Where is my sink? Reconstruction of landscape development in 1 southwestern Africa since the Late Jurassic

Quantifying the rates and timing of landscape denudation provides a means to constrain sediment flux through time to offshore sedimentary basins. The Late Mesozoic evolution of drainage basins in southern Africa is poorly constrained despite the presence of several onshore and offshore sedimentary basins. A novel approach has been developed to calculate the volume of material eroded since the Late Jurassic at different time steps by constructing structural cross-sections and extrapolating thicknesses of eroded material. Using different assumptions, the calculated volumes of material eroded from southwestern Africa range from 2.52x10⁶ km³ (11.3 km of vertical thickness removed) to 8.87 x10⁵ km³ (4.0 km of vertical thickness removed). For the southward draining systems alone, the calculated removal of 7.81 x10⁵ – 2.60 x10⁵ km³ of material is far greater than the volumes of sediment recorded in offshore sedimentary basins (268 500 km³). Reconstruction of the drainage systems using geomorphic indicators and clast provenance of the Uitenhage Group, as well as extrapolated surface exposure ages, indicate the southern draining systems were active from the Late Jurassic with coeval activity in axial and transverse drainage systems. The calculated volumes are tied to published apatite fission track (AFT) dates to constrain the changes in exhumation rate through time (using multiple scenarios), which indicate a significant amount of Early Cretaceous exhumation (up to 1.26 x10⁶ km³, equivalent to 5.70km of vertical thickness). For the first time, this has permitted long-term landscape evolution to be used to support the interpretation that some of the ‘missing’ sediment was deposited in sedimentary basins on the Falkland Plateau as it moved past southern Africa during the Early Cretaceous. This implies that in this instance, the sinks are separated from their source areas by ~6000 km

Sources for the History of Medicine in Late Medieval England

The material contained here derives from a wide variety of printed and manuscript sources, chosen to give some idea of the rich diversity of evidence available to the historian of English medicine and its place in society during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and early sixteenth centuries. Latin and French have been translated into modern English, while vernacular texts have been slightly modified, and obsolete or difficult words explained. Middle English has otherwise been retained to give the past an authentic voice and to emphasize the similarities as well as the differences between the experience of modern readers and that of the inhabitants of late medieval Englandhttps://scholarworks.wmich.edu/mip_teamsdp/1001/thumbnail.jp

Sedimentary macrofossil records reveal ecological change in English lakes: implications for conservation

Aquatic macrophytes play a key role in providing habitat, refuge and food for a range of biota in shallow lakes. However, many shallow lakes have experienced declines in macrophyte vegetation in recent decades, principally due to eutrophication. As changes in macrophyte composition and abundance can affect overall ecological structure and function of a lake, an assessment of the timing and nature of such changes is crucial to our understanding of the wider lake ecosystem. In the typical absence of historical plant records, the macro-remains of macrophytes preserved in lake sediments can be used to assess long-term changes in aquatic vegetation. We generated recent (150–200 years) plant macrofossil records for six English lakes subject to conservation protection to define past macrophyte communities, assess trajectories of ecological change and consider the implications of our findings for conservation targets and strategies. The data for all six lakes reveal a diverse submerged macrophyte community, with charophytes as a key component, in the early part of the sedimentary records. The stratigraphies indicate considerable change to the aquatic vegetation over the last two centuries with a general shift towards species more typically associated with eutrophic conditions. A common feature is the decline in abundance of low-growing charophytes and an increase in tall canopy-forming angiosperms such as fine-leaved Potamogeton species, Zannichellia palustris and Callitriche species. We hypothesise, based on findings from long-term datasets and palaeoecological records from enriched shallow lakes where plants are now absent, that the observed shifts provide a warning to managers that the lakes are on a pathway to complete macrophyte loss such that nutrient load reduction is urgently needed. It is the sound understanding of present-day plant ecology that affords such reliable interpretation of the fossil data which, in turn, provide valuable context for current conservation decisions

Marketing a tourism industry in late stage decline: The case of the Isle of Man

Qualitative interviews in the Isle of Man uncovered local perceptions of a tourism industry in late stage decline. Social impacts of decline are pronounced including facilities loss, cultural changes and a heightening of perceived peripherality: which taken together undermine local identity. Tourists are welcomed as they help to affirm the pride residents have in their island in creating a more active atmosphere, provide social interaction opportunities and to combat negative stereotyping. Thus findings emphasise the diverse, unique and persistent benefits of tourism in the Isle of Man, despite its decline. Destination marketing recommendations are therefore made to better address the experiences and desires of communities experiencing decline

Consequences of fish kills for long-term trophic structure in shallow lakes: implications for theory and restoration

Fish kills are a common occurrence in shallow, eutrophic lakes, but their ecological consequences, especially in the long-term, are poorly understood. We studied the decadal-scale response of two UK shallow lakes to fish kills using a palaeolimnological approach. Eutrophic and turbid Barningham Lake experienced two fish kills in the early 1950s and late 1970s with fish recovering after both events, whereas less eutrophic, macrophyte-dominated Wolterton Lake experienced one kill event in the early 1970s from which fish failed to recover. Our palaeo-data show fish-driven trophic cascade effects across all trophic levels (covering benthic and pelagic species) in both lakes regardless of pre-kill macrophyte coverage and trophic status. In turbid Barningham Lake, similar to long-term studies of biomanipulations in other eutrophic lakes, effects at the macrophyte-level are shown to be temporary after the first kill (c.20 years) and non-existent after the second kill. In plant-dominated Wolterton Lake permanent fish disappearance failed to halt a long-term pattern of macrophyte community change (e.g. loss of charophytes and over-wintering macrophyte species) symptomatic of eutrophication. Important implications for theory and restoration ecology arise from our study. Firstly, our data support ideas of slow eutrophication-driven change in shallow lakes where perturbations are not necessary prerequisites for macrophyte loss. Secondly, the study emphasises a key need for lake managers to reduce external nutrient-loading if sustainable and long-term lake restoration is to be achieved. Our research highlights the enormous potential of multi-indicator palaeolimnology and alludes to an important need to consider potential fish kill signatures when interpreting results

Cultural Adaptation of Chinese Students in an Undergraduate Business Program in Canada

Chinese students represent the largest cohort of international students studying at Canadian university business programs. These Chinese students often experience cross-cultural barriers that inhibit their full participation in the business schools\u27 learning culture. The purpose of this case study was to identify the acculturation strategies applied by Chinese students who had successfully adapted to the learning culture in business programs. Mezirow\u27s transformative learning theory and Bennett\u27s intercultural adaptation theory provided the conceptual framework to inform the study. The research questions examined the cultural adaptation experiences of Chinese students and on the barriers and effective strategies for academic success from the perspectives of both faculty and students at the study site. Six graduating Chinese business students who had adapted well to the local learning culture and achieved academic success and 5 current faculty members with experience teaching Chinese students were purposefully identified and interviewed. Data were open coded and analyzed for themes. Themes related to key barriers and associated adaptive strategies were identified. Major barriers included differences between Chinese and Canadian educational expectations and cultures and the need for faculty understanding of students\u27 adaptation process. Adaptive strategies for students included accessing local resources and support and recognizing the combination of academic, social, and psychological factors involved in successful acculturation. A blended learning professional development project was created for faculty members to improve their skills in developing culturally sensitive pedagogy. With increased cultural competence faculty may better support these Chinese students, improve their classroom experience, and enable them to succeed in their academic pursuits