Studies in sociolinguistics

William Labov. Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular. Conduct and Communication No. 3. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972. xxiv + 412 pp. Figures, tables, bibliography, and index. $6.95 (paper).

William Labov. Sociolinguistic Patterns. Conduct and Communication No. 4. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972. xviii + 344 pp. Figures, tables, biliography, and index. $5.95 (paper).     

Fossil frogs from the central highlands of Papua New Guinea

Characteristic features of the pelves of 15 species of extant New Guinean highland frogs (Hylidae and Microhylidae) are described and figured. Ilia among species in these families were found to be relatively invariate with similar sized species often indistinguishable; thus fossil species diversity is therefore likely to be underestimated in such deposits. Nine-two disarticulated ilia from the highland Nombe rockshelter deposit represent a minimum of six species: two Hylidae and four Microhylidae; most of these ilia were deposited in the late Pleistocene before significant human activity at the site. Problems of drawing conclusions about the Pleistocene frog fauna of the area, especially what the main predator was, from such a small sample and limited understanding of the site taphonomy are discussed.     

Trauma in the Crusader period city of Caesarea: a major port in the medieval eastern Mediterranean

Caesarea is the first fortified city to undergo palaeopathological analysis of its Crusader period inhabitants. This study of the 12th and 13th century population aims to determine the major types of trauma present, whether from weapon injuries or accidents. Since the Crusades were known for the significant number of battles and raids that took place, weapon injuries were expected to be common. Thirteen cases of trauma are described and a highly unexpected pattern has come to light. These cases do not include one single example of weapon‐related trauma. Every fracture is of a type expected from accidents or interpersonal violence without weapons. Possible explanations include the location of the city deep within Frankish territory and the robust city walls giving effective protection to the inhabitants, and also that the population were involved in activities that left them prone to accidents but not weapon injuries. The other important finding from this study was that the cases of lower limb long bone spiral fractures had healed in a near‐anatomical alignment. This is not what we would expect, as a proportion of these injuries would normally have been unstable and tend to heal poorly aligned. The good position could have resulted from surgeons' use of splints to immobilise the bones while they healed. This suggestion is supported by laws of the kingdom of Jerusalem, which stated that surgeons were to be punished if they allowed such fractures to heal at an angle. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regional Wage Rigidity: The European Union and United States Compared

In recent years it has been pointed out that regional unemployment disparities are much more entrenched across member states of the European Union (E.U.) than they are in the U.S. A 'conventional wisdom' has emerged to the effect that this difference is due in part to the greater degree of wage rigidity in E.U. regions. In this paper we explore this issue by estimating short run and long run real wage (in)flexibility for the regions in five core E.U. countries (Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands) and for the U.S. states for the period 1976–1994. We find that real wage (in)flexibility varies across regions both in the E.U. and the U.S., but that, on average, regional wages are no less flexible in E.U. core regions than in U.S. states. The paper also examines some of the possible correlates ofregional variations in wage (in)flexibility.     

Book Notes

Abramovitz, Mimi. 1988. Regulating the Lives of Women: Social Welfare Policy From Colonial Times to the Present
Bingham, Richard D., Roy E. Green, and Sammis B. White (eds.). 1987. The Homeless in Contemporary Society
Bogen, Elizabeth. 1987. Immigration in New York
Bowie, Norman E. (ed.). 1988. Equal Opportunity
Bryner, Gary C. 1987. Bureaucratic Discretion: Law and Policy in Federal Regulatory Agencies
Comfort, Louise K. (ed.) 1988. Managing Disaster: Strategies and Policy Perspectives
Cook, Brian J. 1988. Bureaucratic Politics and Regulatory Reform: The EPA and Emissions Trading
Cooper, Phillip J. 1988. Hard Judicial Choices: Federal District Judges and State and Local Officials
Culyer, A.J. and Bengt Jonsson (eds.). 1988. Public and Private Health Services
Danziger, Sheldon H. and Kent E. Portney (eds.). 1988. The Distributional Impacts of Public Policies
Davis, Charles E. and James P. Lester (eds.). 1988. Dimensions of Hazardous Waste Politics and Policy
Fagerhaugh, Shizuko Y., Anselm Strauss, Barbara Suczek, and Carolyn L. Wiener. 1987. Hazards in Hospital Care: Ensuring Patient Safety
Forsythe, David P. 1988. Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy: Congress Reconsidered
Gilderbloom, John I. and Richard P. Appelbaum. 1988. Rethinking Rental Housing
Hahn, Harlan and Sheldon Kamieniecki. 1987. Referendum Voting: Social Status and Policy Preferences
Kelly, Rita Mae (ed.). 1988. Promoting Productivity in the Public Sector: Problems, Strategies, and Prospects
Kelly, Rita Mae and Jane Bayes (eds.). 1988. Comparable Worth, Pay Equity, and Public Policy
Plowden, William. 1987. Advising the Rulers
Roessner, J. David. 1988. Government Innovation Policy: Design, Implementation, Evaluation
Weidenbaum, Murray and Kenneth Chilton (eds.). 1988. Public Policy Toward Corporate Takeovers