The beginnings of geography teaching and research in the University of Glasgow: the impact of J.W. Gregory

J.W. Gregory arrived in Glasgow from Melbourne in 1904 to take up the post of foundation Professor of Geology in the University of Glasgow. Soon after his arrival in Glasgow he began to push for the setting up of teaching in Geography in Glasgow, which came to pass in 1909 with the appointment of a Lecturer in Geography. This lecturer was based in the Department of Geology in the University's East Quad. Gregory's active promotion of Geography in the University was matched by his extensive writing in the area, in textbooks, journal articles and popular books. His prodigious output across a wide range of subject areas is variably accepted today, with much of his geomorphological work being judged as misguided to varying degrees. His 'social science' publications - in the areas of race, migration, colonisation and economic development of Africa and Australia - espouse a viewpoint that is unacceptable in the twenty-first century. Nonetheless, that viewpoint sits squarely within the social and economic traditions of Gregory's era, and he was clearly a key 'Establishment' figure in natural and social sciences research in the first half of the twentieth century. The establishment of Geography in the University of Glasgow remains enduring testimony of J.W. Gregory's energy, dedication and foresight

Sir James Wordie

Sir James Mann Wordie, C.B.E., an Honorary Member of the Arctic Institute of North America, died in Cambridge on January 16, 1962 at the age of 72. In his quiet way he exerted a very great influence on polar work in Britain for some 40 years, and it is unlikely that anyone again will be able to fill the sort of position he held. He bridged the gap between two eras in the history of exploration, and by virtue of his work at Cambridge, his wide and scholarly knowledge, and his great practical experience he was able to perform a unique function in advising and guiding the work of others. ... His first visit to a polar land came in 1913, when he went to the Yukon and Yakutat Bay on an excursion that followed the International Geological Conference at Toronto. Back in Cambridge, he was engaged in graduate work in the Sedgwick Museum, where also the lately returned members of Scott's last expedition were working on their material. As a result of this association he joined Ernest Shackleton's British Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition as geologist and chief of scientific staff, and thus participated in the now almost legendary adventure of the Endurance (1914-17). After the ship had been crushed by the ice of the Weddell Sea, and months had been spent in improvised camps on the pack-ice, the expedition reached Elephant Island, where Wordie remained with the main party while Shackleton made his extraordinary open-boat journey to South Georgia for help. ... When the expedition returned, the war was still being fought and Wordie joined the Royal Field Artillery. In 1919 he returned to Cambridge and at once took up polar work again, this time in the Arctic. In the summer of that year and of 1920 he was geologist and second-in-command (to W. S. Bruce) of expeditions to Spitsbergen. Then in 1921 he started his own series of arctic expeditions, which were to extend over nearly two decades. ... After four visits to the Greenland Sea he now turned his attention to the shores of Baffin Bay. In 1934, taking a party that included ornithologists as well as geologists and archaeologists, he made for Melville Bay, intending to call at Kap York and then cross to Ellesmere Island. Ice was unfavourable, however, and after some work ashore at Upernavik and farther north, the expedition crossed Baffin Bay south of the "Middle Ice" and spent the remaining month surveying and charting Eglinton Fiord and Clyde Inlet. Wordie was still determined to get to Ellesmere Island, and in 1937 he succeeded. Bache Peninsula was reached and then the ship cruised down the east coast of Ellesmere Island and Baffin Island. Survey and geological work were carried out, and archaeological sites investigated at Carey Øer, and Turnstone Beach on Ellesmere Island. ... He was a founder-member of the Committee of Management of the Scott Polar Research Institute, and its Chairman from 1937 to 1955. ... Of those in Britain today who have played any active part in polar work, there are few who have not at some time benefitted, and benefitted greatly, by Wordie's stimulation, kindness, and help

Twelve tips to make successful medical infographics

In the health sciences, professionals must keep up to date to conduct their evidence-based practise. Hence, there is a growing need to share medical knowledge efficiently among healthcare professionals, patients, and undergraduate health science students. Infographics (text and image) are a hybrid element that serves to represent information in an attractive and meaningful visual format. Actually, with the use of the Internet and social networks, infographics have become a popular format for sharing medical information around the world. On the basis of a published literature review, we provide 12 tips in this article to make a successfully health-related infographic with the aim of assisting clinicians, educators, and researchers in their task of communicating and transforming complex information into a visual, attractive, didactic and shareable format. By following these basic recommendations, it is possible to improve the dissemination of scientific and health-related knowledge to different audiences who can benefit from infographics

Roots of modern capitalism: A Marxist accounting history of the origins and consequences of capitalist landlords in England

A major debate neglected by accounting historians is the importance of landlords in the English agricultural revolution. The paper uses accounting evidence from the historical literature to test Marx\u27s theory that, from around 1750, England\u27s landlords played a pivotal role by adopting and then spreading the capitalist mentality and social relations by enclosures and changes in the management of their estates and tenants. It gives an accounting interpretation of Marx\u27s theory of rent and argues that the available evidence supports his view that the conversion of English landlords to capitalism underlay the later stages of the agricultural revolution. The conclusion explains the linkages in Marx\u27s theory between the agricultural and industrial revolutions, and calls on accounting historians to conduct archival research into the agricultural roots of modern capitalism

The Scots Kirk of Colonial Kingston, Jamaica

No abstract available

Expedición al Antártico, a través de las publicaciones de Sir Ernest Shackleton

Mi objetivo principal es conocer un poco más profundamente la navegación, meteorología y oceanografía de los mares que rodean el continente antártico a través de las vivencias de la expedición imperial trans-antártica de sir Ernest Shackleton. Creo que también puede ser muy interesante conocer las razones por las cuales una expedición como ésta no llegó a su fin y por supuesto desvelar los valores que surgieron gracias a ello. Coraje, valentía, superación, supervivencia; son algunos de los valores mostrados en esta hazaña y que escritores de renombre han utilizado para citar alguno de sus libros

Iceberg topography and volume classification using TanDEM-X interferometry

Icebergs in polar regions affect water salinity, alter marine habitats, and impose serious hazards on maritime operations and navigation. These impacts mainly depend on the iceberg volume, which remains an elusive parameter to measure. We investigate the capability of TanDEM-X bistatic single-pass synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) to derive iceberg subaerial morphology and infer total volume. We cross-verify InSAR results with Operation IceBridge (OIB) data acquired near Wordie Bay, Antarctica, as part of the OIB/TanDEM-X Antarctic Science Campaign (OTASC). While icebergs are typically classified according to size based on length or maximum height, we develop a new volumetric classification approach for applications where iceberg volume is relevant. For icebergs with heights exceeding 5 m, we find iceberg volumes derived from TanDEM-X and OIB data match within 7 %. We also derive a range of possible iceberg keel depths relevant to grounding and potential impacts on subsea installations. These results suggest that TanDEM-X could pave the way for future single-pass interferometric systems for scientific and operational iceberg mapping and classification based on iceberg volume and keel depth

Robert Mossman, Endurance and the Weddell Sea ice

Before Shackleton arrived at South Georgia aboard Endurance on 5 November 1914 he was aware that the vessel might meet bad pack-ice in the Weddell Sea. This had been forecast on the basis of climate analysis by Robert Mossman, the meteorologist on the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902–1904), who was currently working at the Argentine Meteorological Office. Mossman was interested in teleconnections linking meteorological and oceanic conditions in widely separated places and had studied the links between the Weddell Sea and South America. Mossman's Antarctic data were mainly records from the Orcadas station in the South Orkneys which had operated continuously from 1903. He found a correlation between extensive pack-ice in the Weddell Sea and plentiful rain in a belt across South America that included Buenos Aires. The experiences of Endurance supported this. Modern studies of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) broadly confirm Mossman's conclusions