Hunter–gatherer responses to environmental change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the southern North Sea basin: Final Palaeolithic–Final Mesolithic land use in northwest Belgium

Situated along the southern fringe of the North Sea basin, northwest Belgium holds great potential for understanding hunter–gatherer responses to environmental change at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Recent intensive fieldwork has yielded valuable data on the palaeoenvironment, chronology, and hunter–gatherer mobility and land use in this region. At the Late Glacial/Early Holocene transition this region was comprised of a landscape of coversand ridges and lakes that flanked the northern part of the Scheldt river basin. This landscape was highly productive for hunter–gatherer populations. As the landscape developed in response to the increasing water table caused by the inundation of the North Sea populations responded by changing their forms of mobility and land use. These changes are indicated by the reduction in the number and density of sites, as well as their geographical settings, from the Late Glacial (Federmesser) and Early Mesolithic to the Middle-Final Mesolithic. Late Glacial/Early Mesolithic sites indicate much higher mobility comprised of rapid displacements of camps and re-occupation of the same coversand ridges over long time-spans. Middle/Late Mesolithic sites indicate a reduction in mobility, increasing focus on prolonged riverside settlement, and a more rigid organization of residential sites.     

不丹深处

这是一个隐没在喜马拉雅山脉间的山地王国,也是一个我们不曾踏足的国度。充满传奇而又难以企及,不丹绝对是一个让人流连忘返的地方,或许身处此间的几次偶遇会给你带去一段难以磨灭的记忆……     

Exploratory Analysis of the Homeless Shelter System in Columbus, Ohio

Abstract: A geographic information system (GIS)-based framework is structured to analyse the spatial characteristics and patterns associated with a system of homeless shelters and services. Given the lack of detailed spatial information available to decision-makers and shelter operators, the siting of new shelters and services is often carried out with little supporting information. The shelter system in Columbus, Ohio is investigated. Personal interviews with shelter providers and local decision-makers offers a look at their collective understanding of the services needed by Columbus' homeless population and the spatial patterns and socio-economic characteristics that define the neighbourhoods in which shelters are located. The use of GIS facilitates an exploratory data analysis that allows these understandings to be examined, affording planners and decision-makers the opportunity to move beyond perceptions of the system. Findings indicate that while many perceptions are supported empirically, there are perceptions that are not substantiated. This research provides a basis for the evaluation of important social services in an urban area where perception influences planning and decision-making.     

Radiocarbon chronology and the correlation of hunter–gatherer sociocultural change with abrupt palaeoclimate change: the Middle Mesolithic in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt area of northwest Europe

Recent refinements in radiocarbon sampling procedures have enabled a more robust absolute chronology for the Mesolithic in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt area of northwest Europe. These refinements have allowed for a new chronological sub-division of the Early and Middle Mesolithic periods. Results of this research have indicated that the Middle Mesolithic period was bound by two Early Holocene cooling events, one at 9300 cal. BP and the other at 8200 cal. BP. These results enable a critical evaluation of the role of chronological precision in the investigation of contemporaneity between abrupt climate change and hunter–gatherer sociocultural change. In this paper we focus on the variable chronological resolution of the Early to Middle and Middle to Late Mesolithic transitions in the RMS area, and the role of this variable resolution in our ability to investigate the contemporaneity of these two transitions with different Early Holocene abrupt cooling events. This paper highlights two central challenges facing archaeological investigations of the relationships between climate and culture change: first, the requirement of tight chronological overlap between climate and culture change events and consideration of leads and lags in ecosystem and subsequent human responses to climate change; second, the equifinality problem and the separation of the impact of gradual from punctuated environmental change on human societies.     

Public Perceptions of Expert Credibility on Policy Issues: The Role of Expert Framing and Political Worldviews

How do individuals assess the credibility of experts in various policy domains? Under what conditions does the public interpret particular scientific knowledge claims as being trustworthy and credible? Using data collected from an online survey experiment, administered to 1,507 adult residents of Quebec, this paper seeks answers to these questions. Specifically, we examine variation in the way members of the public perceive the credibility of scientific experts in the areas of climate change, shale gas extraction, cell phones, and wind farms. Our results contribute to the existing literatures on public perceptions of policy experts, framing, and cultural theory. We find that individuals evaluate expert credibility based on the way in which experts frame issues, and on the congruity/dissonance between these expert communication frames and one's underlying worldview. However, we also identify limits to these framing effects. Our findings shed light on the interaction of framing and political worldviews in shaping public perceptions of expert credibility in various policymaking contexts.