A study of family mediation during divorce in the Pakistani Muslim community in Bradford. Some observations on the implications for the theory and practice of conflict resolution.

Conflict resolution theory and practice have been increasingly criticised for ignoring the centrality of culture in their attempts to find theories and models that are applicable universally, not only across cultures but also across levels of society. Mediation is one form of conflict resolution, which has come to occupy a central position in the resolution of disputes both at international and local levels. At the level of family disputes, family mediation has failed to engage users from different ethnic groups in England and Wales. This thesis explores the hypothesis that culture and, in particular, culturally defined concepts of gender are the important factors determining the success or failure of mediation in divorce disputes.J. A. Clark Charitable Trus

Paleoproterozoic increase in zircon δ¹⁸O driven by rapid emergence of continental crust

Numerous geologic proxies for Earth system processes track dramatic changes at the atmosphere-lithosphere or atmosphere-ocean interface during the early Paleoproterozoic Era. The presence of a geodynamic driver for these changes and how this might have affected the deeper lithosphere is more cryptic. Here we present temporally constrained δ18O and εHf in detrital zircon from Paleoproterozoic sedimentary successions in Western Australia and Canada that chart a rapid change in the oxygen isotopic composition from <7.5‰ prior to Great Oxidation Event (GOE) to 9–11‰ by ∼2.3 Ga. Intriguingly, we show that the timing of this zircon δ18O isotopic shift directly coincides with the GOE and the rapid development of continental freeboard evidenced by the shift from predominantly subaqueous to subaerial large igneous provinces and a rapid decrease in Δ17O in shale. Importantly, no correlation exists between zircon δ18O and εHf or to known periods of enhanced tectonic reworking of sedimentary material (e.g. ∼2.3–2.2 Ga tectono-magmatic lull). We propose that the development of continental freeboard led to the appearance of an isotopically distinct sedimentary reservoir with high δ18O that was incorporated into subduction zone magmas. The sedimentary contamination of subduction zone magmas led to a globally rapid change in average continental composition as recorded by δ18O in zircon grains

Uranium in iron formations and the rise of atmospheric oxygen

International audienceThe concept of the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), during which atmospheric oxygen rose precipitously and perhaps to near-modern levels around 2.4-2.1 billion years ago (Ga), has become entrenched in our views on secular atmospheric evolution. Multiple proxies confirm a permanent shift towards more oxygenated conditions at some time near the Archean-Proterozoic boundary. However, it remains unclear precisely when this transition occurred, due in part to the likely temporal variability in those early levels and different sensitivities of the proxies utilized to track atmospheric oxygen partial pressures. Here, we provide a new look at the timing and magnitude of early atmospheric oxygenation through the record of uranium (U) concentrations in iron formations (IF). Just as IF are important archives of the redox state of seawater, concentrations of redox-sensitive U in IF are faithful proxies for oxidative continental weathering and associated delivery of dissolved U to seawater. Our dataset suggests that there was an increase in U redox cycling and transport at ca. 2.47 Ga, just before the permanent loss of mass-independent sedimentary sulfur isotope anomalies traditionally used to define the onset of the GOE. Further, there is significant temporal variability in the IF U record that we propose reflects dynamic Precambrian redox conditions. We provide additional support for earlier suggestions that the GOE was a protracted event marked by vacillating oxygen levels