West New Research Articles

Unexpected uses for obsidian: experimental replication and use-wear/residue analyses of chopping tools

Large flaked stemmed artefacts with a morphological resemblance to axes or adzes have been recovered from stone quarries in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea, but they are made from obsidian, a volcanic glass generally considered too brittle for tasks demanding tough, long-lasting edges, such as chopping wood. To evaluate the potential of obsidian for percussive woodworking, 11 replica obsidian tools were used as axes and adzes. Although breakage was common and the tools suffered extensive edge damage, they were surprisingly effective as chopping tools. The patterns of use-wear and residue traces on the experimental tools informed the analysis of 27 archaeological artefacts which were found to have been used as axes or adzes with the addition of sawing in a few cases. As these tools have not been found outside the quarries, their occurrence suggests that during this period some forms of woodworking took place only where there was an abundant supply of raw material. The limited spatial distribution of obsidian chopping tools raises questions about the nature of forest clearance and woodworking in this tropical environment.

What is a classic?: postcolonial rewriting and invention of the canon

What Is a Classic? revisits the famous question posed by critics from Sainte-Beuve and T. S. Eliot to J. M. Coetzee to ask how classics emanate from postcolonial histories and societies. Exploring definitive trends in twentieth- and twenty-first century English and Anglophone literature, Ankhi Mukherjee demonstrates the relevance of the question of the classic for the global politics of identifying and perpetuating so-called core texts. Emergent canons are scrutinized in the context of the wider cultural phenomena of book prizes, the translation and distribution of world literatures, and multimedia adaptations of world classics. Throughout, Mukherjee attunes traditional literary critical concerns to the value contestations mobilizing postcolonial and world literature. The breadth of debates and topics she addresses, as well as the book's ambitious historical schema, which includes South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America, set this study apart from related titles on the bookshelf today.

JUARA SATU DAN DUA: MEMBANDINGKAN SITUASI KEBAHASAAN INDONESIA DAN PAPUA NUGINI

With 836 and 706 languages each, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia occupy the two top positions in the list of countries with the highest number of languages. This article aims to provide a linguistic comparison of these two neighbouring countries. After a general introduction with some background information about each country, the first part of the article focuses on the national languages (bahasa Indonesia and Tok Pisin), their history and current role, as well as a brief treatment of some lexical and structural features of Tok Pisin. Part one ends with a general discussion of the role of the regional languages in both countries, followed in part two by a more detailed discussion of one Austronesian regional language from each country: Muna from Southeast Sulawesi in Indonesia, and Vitu from West New Britain in Papua New Guinea. This section does not only treat the history and role of these two languages, but also compares various structural features, as well as their level of description and endangerment. The article ends with three brief suggestions.

VACCINIUM UTTERIDGEI (ERICACEAE), A NEW SPECIES (SECT. BRACTEATA) FROM INDONESIAN NEW GUINEA

A new species of Vaccinium section Bracteata (Ericaceae), Vaccinium utteridgei Argent, presently only known from the type locality in Papua (West New Guinea), Indonesia, is described. Its distinctive characters are discussed and comments made on the differences between this and related species.

You Ask Me to Talk About the Interior, and: [If I say ghost, would you

You Ask Me to Talk About the Interior, and: [If I say ghost, would you] Carolina Ebeid (bio) You Ask Me to Talk About the Interior it was all roadside flowers & grasses growing over the cities was made of wilderness & sky with God washed out of it was the foreign prayer-word it was a list of missing persons was the solid bronze charging bull on the famous street was like the Roman method for making bees was its taken-down carcass & its bed of apple branches & thyme was a new anatomy, a beaten hide, a skeleton sweetening to glowing fluids, & the bee born out, & the grist of them born glistening as coins it was anthem was the listening, the way a searchlight listens over a lake it was the prayer-word out of your mouthyour thousand-noun request it goes up up to the florescent weather was an ivory box, [End Page 139] was hurdle & burn, burning through the infinite, your overbright comet was made of stones, made of berries & box tops & eggshells it was like the word having reached the ear & the words pollinated the dark, there was darkness there, like the after-hours inside a library [End Page 140] [If I say ghost, would you] If I say ghost, would youhear the helium airship, white & wide humming with lifting gas Will yours be rememberedlike a Goodyear, gigantic I made a study of whitein a notebook, a study of failing or falling I try to explain the self— where I used to see a single hallwayI now hold a snow globe in the mind & the weather here is touchablewhite creeping phlox, whitesqual,the word leafage comes softly, it falls like pale underleavesflickered, like Styrofoam, like pills like bridal dresses quiet mob of gowns & vowsSuch elegant equationsthis hard math of free fallAlready the houris less than an hour [End Page 141] Carolina Ebeid Carolina Ebeid is a fellow at the Stadler Center for Poetry, where she helps edit West Branch. She is also a poetry editor for the online journal Better: Culture & Lit. Her work appears in journals such as the Kenyon Review, Crazyhorse, Memorious, Gulf Coast, Poetry, and others. She holds an mfa from the Michener Center for Writers and has also been awarded prizes and fellowships from the McNair Scholars Program, CantoMundo, and the Academy of American Poets. She grew up in West New York, New Jersey. Copyright © 2014 Center for Literary Publishing

Searching for the Optimal Rate of Medically Necessary Cesarean Delivery

Over the past three decades, the World Health Organization expert panel proposed cesarean delivery rate of 10-15 percent was used as a doctrine for an optimal rate of cesarean delivery despite the lack of concrete evidence. We set out to compile cesarean delivery rates, socioeconomic indicators, and health outcomes by countries in the last three decades to explore the optimal rates for medically necessary cesarean delivery. We selected 19 countries which have readily accessible cesarean delivery and low maternal and infant mortality, including countries in North and West Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Information on cesarean delivery rate, human development index (HDI), gross domestic products (GDP), maternal, neonatal, and infant mortality rates of each country in the past 30 years was collected from published reports. A two-level fractional polynomial model was used to model the association between cesarean rate and mortality rates. Most of the countries have experienced sharp increases in cesarean delivery rates. Once cesarean delivery rate reached 10 percent, with adjustment for HDI and GDP, further increase in cesarean delivery rate had no impact on maternal, neonatal, and infant mortality rates. Our findings corroborate the statement that a population-level cesarean section rate above 10-15 percent is hardly justified from the medical perspective.

Induction of Endoplasmic Reticulum-Derived Replication-Competent Membrane Structures by West Nile Virus Non-Structural Protein 4B

Replication of flaviviruses (family Flaviviridae) occurs in specialized virus-induced membrane structures (IMS). The cellular composition of these IMS varies for different flaviviruses implying different organelle origins for IMS biogenesis. The role of flavivirus non-structural (NS) proteins for the alteration of IMS remains controversial. In this report, we demonstrate that West Nile virus strain New York 99 (WNVNY99) remodels the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane to generate specialized IMS. Within these structures, we observed an element of the cis-Golgi, viral double-stranded RNA, and viral-envelope, NS1, NS4A and NS4B proteins using confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. Biochemical analysis and microscopy revealed that NS4B lacking the 2K-signal peptide associates with the ER membrane where it initiates IMS formation in WNV-infected cells. Co-transfection studies indicated that NS4A and NS4B always remain co-localized in the IMS and are associated with the same membrane fractions, suggesting that these proteins function cooperatively in virus replication and may be an ideal target for antiviral drug discovery.

‘Far away from the Atlantic…’: Goa, West New Guinea and NATO's out-of-area policy at Bandung 1955

During the cold war, Afro-Asian leaders had been highly critical of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) out-of-area initiatives. This article will focus on the Portuguese strategy to use the North Atlantic Council to pursue national, colonial interests in Asia and Africa. The solicitation of support from the USA constituted a key element in this diplomatic exchange. As a result, at Bandung, the leaders of the newly independent nations challenged not a specific European colonial empire, but transferred their outrage to the entire Atlantic Alliance. In the end, the promotion of colonial interests in the Atlantic Alliance led to several conflicts with the newly independent nations and a loss of face for the Western world.

Genetic structuring of northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) at multiple spatial scales

Although groups of bats may be genetically distinguishable at large spatial scales, the effects of forest disturbances, particularly permanent land use conversions on fine-scale population structure and gene flow of summer aggregations of philopatric bat species are less clear. We genotyped and analyzed variation at 10 nuclear DNA microsatellite markers in 182 individuals of the forest-dwelling northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) at multiple spatial scales, from within first-order watersheds scaling up to larger regional areas in West Virginia and New York. Our results indicate that groups of northern myotis were genetically indistinguishable at any spatial scale we considered, and the collective population maintained high genetic diversity. It is likely that the ability to migrate, exploit small forest patches, and use networks of mating sites located throughout the Appalachian Mountains, Interior Highlands, and elsewhere in the hibernation range have allowed northern myotis to maintain high genetic diversity and gene flow regardless of forest disturbances at local and regional spatial scales. A consequence of maintaining high gene flow might be the potential to minimize genetic founder effects following population declines caused currently by the enzootic White-nose Syndrome.

Kutau/Bao Obsidian – Extending its Eastern Distribution into the Fijian Northeast

This paper reports on the discovery and geochemical sourcing of an obsidian flake from a Lapita site on Vorovoro Island off the northeast coast of Vanua Levu, Fiji. The flake is sourced using pXRF to the Kutau/Bao source located on the Willaumez Peninsula, West New Britain in the Bismarck Archipelago.

Prehistory in a nutshell: a Lapita‐age nut‐cracking stone from the Arawe Islands, Papua New Guinea

AbstractOrganic residue on a stone artefact recovered from the Makekur Lapita site (FOH) on Arawe Island in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, was sampled and dated. The residue is identified as endocarp fragments of a Canarium species nutshell, most likely Canarium indicum L. The artefact, which is made from coralline limestone, is interpreted as a nut‐cracking anvil. AMS dating places its use at approximately 2800 calBP, in Middle–Late Lapita times, and provides the first direct confirmation of Lapita‐age use of nut‐cracking tools. The careful shaping of the tool, combined with ethnographic comparisons, suggests that it was made and used for preparation of special food, possibly for feasting associated with ritual or other ceremonial activities.

Melanesian arc far-field response to collision of the Ontong Java Plateau: Geochronology and petrogenesis of the Simuku Igneous Complex, New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Abstract Understanding the evolution of the mid-Cenozoic Melanesian arc is critical for our knowledge of the regional tectonic development of the Australian-Pacific plate margin, yet there have been no recent studies to constrain the nature and timing of magmatic activity in this arc segment. In particular, there are currently no robust absolute age constraints at the plate margin related to either the initiation or cessation of subduction and arc magmatism. We present the first combined U–Pb zircon geochronology and geochemical investigation into the evolution of the Melanesian arc utilizing a comprehensive sample suite from the Simuku Igneous Complex of West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Development of the embryonic island arc from at least 40 Ma and progressive arc growth was punctuated by distant collision of the Ontong Java Plateau and subduction cessation from 26 Ma. This change in subduction dynamics is represented in the Melanesian arc magmatic record by emplacement of the Simuku Porphyry Complex between 24 and 20 Ma. Petrological and geochemical affinities highlight genetic differences between ‘normal’ arc volcanics and adakite-like signatures of Cu–Mo mineralized porphyritic intrusives. The contemporaneous emplacement of both ‘normal’ arc volcanics and adakite-like porphyry intrusives may provide avenues for future research into the origin of diverse styles of arc volcanism. Not only is this one of few studies into the geology of the Melanesian arc, it is also among the first to address the distant tectono-magmatic effects of major arc/forearc collision events and subduction cessation on magmatic arcs, and also offers insight into the tectonic context of porphyry formation in island arc settings.

Rock art as material culture: a case study on Uneapa Island, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea

AbstractThis paper identifies and investigates the distribution patterns, physical properties and cultural associations of the four types of rock art found on Uneapa Island, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. It generates a series of hypotheses relating to the production and consumption of cupules, three‐dimensional, curvilinear and rectilinear rock art, and how this may have changed through time.

The Informal Economy in Monsoon Asia and Melanesia: West New Guinea and the Malay World

This is the third in a series of papers concerned with the intellectual history of the 'informal economy' and its relevance to current concerns in Papua New Guinea (PNG; the eastern half of the island of New Guinea). Proceeding from the observation that monetized informal economic activity in PNG has been of relatively limited importance, the paper seeks explanations by comparing two stylized constructs, Monsoon Asia (where the informal economy is dynamic) and Melanesia (where it is limited in scope and contribution to livelihoods). Papua (occupying the western half of the island of New Guinea) is seen as a meeting point, or zone of transition, between Monsoon Asia and Melanesia. A long history of 'trading and raiding' on this frontier marked the encounter between ceremonial exchange, as practiced by Melanesians, and the system of tribute imposed on Papuans by Moluccan sultanates. Limited economic specialization and exchange in Melanesia contrasted with the Asian household economy, enmeshed in complex social hierarchies and systems of occupational differentiation. Historically, the Malay Archipelago engaged in a world trading system, into which it drew west New Guinea/Papua over millennia. Travelling peddlers played a key role in the archipelagic trade system, demonstrating the antiquity of the informal economy tradition in the cultures of Monsoon Asia. The paper seeks explanations for the comparative absence of that tradition in Melanesia. Finally, it examines the recent and rapid emergence of an informal economy in Papua, dominated by non-Melanesian immigrants, in the wake of the incorporation of (Dutch) west New Guinea into the Republic of Indonesia in 1963.

Self-Determination Abandoned: The Road to the New York Agreement on West New Guinea (Papua), 1960-62

The decolonization process of (West) Papua was a complex one. Retained by the Netherlands when it recognized Indonesian independence in 1949, the territory then known as West New Guinea (other names include West Irian, Irian Jaya, Papua, and West Papua) was under Dutch rule until 1962. This article highlights the gap between the rhetoric of self-determination, and the way in which self-determination for the indigenous Papuans was abandoned in the course of negotiating the end of Dutch rule in 1962 and the transfer to Indonesian rule, with no account taken of Papuan voices or desires.

Self-Determination Abandoned: The Road to the New York Agreement on West New Guinea (Papua), 1960–62

Self-Determination Abandoned: The Road to the New York Agreement on West New Guinea (Papua), 1960–62

Bug Breakfast in the Bulletin: Infectious disease management for Aboriginal children of Far West NSW

Far West Local Health District New South Wales (NSW) covers an area of 194 000 km and has approximately 30 000 residents. Ten percent of the population identifies as Aboriginal, but this proportion can be much higher in small communities surrounding Broken Hill. Aboriginal people in the Far West may identify with a range of different groups including: Barkindji, Maliangapa, Nyampa, Dieri and Wiljakali. Some of these groups have lived in the area for over 45 000 years.

Taxonomy of new relatives of Onthophagus catenatus Lansberge, 1883 from New Guinea (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae)

Four new taxa from New Guinea are proposed in the dung beetle genus Onthophagus Latreille, 1802, all in the operational group of Onthophagus catenatus Lansberge, 1883. The group is discussed, defined, and the five taxa included are listed, keyed, and diagnosed. Three new species are described: Onthophagus abmisibilus (from West New Guinea, Indonesia), Onthophagus kokodanus, Onthophagus kokosquamatus (both from Papua New Guinea). One new species comprises a lowland and an upland subspecies: Onthophagus kokodanus kokodanus and kokodanus hagenaltus (both in Papua New Guinea).

Oil palm, food security and adaptation among smallholder households in Papua New Guinea

Abstract: This paper is concerned with food security and access to land for food crop gardening among first and second generation migrant oil palm producers in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. We examine changes in food security due to the rapid population growth in the presence of growing demand for land for oil palm production. Despite oil palm providing the major source of income for most migrant households, food crop gardening remains a primary livelihood activity, particularly for women, and especially so, during periods of low oil palm prices. Rising population and land pressures pose a threat to household food security and have implications for the supply of food to the rapidly growing urban population in the province. The paper begins by describing how household food security and access to land have changed over the past two decades. Then the paper examines how smallholder households are responding to shortages of garden land through the intensification of land use, intercropping immature oil palm with food crops and seeking access to land beyond the oil palm block. The paper also considers the role that research, agricultural extension and the milling companies can play in supporting strategies to promote food security among smallholders.

QUANTIFYING WING DAMAGE OF SUMMER BATS IN THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

ABSTRACT While conducting mist net surveys for the federally endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) in West Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania, we quantified wing damage on 422 bats of four species: big brown (Eptesicus fuscus, N = 190), eastern red (Lasiurus borealis, N = 82), little brown (M. lucifugus, N = 55), and northern myotis (M. septentrionalis, N = 95) bats. From 15 May – 15 August 2010, we photographed back-lit wings to reveal damage such as scars, holes, and blotching (non-uniform pigmentation). After quantifying the percent cover of these damage types using image-analysis software, we used generalized non-linear mixed models to determine if percent area of damage differed among scores associated with the categorical wing damage index (WDI) developed by Reichard and Kunz (2009). Although quantified damage did generally increase with WDI score across all species, statistical separation by WDI was only documented for the big brown bat (blotching, scars, blotching + scars combined) and northern myotis (blotching, blotching + scars). We suggest that studies like ours can provide quantitative species-specific datasets that can be examined in a more precise manner than a categorical index.