What can supraspecies richness tell us?

Biogeographers, ecologists, palaeontologists, and conservation managers often deal with checklists in which not all individuals have been identified to a species level, or the accuracy of species identification is questionable. Is it possible and credible to investigate species richness based on such checklists? Studies on macrofauna in the Far Eastern seas, eastern Arctic seas, and adjacent waters of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans suggest that in different habitats and for diverse taxa, species, and higher taxa richness strongly correlate with each other and increase with an expansion in the study area and sample size according to the species–area law. Such an increase is higher in the bottom zone than in the pelagic. Species and higher taxa richness also show a decrease from lower to higher latitudes, which is in line with the Humboldt–Wallace’s law. According to Willis’ law and self-similarity in the organisation of taxonomic levels, species richness can be assessed based on the genus, family, and order richness. In other words, supraspecies richness itself can tell us the same as species richness and therefore certain global patterns revealed at the species level may also be revealed at the supraspecies level. Such a concordance in general trends among richness parameters at different taxonomic levels in practice implies that species richness can be studied based on lists that lack species identifications or lists with doubtful species identification. We suggest bolder use of supraspecies richness in science and practice, discussing the disadvantages and advantages of this approach.     

A missing link? Network analysis as an empirical approach for critical physical geography

Critical physical geography (CPG) calls for integrative research on material landscapes and the socio-political dynamics of scientific knowledge production. Network analysis, a rich tradition of tools and approaches for analyzing relational information, has seen little use in the CPG literature to date. This represents a fruitful opportunity, as many of CPG's core interests—knowledge politics, histories of scientific concepts, and ecosocial relations—can be effectively analyzed using network techniques. In this article, I argue for adapting network approaches to CPG. First, I provide an overview of various network concepts, approaches, and their origins. I then discuss bibliometric network techniques for “science mapping” including co-word, co-authorship, and citation analyses. Next, I describe discourse network analysis, a recent mixed-method approach from political science. Finally, I discuss overlaps with emerging approaches from qualitative and visual network analysis. In each section, I provide existing and hypothetical examples, as well as software and visualization techniques, that demonstrate how network approaches could add new insights to CPG and related scholarship. Linking CPG with the diverse traditions of network analysis has the potential to produce new empirical understandings and bring the field into conversation with a growing body of research that spans the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities.     

Burial offerings in intramural tombs at Middle Bronze Age Megiddo

Tel Megiddo is a major type-site for the Middle Bronze in the Levant. During this period a new burial custom appeared in which the dead were interred beneath occupied houses. This tradition is well attested in Area K at the site. Area H, near the palatial complex, revealed a monumental masonry-constructed chamber tomb. This article presents the results of residue analysis conducted on ceramic vessels placed in these tombs as burial offerings. Hundreds of intramural Middle Bronze tombs with ceramic offerings were excavated in the Levant, but this is the first time the content of the vessels is revealed.     

祈佛求道、护祐诞生——以敦煌《难月》诞育愿文为中心

本文集中考察了敦煌《难月文》愿文范本为主的中古诞育方面文献,兼及密字道法符印中疗治难产等疾患的念咒吞符等方法.在唐宋之际,围绕着诞育、家庭社会会有一系列活动展开.由家庭舍财发愿、祈求妇女平安顺产,通过寺僧诵经赞像求取功德,以回向保祐母子平安,是当时社会人们处理诞育的主流形式.大略反映了唐宋之间民众在诞育方面的意愿和行为.     

A Hierarchical Market Model of International Trade

The characteristics of hierarchical trade flows, when placed in the context of differentiated markets, can provide some insight into the underlying bases of contemporary international trade. A model that relies on differentiated market theory and hierarchical market theory is developed. Trade characteristics derived in the model, concerning the frequency and value of trade, are empirically tested. Empirical results indicate that the model provides a useful framework for the analysis of contemporary international trade.     

Mode Choice in a Hub-and-Spoke Network: A Zero-One Linear Programming Approach

While research has tackled the hub-and-spoke network design problem, that research has overlooked the air-truck modal integration issue which is a common feature of real express delivery systems. This paper devises integer linear programs to represent the mode and route assignment aspects of the operational problem. The model is solved under four different levels of delivery schedule, and the results show that as the promised delivery schedule is relaxed, not only does the use of truck routes become more desirable, but also interesting adjustments in mode and hub assignment occur. Consider the case of hubs in Los Angeles and Dayton. As the time constraints are relaxed, cities such as Minneapolis and New Orleans originally linked by air to Los Angeles, switch to Dayton because cheaper truck routes become feasible.