Performance tests using the Lexsyg luminescence reader

This study presents test measurements on a Lexsyg luminescence reader, acquired by the Giessen luminescence group. The reader is of the type Standard, hence designed for routine determination of palaeodoses using quartz or K-feldspars. The tests include measurements of the stimulation powers, preheat temperatures, OSL- and TL-curves, as well as dose recovery tests and calibration measurements using highly sensitised calibration quartz. A comparison of D _e values determined using a Lexsyg reader with single grain D _e-values, which have been previously obtained on a Risø reader, is also presented. The results imply that the Lexsyg reader is a highly reliable measurement device with high reproducibility, yielding instrumental uncertainties of around 0.3%.     

The effect of fluvial environments on sediment bleaching and Holocene luminescence ages — A case study from the German Alpine Foreland

This study investigates the potential of luminescence to date deposits from different fluvial sedimentary environments; namely point bar deposits, sandy and silty channel fills and floodplain sediments. Samples were taken from Holocene (<5 ka) terraces of the Lech and Danube rivers, for which independent age constraint is available through ¹⁴C ages, archaeological data and historical maps. OSL-ages were obtained using small aliquots of coarse grain quartz for the majority of samples. Two further samples were dated by the IRSL-signals of polymineral fine grain extracts, as no sufficient number of coarse grains could be extracted from these sediments. In order to detect and ac-count for incomplete bleaching, we used the decision process suggested by Bailey and Arnold [Statistical modelling of single grain quartz De distributions and an assessment of procedures for estimating burial dose. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, 2475–2502, 2006]. Although their model was designed for single grains of quartz, our study shows that it is also applicable to multiple grains of quartz, pro-vided that a low number of luminescent grains is present on one aliquot. Luminescence ages of point bar deposits and a sandy channel fill correspond most closely to the independent age control. In the floodplain, sand-striped floodplain channel deposits were incompletely bleached to a moderate degree, yielding ages with acceptable overestimations, while fine-grained floodplain deposits were worst bleached. One crevasse splay deposit was so severely incompletely bleached that none of the age models was able to yield accurate ages.     

Childhoods past and present: anxiety and idyll in reminiscences of childhood outdoor play and contemporary parenting practices

ABSTRACT

Outdoor play is considered an essential aspect of a ‘proper childhood’. However, unsupervised outside play is declining, a decline attributed to parental anxieties about children’s safety. However what drives these anxieties and how this impacts on contemporary outdoor play is less clear. Our paper seeks to explore this through an analysis of adult narratives generated through digital map-making and forum discussion about where they played as children and where they would allow a child to play unsupervised now. Our analysis explores the nature of these narratives and pivotal moments in which adults articulated the disconnect between their own recollections of idyllic spatial freedom and the spatial restrictions they place on contemporary children. This offers a rich understanding of how parents navigate conflicting cultural imperatives on risk-avoidance and children’s rights to a ‘good’ childhood.