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This study theorizes that news coverage of political issues not only influences people's thinking about the issues but also activates associated racial or ethnic stereotypes held by individuals and influences whether these perceptions are applied in politically meaningful ways, such as in the formation of issue positions or evaluations about whether certain political, economic, or legal outcomes are positive for U.S. society. To test these ideas, an experiment was conducted in which the news frame of immigration was systematically altered—as either material or ethical in nature—within controlled political information environments to examine how individuals process, interpret, and use issue information in forming political judgments. The findings provide strong support for the perspective that news coverage of issues, by priming subjects to focus on some considerations and relationships and not others, influences the strength of the associations between individuals' racial cognitions and their political evaluations.

Summary: The expansion of Tawantinsuyu in the Aconcagua valley (central Chile) was culturally mediated and avoided military coercion, resulting in different forms of acceptance, resistance and aculcisation. In this context, there are almost no studies discussing how this process manifested itself in the metallurgical technology of the Tardío Period (ca. 1400-1530 DC). We present the results of the technological study on a set of crucibles and moulds found in the Aconcagua valley and associated with metallic parts made from copper, using optical microscopy, petrography, SEM-EDS, XRD and FTIR. Our results indicate that the raw materials used were igneous rocks obtained from probably local deposits, mixed with small quantities of smectitas-montmorillonite-clays. In the case of moulds, they also contained ground bone as anti-plastic. All ceramics were covered with a pure bone paste to improve their refractarisation. Cooking temperatures were estimated at between 800 and 850 °C for moulds and above 900 °C for crucibles. The morphology and technology used suggest that a technological tradition originating in the Argentinian north-west was introduced into the Aconcagua valley and accepted by certain local communities during the expansion of Tawantinsuyu. ; Resumen: La expansión del Tawantinsuyu en el valle del Aconcagua (Chile central) fue culturalmente mediada y evitando la coerción militar, lo que derivó en distintas formas de aceptación, resistencia y aculturación. En este contexto, son casi inexistentes los estudios que discutan cómo este proceso se manifestó en la tecnología metalúrgica del Período Tardío (ca. 1400-1530 DC). Presentamos los resultados del estudio tecnológico sobre un conjunto de crisoles y moldes encontrados en el valle del Aconcagua y asociados a piezas metálicas hechas en base a cobre, utilizando microscopía óptica, petrografía, SEM-EDS, XRD y FTIR. Nuestros resultados indican que las materias primas utilizadas fueron rocas ígneas obtenidas de depósitos probablemente locales, mezcladas con ...

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This paper examines the production and exchange of a particular type of ceramic vase designated 'Ahk'utu' moulded-carved', by using thin-section petrography, INAA, and SEM-EDS. These vases were produced and circulated in the eastern Maya lowlands during a transitional period known as 'Terminal Classic', ca. A.D. 800-950. Significant changes, generally referred to as the Classic Maya Collapse, occurred in the socio-political order in the Maya lowlands at this time, although the pace and events leading to such changes remain poorly understood. By studying a selection of 62 Ahk'utu' moulded-carved vases from various sites across Belize, we seek to offer a new perspective on the nature of this important transitional period. Our findings reveal that two main ceramic traditions - one employing calcite and the other volcanic ash temper - are represented by the vases. These traditions guided the selection of raw materials, surface finish, and firing methods. Vases of the calcite tradition were mostly used at or around the sites where they were produced, whereas those of the volcanic ash tradition appear to have been circulated over a wider region. The co-existence of multiple production groups and distribution spheres of the Ahk'utu' vases, along with their style and decoration, is interpreted as indicating a proliferation of an ascending social segment and greater flexibility and fluidity in how the social hierarchy and political structure were maintained in the eastern Maya lowlands from the 9th century and onwards.

Participation as a key component of democracy has been the focus of considerable research, with the body of scholarship focusing overwhelmingly on voting. However, because political interests and opinions can be conveyed and expressed outside the voting booth, this study examines political activity in a nonelectoral context, specifically, World Trade Organization (WTO) policies and issues as well as the WTO ministerial meeting held in Seattle, Washington, in the fall of 1999. Within this context, this study explores the process of media effects on participation, focusing on knowledge and trust in the organization as intervening variables between attention to WTO news and anticipated behaviors related to the WTO. Survey data collected from 277 adults from the greater Seattle area prior to the WTO meeting were used to test seven hypotheses and address two research questions. Results indicate that newspaper and television reliance had differential effects on knowledge about the WTO and trust in the institution. Moreover, the effects of trust on political behavior were considerably stronger than those of knowledge.

In the Amazon basin, ants are often associated with environmental or edaphic factors. However, these associations may vary between the epigeic and hypogeic strata. Here, we investigated differences in richness and composition of epigeic and hypogeic ant assemblages along an environmental gradient in the Brazilian Amazon. The four studied sites cover different topographic and soil characteristics. We sampled 25 plots of 250 m2 using 10 samples of epigeic pitfalls and 10 samples of hypogeic pitfalls installed at two depths (10 and 30 cm). The pitfalls remained in the fi eld for 48 hours. In the same plots, soil clay content and terrain altitude were also measured. We collected 219 species or morphospecies, of which 14 were exclusively hypogeics. We found higher local richness in the epigeic compared to hypogeic assemblages. We also found an interaction between clay content and strata for ant species composition. Overall, the species turnover was related to clay content, but the eff ect depended on the strata, with hypogeic fauna being more heterogeneous, compared with epigeic fauna. Despite the relationship between clay content and ant´s assemblage's composition, we did not find strong environment predictors for both strata, which suggests that other factors may structure ant assemblages in these sites. This reinforces the need for studies to defi ne which environmental gradiente determines the distribution of Amazonian epigeic and hypogeic ants.

International audience ; "Metals held important symbolic and political values for the indigenous communities of the Caribbean islands. However, metal objects are not abundant in indigenous archaeological sites, and their study has hitherto been very limited. This paper presents the results of the first analytical programme focused on metal artifacts recovered in a range of Taíno sites in Cuba, chronologically covering the periods before and after contact with Europeans. Our aims were: (a) to identify metallurgical traditions related to a diversity of cultural or learning backgrounds; (b) to investigate the origins of different metal artifacts found in Cuba, as a proxy to reconstruct patterns of exchange and interaction among indigenous communities and between these and Europeans; and (c) to approach the meaning and symbolism of different metals by considering their contexts of appropriation and use. The techniques employed included optical microscopy, SEM–EDS, pXRF and PIXE. The results allow a diachronic picture of the procurement, transformation, use and symbolism of metals in Cuba with broader implications for Caribbean archaeology. We reveal culture-specific Taíno choices in their interaction with materials and value systems from continental America and Europe. We also discuss the selective appropriation, recontextualization and meaning of different metals in the indigenous cultures." (source éditeur)

International audience ; "Metals held important symbolic and political values for the indigenous communities of the Caribbean islands. However, metal objects are not abundant in indigenous archaeological sites, and their study has hitherto been very limited. This paper presents the results of the first analytical programme focused on metal artifacts recovered in a range of Taíno sites in Cuba, chronologically covering the periods before and after contact with Europeans. Our aims were: (a) to identify metallurgical traditions related to a diversity of cultural or learning backgrounds; (b) to investigate the origins of different metal artifacts found in Cuba, as a proxy to reconstruct patterns of exchange and interaction among indigenous communities and between these and Europeans; and (c) to approach the meaning and symbolism of different metals by considering their contexts of appropriation and use. The techniques employed included optical microscopy, SEM–EDS, pXRF and PIXE. The results allow a diachronic picture of the procurement, transformation, use and symbolism of metals in Cuba with broader implications for Caribbean archaeology. We reveal culture-specific Taíno choices in their interaction with materials and value systems from continental America and Europe. We also discuss the selective appropriation, recontextualization and meaning of different metals in the indigenous cultures." (source éditeur)

Debates on early metallurgy in Western Europe have frequently focused on the social value of copper (between utilitarian and symbolic) and its purported role in the emergence and consolidation of hierarchies. Recent research shows that generalisations are increasingly untenable and highlights the need for comparative regional studies. Given its location in an intermediate area, the early metallurgy of Northeast Iberia provides an interesting case in point to explore the interaction between the well-characterised traditions of southern Iberia and southern France during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE. Here the analytical study of seven Bell Beaker (decorated and undecorated) vessels reused as crucibles at Bauma del Serrrat del Pont (Tortellà, Girona) are presented. We employed pXRF, metallography, SEM-EDS and lead isotope analyses. The results show evidence for copper smelting employing a remarkable variety of ore sources, including Solana del Bepo, Turquesa and Les Ferreres mines, and an extra unknown area. The smelting vessels were manufactured using the same clay, which contained both mineral and organic inclusions. Our results are discussed with reference to all the evidence available for metals and metallurgy in the Northeast, and more broadly in comparison to southern Iberia and southern France, with special emphasis on issues of production organisation and social complexity. Taken together, our results support the notion that copper metallurgy played a predominantly utilitarian role in Bell Beaker societies and highlight idiosyncratic aspects of the metallurgical trajectory in the Northeast. Differences between territories challenge unilinear explanations of technological and social development after the introduction of metallurgy. Separate trajectories can only be explained in relation to area-specific socio-cultural and environmental factors. ; This paper has been supported by the project "Metal y Ámbar II: Circulación de bronce y ámbar en el Sureste peninsular durante la Edad del Bronce"(PID2019.108289GB.I00 / SRA – State Research Agency / 10.13039/501100011033) funded by the Spanish Government and with MMB as PI. The part of the analytical work of this paper that was carried out by JML (SEM-EDS and metallography) was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council-DTP program and the Cambridge Trust (Vice-chancellor's Award), that jointly fund her doctoral research ; Peer reviewed