Death's dance of women

The 1486 edition of La grant danse macabre des femmes by Martial d'Auvergne, also known as Martial de Paris, is the subject of this study. The skeleton, representing death, queries each of the thirty-six women described in the poem. The answers they give tell us about their occupation and the chances of their salvation. The author is a realist who represents only those women he is familiar with and shows deep understanding of the women portrayed. The concerns of the flesh get more attention than the spiritual factors.Death was very important in the middle ages, especially in the late fourteenth and fifteenth century. It was featured in public curiosity, religion, literature, visual and dramatic presentations, and popular beliefs. The authors attempt to describe it and give an answer to the pressing problems of death in the fifteenth century.     

HIGH-TECHNOLOGY JOBS AND WORKER MOBILITY*

ABSTRACT. The premise of this paper is that one can discover much about the location determinants of high-technology industry by examining the location (migration) decision of workers with high-technology occupations. A model of the high-technology worker migration decision is developed that permits estimation of worker response to both personal and area characteristics, the latter chosen to mirror location factors often cited by high-technology firms as important for both the attraction and retention of their specialized work force. Logit estimates of this model between 1975 and 1980 are presented. The paper is concluded with a discussion of policy implications.     

Organisation and political analysis

The advent of the Hawke government may not warrant the title of ‘The Revolution in Australian Politics’, but it has raised questions about organisation and power, and the way in which these are handled in political science. This paper begins by identifying what is considered problematic in the political practices which are seen as distinctive in the Hawke government. It outlines the elements of the paradigm of organisation which underlies much political science, and identifies the way in which these are challenged by ‘corporatist’ or ‘Hawkeish’ forms of political activity. It argues that this paradigm of organisation is under attack on both conceptual and empirical grounds, and outlines an alternative paradigm of organisation and the way in which it applies to government. It concludes with a consideration of the implications of this approach for theorising about the state.     

Integrating Landsat and Land Systems for Cover Maps in Southern Inland Queensland

Digital analysis of Landsat data is applied to up-dating land cover maps for the Goondiwindi district of southern, inland Queensland. The imagery was paired with climax cover maps obtained from land systems reports with analysis conducted separately for each of three climax cover types (open forest, woodland and open woodland). Computer classification using this approach produced readily interpreted and reliable results. This work demonstrates that Landsat can be used in conjunction with existing, land systems derived maps to produce data that combine the advantages of two approaches to environmental survey, the former being based on current land cover/land use and the latter on the original environment and its land use potential.     

The Roman wreck of c. AD 200 at Plemmirio, near Siracusa (Sicily): Interim report

A Roman wreck, named Plemmirio B^[1]i, lies on the rocky talus below the southern cliffs of Capo Murro di Porco, near Costa Bianca del Plemmirio (Penisola della Maddalena), prov. Siracusa, Sicily. The cargo of amphoras and iron bars, relatively well-preserved, is situated between 22 m and 47 m depth. Following brief examinations in 1974–1982, a University of Bristol expedition spent four weeks surveying the site in July-August 1983^[2] This paper presents an interim summary of these campaigns; a comprehensive report will be published after completion of excavations at the site^[3]. The archaeological deposit at Plemmirio B is characterized by concentrations of fragmented amphoras. There is no direct evidence for the structure of the ship, much of which may have disintegrated during the initial wreck process, but study of the artefact distribution suggests a vessel of fairly large capacity. The amphora consignment (which may have numbered no more than 200) comprised cylindrical African containers, 80% of which were form Africana 2A and 20% Africana 1^[4] w. The Africana 2A amphoras had internal resinous linings, and so may have contained a fish product rather than olive oil. Other amphoras exposed on the site were at least one Mauretanian Dressel 30 (Keay type 1) and two possibly intrusive amphoras of unclassified types. Ferrous concretions contained voids (hollow casts) which may once have been about 39 wrought iron bars, of two distinctive shapes. These, and several other concretions of unidentified forms, may represent a consignment of iron originally weighing approximately one tonne. Other finds from the wreck are two cooking pots, a small bowl or cup, a sounding lead, three fragments of tegula rooftiles, and two small stone blocks. One of the cooking pots confirms a date for the wreck based on the amphora association of circa AD 180–250, most likely in the first decade of the 3rd century. The amphora assemblage belongs to an important phase of commerce from North Africa represented by at least 20 known wreck cargoes; however, few of these sites have been scientifically recorded or are as closely dated as Plemmirio B, and the diversity of container types and cargo consignments on this wreck is of particular interest.