A cladistic analysis of the nomadine bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)

This study compares the results of Rozen\u27s cladistic analysis of the larvae of fifteen genera of cleptoparasitic bees in the subfamily Nomadinae with an independent data set of adult characters for the same genera. Adult characters exhibited considerably higher levels of homoplasy and poorer resolution of cladistic relationships, with multiple equally parsimonious cladograms. However, comparison of a Nelson consensus tree based on adult characters with the cladogram based on larval characters reveals three components consistently supported in both analyses (the tribes Epeolini and Ammobatini, and Neopasites + Neolarra), one component supported only by adult characters (lsepeolus + Protepeolus), and one terminal component supported only by larval characters (Nomada + Ammobatini), as well as several more inclusive groupings based on larval characters that are difficult to compare with the adult consensus tree because it shows so much less resolution. When adult and larval characters are combined in a single data matrix, the resulting cladogram closely resembles the cladogram based on larval characters alone, although levels of homoplasy are considerably higher than in the larval analysis

Research orientations towards the 'management' of infrastructure assets: an intellectual structure approach

In recent decades, research on the management of infrastructure assets has increased steadily. However, there are concerns raised about the contribution of studies to a coherent body of knowledge. There is a call for a more structured understanding of the knowledge that is emerging around the management of infrastructure assets. This paper attempts to answer this call through an empirical study based on the reference lists of over 8200 articles that present their study relevant to the management of infrastructure assets. In so doing, we apply recognised techniques from bibliometric and social network analyses to visualise and identify major and minor topics, where researchers have oriented and contributed. We find that managing infrastructure assets traditionally was object-oriented, such as pavements, bridges, water and utility networks, and that attention is only now emerging on the life-cycle decision-making and organisational aspects, although the latter remains weakly linked with technical aspects. We conclude with shared research orientations in ‘managing’ infrastructure assets

Repeating boundaries – repertoires of landscape regulations in southern Scandinavia in the Late Bronze Age and Pre-Roman Iron Age

Towards the end of the Late Bronze Age, linear boundaries such as enclosed farmsteads, field divisions, and pit zone alignments emerged and gradually permeated the landscapes of southern Scandinavia on multiple scales. This article suggests the concept of a ‘repertoire’ as a way of approaching this phenomenon. The repertoire consisted of different topological operations (e.g. plot definition, demarcation, and enclosure), constructed by different materials (e.g. fences, pit zones, and earthen banks) on different scales (e.g. farmstead, settlement, and landscape). Such linear boundaries were applied as technological solutions to the new social and economic problems that occurred at this time in prehistory. A number of chronological and regional preferences can be demonstrated within this repertoire, and during the Late Bronze Age and Pre-Roman Iron Age, a range of new applications and combinations were developed in a creative exploration of the repertoire of linear boundaries