinity (<10 wt.% NaCl equivalent) at high temperature and pressure (>370°C, >3 kbar). Early quartz was followed by small amounts of disseminated fine‐grained pyrite and chalcopyrite. Most of the main‐ore‐stage (stage 2) minerals, including chalcopyrite, pyrite and minor sphalerite, pyrrhotite, and galena, precipitated from an aqueous‐carbonic fluid (8–18 wt.% NaCl equivalent) at temperatures ranging between 241 and 388°C during fluid unmixing process (CO₂ effervescence). Fluid unmixing in the primary carbonaceous fluid at pressures of 1.5–3 kbar produced a high XCO₂ (>0.05) and a low XCO₂ (<0.01) aqueous fluid in ore‐bearing quartz veins. Oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions suggest mineralization by fluids derived from metamorphic dehydration (δ¹⁸O_fluid = +7.6 to +10.7‰ and δD = ?33.1 to ?38.5‰) during stage 2. The late stage (stage 3) is related to a distinct low salinity (1.5–8 wt.% NaCl equivalent) and temperatures of (120–230°C) aqueous fluid at pressures below 1.5 kbar and the deposition of post‐ore barren quartz veins. These fluids probably derived from meteoric waters, which circulated through the metamorphic pile at sufficiently high temperatures and acquire the characteristics of metamorphic fluids (δ¹⁸O_fluid = +4.7 to +5.1‰ and δD = ?52.3 to ?53.9‰) during waning stages of the postearly Cimmerian orogeny in Surian complex. The sulfide‐bearing quartz veins are interpreted as a small‐scale example of redistribution of mineral deposits by metamorphic fluids. This study suggests that mineralization at the Jian deposit is metamorphogenic in style, probably related to a deep‐seated mesothermal system.     

Illustrations and the genesis of Barrett and Yonge's &quot;Collins pocket guide to the sea shore&quot; (1958)

Twenty nine items of correspondence from the mid-1950s discovered recently in the archives of the University Marine Biological Station Millport, and others made available by one of the illustrators and a referee, shed unique light on the publishing history of "Collins pocket guide to the sea shore". This handbook, generally regarded as a classic of its genre, marked a huge step forwards in 1958; providing generations of students with an authoritative, concise, affordable, well illustrated text with which to identify common organisms found between the tidemarks from around the coasts of the British Isles. The crucial role played by a select band of illustrators in making this publication the success it eventually became, is highlighted herein. The difficulties of accomplishing this production within commercial strictures, and generally as a sideline to the main employment of the participants, are revealed. Such stresses were not helped by changing demands on the illustrators made by the authors and by the publishers.     

Female domestic servants as desirable refugees: gender, labour needs and immigration policy in Belgium, The Netherlands and Great Britain

The immigration policies adopted by Western European states during the interwar period were marked by increasing restriction, especially after 1933. One notable exception to this was the relatively generous treatment afforded to women who were prepared to take up employment as domestic servants. This article looks at the reasons behind this anomaly and compares the responses of three states that were in the front line of the refugee efflux from Germany and Eastern Europe in the years leading up to the Second World War.