Hunter-Gatherers, Mobility, and Technological Organization: The Early Archaic of East Tennessee

Behavioral variability exists in past hunter-gatherer lifeways but there is no simple means to study this variability and gain an understanding of past hunter-gatherer lifeways and culture change. Previously, archaeologists have depended, in large part, on ethnographic accounts to make inferences concerning past hunter-gatherer behavior. However, the revisionist debate and evaluations of the role of hunter-gatherer ethnography for archaeological interpretation point to the problems caused by an overemphasis on ethnographic data. One solution is that archaeologists begin to examine prehistoric hunter-gatherer settlement-mobility patterns. Mobility is a behavior that is related to both social and economic strategies so it provides an initial means of investigating these two areas of behavior. The documentation of prehistoric settlement-mobility patterns is a useful research strategy for the investigation of hunter-gatherer lifeways and changes in hunter-gatherer behavior. In this study, an organization-of-technology approach guided the analysis of the chipped-stone assemblages recovered in the excavations of the Early Archaic components excavated during the Tellico Archaeological Project. The study of these assemblages provides something of a unique opportunity to examine the potential for change in hunter-gatherer lifeways. The emphasis of the analyses was the flake debris but published stone tool and feature data were important to the conclusions reached in this study. Based on this study, it is suggested that patterns of technological organization appear generally similar over the Early Archaic, but there are apparent changes in settlement-mobility strategies. For example, the Lower Kirk occupation at Icehouse Bottom is suggestive of a forager settlement mobility system while a number of the Upper Kirk assemblages appear quite similar and fit expectations for collector base camps. Also, patterning is revealed in a comparison of the Tellico assemblages with other Early Archaic sites in the southeast. One such is the low occurrence of unhafted bifaces in the Tellico assemblages. Another pattern is the similarity between the Haw-River Palmer and Hardaway assemblages. Finally, it is suggested that the reanalysis of existing archaeological collections can play a significant role in the advancement of archaeological knowledge

Organization of Technology and Lithic Analysis: Prehistoric Occupation of the Hayes Site (40ML139)

The Hayes Site (40ML139) is located in the central Duck River Basin of Middle Tennessee. Excavations at the site revealed Middle Archaic, late Middle Archaic, and Late Archaic components. An examination of the lithic assemblage from the Hayes Site aids in assessing and building models of hunter-gatherer organization for the central Duck River Basin. An organizational perspective on technology, results from published flintknapping experiments, and a lithic resource survey provide the means of constructing and employing an interpretive framework for understanding prehistoric occupation of the Hayes Site. It was found that materials from the Middle Archaic components represent forager residences and the Late Archaic component represents both forager and collector residences. These findings support the model of hunter-gatherer organization formulated by Amick (1984) for the central Duck River Basin

Exposing the impact of Citizens Advice Bureau services on health: a realist evaluation protocol

Introduction Welfare advice services can be used to address health inequalities, for example, through Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). Recent reviews highlight evidence for the impact of advice services in improving people's financial position and improving mental health and well-being, daily living and social relationships. There is also some evidence for the impact of advice services in increasing accessibility of health services, and reducing general practitioner appointments and prescriptions. However, direct evidence for the impact of advice services on lifestyle behaviour and physical health is currently much less well established. There is a need for greater empirical testing of theories around the specific mechanisms through which advice services and associated financial or non-financial benefits may generate health improvements. Methods and analysis A realist evaluation will be conducted, operationalised in 5 phases: building the explanatory framework; refining the explanatory framework; testing the explanatory framework through empirical data (mixed methods); development of a bespoke data recording template to capture longer term impact; and verification of findings with a range of CAB services. This research will therefore aim to build, refine and test an explanatory framework about how CAB services can be optimally implemented to achieve health improvement. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the ethics committee at Northumbria University, UK. Project-related ethical issues are described and quality control aspects of the study are considered. A stakeholder mapping exercise will inform the dissemination of results in order to ensure all relevant institutions and organisations are targeted

‘Everything takes too long and nobody is listening’: Developing theory to understand the impact of advice on stress and the ability to cope

Shrinking state spending in the UK has been accompanied by a profound restructuring of the welfare system, leading to financial insecurity for many people, culminating in extreme stress and serious deterioration of physical and mental health. Theory surrounding the impact of welfare advice on stress is lacking; this paper undertakes an in depth exploration of the experiences of stress among welfare advice seekers, considering these in light of existing substantive theories of stress and coping to generate new insight. A thematic analysis explored the experiences of stress in welfare advice seekers. Four overarching themes and twelve subthemes emerged. They are further understood utilising traditional theories of stress (Transactional Model of Stress and Coping and the Conservation of Resources theory), which then underpin the development of a ‘Stress Support Matrix’ and a holistic theory related specifically to welfare, stress and coping

Role of the gerP Operon in Germination and Outgrowth of Bacillus anthracis Spores

Germination of Bacillus anthracis spores occurs when nutrients such as amino acids or purine nucleosides stimulate specific germinant receptors located in the spore inner membrane. The gerPABCDEF operon has been suggested to play a role in facilitating the interaction between germinants and their receptors in spores of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus. B. anthracis mutants containing deletions in each of the six genes belonging to the orthologue of the gerPABCDEF operon, or deletion of the entire operon, were tested for their ability to germinate. Deletion of the entire gerP operon resulted in a significant delay in germination in response to nutrient germinants. These spores eventually germinated to levels equivalent to wild-type, suggesting that an additional entry point for nutrient germinants may exist. Deletions of each individual gene resulted in a similar phenotype, with the exception of ΔgerPF, which showed no obvious defect. The removal of two additional gerPF-like orthologues was necessary to achieve the germination defect observed for the other mutants. Upon physical removal of the spore coat, the mutant lacking the full gerP operon no longer exhibited a germination defect, suggesting that the GerP proteins play a role in spore coat permeability. Additionally, each of the gerP mutants exhibited a severe defect in calcium-dipicolinic acid (Ca-DPA)–dependent germination, suggesting a role for the GerP proteins in this process. Collectively, these data implicate all GerP proteins in the early stages of spore germination

Layering programme, pathway and substantive theories in realist evaluation

Developing programme theory is an essential part of any realist project. Often researchers can struggle with this process of initial generation, particularly when theory from different levels of abstraction is desired or required. The RAMESES guidelines for synthesis state that excellent refinement of programme theory requires the relationship between the programme theory and relevant substantive theory to be identified. Furthermore, developing realist informed programme theories in CMO configurations can aid the researcher throughout the evaluation or synthesis process, however the operationalisation of this has not always been clear. Using the example of a realist evaluation of a Citizens Advice Bureau project we illustrate how programme theories were developed and how theory development can be layered in order to enhance sense making of how the programme works, for whom, in which circumstances. Thus we use programme, pathway and substantive theories to shape and enhance our understanding prior to data collection and theory testing. Programme theories consist of informed ‘hunches’ about how the programme works, which sat underneath a layer of pathway theories which were defined in the JRF report ‘How Does Money Influence Health’ (Benzeval et al., 2014). A range of substantive theories were identified using ‘ABC of Behaviour Change Theories’ (Michie et al., 2014) and the project teams own theory knowledge. Layering theories prior to testing using mixed methods allowed for (1) a greater understanding of the programme and (2) the testing of not only programme but also pathway and substantive theories. This demonstration of theory layering will help researchers to engage with substantive theory earlier in the realist research process and throughout