Multiparameter vision testing apparatus

Compact vision testing apparatus is described for testing a large number of physiological characteristics of the eyes and visual system of a human subject. The head of the subject is inserted into a viewing port at one end of a light-tight housing containing various optical assemblies. Visual acuity and other refractive characteristics and ocular muscle balance characteristics of the eyes of the subject are tested by means of a retractable phoroptor assembly carried near the viewing port and a film cassette unit carried in the rearward portion of the housing (the latter selectively providing a variety of different visual targets which are viewed through the optical system of the phoroptor assembly). The visual dark adaptation characteristics and absolute brightness threshold of the subject are tested by means of a projector assembly which selectively projects one or both of a variable intensity fixation target and a variable intensity adaptation test field onto a viewing screen located near the top of the housing

Atoll Archaeology in the Pacific

As islands formed by biogenic agents (unconsolidated carbonate sediments deposited by waves on reef platforms), atolls and table reefs, or low coral islands without lagoons, can be regarded as especially constraining habitats for human settlement. The challenges faced by people, both past and present, include low soil fertility, absence of perennial surface freshwater, and extreme vulnerability to flooding by stormsurge and sea-level rise due to low elevation of the highly fragmented landmass, only a few meters above mean sea level. There are about 300 atolls and low coral islands in the Pacific and thousands of individual islets (motu). Several archipelagoes are dominated by these limestone islands, such as the Tuamotus, the Central and Eastern Carolines, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and Tuvalu. Because of their small size, limited and at time fluctuating resources, and relative isolation, atolls are often perceived as marginal environments. While some human communities did not endure (Di Piazza and Pearthree 2001), a remarkable number were sustainable for centuries, taking advantage of opportunities many atolls provided and indicating a long history of resilience to environmental variability (Fitzpatrick et al. 2016). Despite these achievements, atolls have received relatively little coverage by Pacific archaeologist

Mollusc harvesting in the Pre - European contact Pacific Islands: investigating resilience and sustainability

Mollusc shells, which are often quite numerous in archaeological sites throughout the Pacific Islands, offer good proxies for assessing environmental change as well as human impact. Documented changes in species size, richness, and abundance have often been interpreted as evidence of resource abuse by shellfish gatherers. While this may be valid in some cases, archaeologists need to consider other variables to explain change (or stability) in shell distribution. A better understanding of ecological and biological (life history) characteristics associated with shell midden deposits, as well as greater awareness of ethnographic and ethnoarchaeological data on the interaction between people and varieties of marine resources, may result in a reinterpretation of past human behavior. A growing interest in indigenous resource management among contemporary Pacific Island communities has led some archaeologists to seek tangible evidence of community resilience and sustainable use of resources in the past. This chapter draws primarily from direct observations and semi-structured interviews among mollusc gatherers in Kiribati, eastern Micronesia, and examines selected case studies of archaeological shell deposits from the Pacific Islands that could shed new light on marine resource management to complement the more widespread research conclusions that depict human impact in largely negative terms