Dating of modified femora of extinct dwarf Hippopotamus from Southern Madagascar: Implications for constraining human colonization and vertebrate extinction events

Two significant events in the late Holocene history of Madagascar were (a) the arrival of people, and (b) the loss of nearly two dozen species of land vertebrates in the socalled “subfossil extinctions”. The consensus is that the faunal losses occurred shortly subsequent to human arrival, but the timing of these events is poorly constrained. The minimum age for initial human presence on the island may now be set at approximately 2000 bp, on the basis of AMS ¹⁴C dates for human-modified femora of extinct dwarf hippos from SW Madagascar. Assuming that this date also marks the beginning of deleterious human interactions with the subfossil fauna, and assuming that this fauna became completely extinct by 900 bp, the width of the anthropogenic “extinction window” may have been as long as c. 1000 a. This estimate, nearly twice the length of previous ones, is close to the unadjusted minimum for the duration of the terminal Pleistocene extinction event in the Americas. Whether or not this length of time comports with theoretical expectations of a “blitzkrieg” pattern of losses is uncertain, but greater refinement in dating the end of the subfossil extinctions is unlikely to produce radically shorter estimates of duration.     

从闽台动物化石看两岸亲缘关系

祖国大陆与台湾的历史关系可追溯到人类历史的早期阶段——旧石器时代,从对闽台鹿角化石的考古研究,发现4万年前台湾海峡已有古人类活动的遗迹,而闽南东山岛就是古代连接两岸的一个桥梁。     

从欧洲共同体看亚太地区经济合作的发展趋势

本文以欧洲共同体的形成、发展为背景,对亚太地区经济合作的条件和前景进行初步探讨,并对中国在地区合作中的地位和作用进行初步分析。     

The View from the Verandah: Levuka Bungalows and the Transformation of Settler Identities in Later Colonialism

The residential architecture of Levuka, Fiji, contains a diverse and well-preserved sample of what architectural historians have called the British tropical bungalow. Dating to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these small frame structures bear witness to the in situ development of a descendant colonialist identity amongst the European settlers of the port town. Analysis of the degree to which these houses conform to, and diverge from, the normative traits of the global bungalow style provides insight into the material processes of later colonialist communities and their increasingly complex cultural and social identities.     

从城市地理学角度论国外城市更新历程

西方城市更新的历程演变在建筑学、城市规划学中已有一定程度的探讨。本文从城市地理学的角度对城市更新历程加以归纳和总结:(1)近代城市本身物质空间结构的更新(工业革命-19世纪末);(2)城市在"城市-区域"系统上的更新(19世纪末-1970'S);(3)"内城(中心城)"更新复兴阶段(1970'S-)。通过归纳和总结,我们可以借鉴其经验和教训。     

基于行业差异的欧盟旅游与经济增长关系研究

作为旅游经济领域内的热点问题,旅游发展和经济增长间的关系在学界一直未能形成较为统一的结论。鉴于将旅游业作为单一行业来研究其和整体经济间关系可能是分歧产生的重要原因,本文使用异质面板协整技术实证检验了欧盟4个核心旅游行业与经济增长之间的关系。研究结果表明,欧盟各旅游行业与经济增长之间均存在长期协整关系;进一步格兰杰检验的结果揭示了欧盟航空、住宿和旅行社等3个核心旅游行业与经济增长之间存在双向因果关系,但影响程度各异。住宿业与航空、旅行社和餐饮业间表现为显著的双向促进发展关系。     

Insights Regarding Transdisciplinarity and Knowledge Transfer Gained from Two Case Studies on Integrated Water Resources Management in Ukraine and Mongolia

Abstract

Transdisciplinary environmental research (TD research) seeks to solve problems arising at the point of interaction between ecological systems, the economy, and society. It seeks to enhance problem-solving capacity through interdisciplinarity and knowledge transfer between scientific and non-scientific actors. The article assesses how far the prerequisites for knowledge transfer are met in transdisciplinary projects on integrated water resources management (IWRM), particularly in post-socialist transition countries. It examines two relevant case studies, in Ukraine and Mongolia, which share a similar institutional and cultural background, and use some of the same methods closely related to knowledge transfer. It is shown that, in each case, knowledge transfer was achieved more or less effectively in both directions — from science to society and vice versa, despite the additional obstacles posed by a common post-socialist legacy. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations for designing and implementing similar TD research projects in the field of IWRM.     

金山潜龙:流散书写中的华工囚禁叙事

论文从中国历史和文化的视角出发,将天使岛诗歌作为一部华人囚禁叙事重新加以解读。认为天使岛华工诗歌通过特殊的艺术手法和完整鲜明的思想立场构成了一部华人囚禁叙事。它在意识形态上表现出与美国清教徒囚禁叙事三个不同的特点:一是它的种族化民族主义诉求是历史的产物,其目的是构建一个抵抗种族迫害的有效话语武器;二是它强调集体救赎,并且认为个体救赎只有通过集体救赎方可实现;三是它主张凭借集体奋斗和人类自身之力获得拯救,彰显了一种与中国传统文化精神相契合的人文主义解放哲学。     

Promoting Women,Peace and Security in the Pacific Islands: hot conflict/slow violence

How has the Women, Peace and Security agenda been advanced in the Pacific Islands? While some observers argue that this region suffers from a contagion of unrest, violence and state weakness, these estimates commonly ignore the vital work women have performed in the region as promoters of peace and security. Even when such activity places them in direct personal danger, women across the region have spearheaded efforts to bridge communal boundaries and challenge the increasing normalisation of violence, gendered and otherwise, that accompanies threatened or actual incidents of conflict. As this article demonstrates, these efforts have had profound impacts on the ground in conflict-affected Pacific Island countries. They have also received increased recognition at the level of institutional politics, with member states of the Pacific Islands Forum recently accepting a Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. This has been hailed as a significant achievement for the region's women peacebuilders. But much of this plan is focused on women's contributions to peacebuilding at the pointy end of a crisis. This overlooks the extent to which the ‘slow violence’ of environmental degradation, masculinised politics and militarism also compound gendered insecurity in the region. Attention to these issues offers a contradictory picture of the gains made in promoting the Women, Peace and Security agenda in the Pacific Islands. While this advocacy framework has provided important opportunities for the region's women peacebuilders, it may also have discouraged broader reflection on the prevailing structural conditions at work across the region which function in an attenuated fashion to undermine women's security and the achievement of a gendered regional peace.