Repetition and Variability in Urban Travel

Most travel models and theories assume the existence of habitual behavior, yet few empirical studies have examined the question of how much repetition or variability characterizes daily travel. We first review the arguments for expecting both repetition and variability in urban travel-activity patterns and then conduct an empirical analysis of repetition and variability in travel over a five-week period. The results show that, whereas many behaviors that make up the daily pattern are highly repetitious (they occur with high frequency over the 35 days), the similarity between daily travel patterns on different days in an individual's longitudinal record is quite low. Even the day that is the most typical of the individual's travel is a poor indicator of that person's overall travel pattern. Moreover, we found that each person generates several archetypical daily patterns over 35 days, and this finding has important implications for data collection and modeling in studies of urban travel.     

Examining histology to identify burned bone

Early research suggests that examination of the microscopic internal structure is a valid method for distinguishing burned from unburned bone in the archaeological record. This study compares burned and unburned modern bones with archaeological bones from Sibudu Cave (ca. 60,000 years ago) and Cave of Hearths (over 200,000 years ago) to more fully describe the heat-induced histological changes to bone. We also explore the effects of diagenesis on those changes to determine if histological evidence of burning preserves through fossilisation and diagenetic processes and can be successfully used to identify ancient burning. Application of this technique can help in addressing various issues, including the origins of controlled use of fire and understanding animal butchery and disposal.     

Service as a Subversive Activity: On the centrality of service to an academic career

In the normative view of academic life, service is presented as an unfortunate inconvenience, a dull distraction from the real work of the academy, which is taken to be teaching and research. Service is also presented to the novice academic as an activity that is completely unconnected with the real work of teaching and research. Jan Monk has made service central to her academic career. A brief overview of her service activities shows how closely intertwined they have been with her scholarship and teaching. Moreover, I believe that Jan's service work demonstrates not only how service is central to a vibrant, meaningful, and rich academic life; it is also an essential vehicle for creating change within, as well as outside of, the academy.