scholarly journals African rainforests: past, present and future

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1625) ◽  
pp. 20120312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yadvinder Malhi ◽  
Stephen Adu-Bredu ◽  
Rebecca A. Asare ◽  
Simon L. Lewis ◽  
Philippe Mayaux
Keyword(s):  
Central Africa ◽  
Selective Logging ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
First Century ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Large Tree ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
History Of

The rainforests are the great green heart of Africa, and present a unique combination of ecological, climatic and human interactions. In this synthesis paper, we review the past and present state processes of change in African rainforests, and explore the challenges and opportunities for maintaining a viable future for these biomes. We draw in particular on the insights and new analyses emerging from the Theme Issue on ‘African rainforests: past, present and future’ of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B . A combination of features characterize the African rainforest biome, including a history of climate variation; forest expansion and retreat; a long history of human interaction with the biome; a relatively low plant species diversity but large tree biomass; a historically exceptionally high animal biomass that is now being severely hunted down; the dominance of selective logging; small-scale farming and bushmeat hunting as the major forms of direct human pressure; and, in Central Africa, the particular context of mineral- and oil-driven economies that have resulted in unusually low rates of deforestation and agricultural activity. We conclude by discussing how this combination of factors influences the prospects for African forests in the twenty-first century.

The Chocolates of Sucre: Stories of a Bolivian Industry

2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-246
Author(s):  
Robyn Eversole
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Development ◽  
First Century ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Chocolate Industry ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Shed Light

Chocolate is a Sucre trademark, one of the few products that this Bolivian city regularly markets to other parts of the country. Despite Sucre's long history of chocolate production, however, the city's chocolate industry at the turn of the twenty-first century remains small, unable to export, and generally uncompetitive with products from neighboring countries. Yet Sucre's chocolate-making enterprises have not disappeared; they continue to produce on a small scale in the face of mass-produced, imported brands. In this article, the history of Sucre's chocolate industry is examined to shed light on larger issues of industrial development and “underdevelopment” in Sucre and on the roots of the city's strong artisan identity.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Hayes ◽  
Allison Burkette
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
First Century ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Student Needs ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Traditional Course ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
History Of

This introductory chapter addresses the challenges and opportunities that come with teaching the History of the English Language (HEL). HEL is a traditional course whose instructors are tasked with balancing a great number of institutional, curricular, and student needs. Additionally, the course’s prodigious subject poses challenges for new as well as veteran instructors, few of whom have comprehensive training in English linguistics, literature, and the language’s historical varieties. The course encompasses a broad chronological, geographic, and disciplinary scope and, in the twenty-first-century classroom, has come to account for English’s transformative relationship with the internet and social media. In Approaches to Teaching the History of the English Language, experienced instructors explain the influences and ingenuity behind their own successful pedagogical practices. This introduction explains the value of that approach. Additionally, it includes a survey of the volume’s scope and organization.

Dendroecology and climatic impacts for a relict, old-growth, bog forest in the Ridge and Valley Province of central Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc D Abrams ◽  
Carolyn A Copenheaver ◽  
Bryan A Black ◽  
Saskia van de Gevel
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Tsuga Canadensis ◽  
Selective Logging ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Central Pennsylvania ◽  
History Of ◽  
Wet Climate ◽  
Ridge And Valley

We report on the 440-year dendrochronological history of a relict, bog forest in the Ridge and Valley Province of central Pennsylvania that contains extreme southern, disjunct populations of Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP and Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. The forest is dominated by Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. (49% relative importance value), Picea mariana (16%), and Acer rubrum L. (15%). The few remaining Abies balsamea trees are in a advanced state of decline. Many Nyssa sylvatica Marsh. and T. canadensis trees recruited from 1560 and 1700, respectively, until 1890. However, the majority of the other tree species recruited during a 40-year period following selective logging of the forest in the 1890s and fires in about 1900 and 1914. We found a scarcity of tree saplings and no evidence of recruitment into the tree-size class for any species after 1950. The master tree-ring chronology for both N. sylvatica and T. canadensis exhibits a marked increase after the 1890s logging and a decrease after a 1900 fire. In addition, a large number of releases in individual tree chronologies occurred over the last 400 years, indicating the frequent occurrence of small-scale disturbances. Tree-ring growth during the 20th century was reduced by droughts and cool temperatures in the 1920s and in the early to middle 1960s. Abies balsamea cores exhibit a marked growth decline in 1986. Tsuga canadensis growth was very low between 1970 and 1998, despite a generally warm and wet climate during that time. Picea mariana had a dramatic increase in growth during very warm and wet climate between 1995 and 1998. Most Abies balsamea trees have reached their pathological age of 50-85 years and have active Armillaria root rot, insect infestations, and very poorly developed crowns. These symptoms or severe growth declines are not present in Picea mariana. It appears that the 10 000 year history of Abies balsamea presence at Bear Meadows will end soon, with no opportunity to reestablish itself because of the lack of a local seed source. The results of this study suggest that relict tree populations in the eastern United States may be particularly sensitive to direct and indirect anthropogenic impacts and climatic variations, and represent important benchmarks for comparisons with future studies.Key words: tree rings, disturbance, climate, global change, central Pennsylvania.

A history of botanical collections in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-291
Author(s):  
P.S.M. PHIRI ◽  
D.M. MOORE
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Peak Activity ◽  
Historical Account ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Made In

Central Africa remained botanically unknown to the outside world up to the end of the eighteenth century. This paper provides a historical account of plant explorations in the Luangwa Valley. The first plant specimens were collected in 1897 and the last serious botanical explorations were made in 1993. During this period there have been 58 plant collectors in the Luangwa Valley with peak activity recorded in the 1960s. In 1989 1,348 species of vascular plants were described in the Luangwa Valley. More botanical collecting is needed with a view to finding new plant taxa, and also to provide a satisfactory basis for applied disciplines such as ecology, phytogeography, conservation and environmental impact assessment.

Craft Beer's Unlikely Alchemist

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 78-90
Author(s):  
Theresa McCulla
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
The United States ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Intellectual Curiosity ◽  
Brewing Industry ◽  
Washing Machine ◽  
Craft Beer ◽  
History Of

In 1965, Frederick (Fritz) Maytag III began a decades-long revitalization of Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco, California. This was an unexpected venture from an unlikely brewer; for generations, Maytag's family had run the Maytag Washing Machine Company in Iowa and he had no training in brewing. Yet Maytag's career at Anchor initiated a phenomenal wave of growth in the American brewing industry that came to be known as the microbrewing—now “craft beer”—revolution. To understand Maytag's path, this article draws on original oral histories and artifacts that Maytag donated to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History via the American Brewing History Initiative, a project to document the history of brewing in the United States. The objects and reflections that Maytag shared with the museum revealed a surprising link between the birth of microbrewing and the strategies and culture of mass manufacturing. Even if the hallmarks of microbrewing—a small-scale, artisan approach to making beer—began as a backlash against the mass-produced system of large breweries, they relied on Maytag's early, intimate connections to the assembly-line world of the Maytag Company and the alchemy of intellectual curiosity, socioeconomic privilege, and risk tolerance with which his history equipped him.

Study of Diabetic Mellitus and Knowledge of Lotion Foot Care on the Community

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hariyadi DM ◽  
Athiyah U ◽  
Hendradi E ◽  
Rosita N ◽  
Erawati T ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Glucose ◽  
T Test ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Foot Care ◽  
Diabetic Mellitus ◽  
Glucose Levels ◽  
Blood Glucose Levels ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of

The prevention of Diabetic Mellitus (DM) and its complications is the main aim of this study, in addition to the training of lotion foot care application and the development of small scale industry. The research team delivered knowledge in the form of training on Diabetic Mellitus, healthy food, treatment and prevention of complications, and small-scale production of cosmetic products. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between training on diabetic and lotion foot care application as preventive measures against diabetic complications on the patient's blood glucose levels in the community of residents in Banyuurip Jaya, Surabaya. It was expected from this training that the knowledge of the residents increases and people living with diabetic undergo lifestyle changes and therefore blood sugar levels can be controlled. The parameters measured in this research were blood glucose levels, the anti diabetic drug types consumed, and compliance on diabetics. This study used the data taken from 60 patients with DM over a period of one month. Questionnaires and log books was used to retrieve data and changes in blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. The results showed the demographic data of patients with type 2 diabetic of 85% female and 15% male, with the range of patients aged of 61-70 years of 46.67% and had history of diabetic (90%). The history of drugs consumed by respondents was anti diabetic drugs such as metformin (40%), glimepiride (33.37%) and insulin (6.67%). In addition, the increased knowledge of DM patients after being given the training compared to before training was shown in several questions in the questionnaire. A statistical analysis using t-test analyzed a correlation between training provided in order to enhance understanding of the patient, as well as correlation with blood glucose levels. A paired T-test showed that there was a relationship between the knowledge of trainees before and after training (p less than 0.05). An interesting result was that there was no relationship between blood glucose levels before and after training provided (p> 0.05).

Design and Operation of Small Wastewater Treatment Plants by the Microbial Film Process

1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 139-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Iwai ◽  
Y. Oshino ◽  
T. Tsukada
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Waste Water Treatment ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
Fishing Villages ◽  
Sewer Systems ◽  
Water Treatment Plants ◽  
History Of ◽  
Microbial Film

Although the ratio of sewer systems to population in Japan has been improving in recent years, the construction of sewer systems in small communities such as farming or fishing villages, etc. had lagged behind that of urban areas. However, construction of small-scale sewer systems in farming and fishing villages has been actively carried out in recent years. This report explains the history of the promotion of small-scale sewer systems, why submerged filter beds are being employed in many cases, and introduces the design, operation and maintenance of representative waste-water treatment plants in farming and fishing villages which incorporate de-nitrogen and dephosphorization.

Dysbaric osteonecrosis associated with decompression sickness in a fishing diver

2019 ◽  
pp. 217-220
Author(s):  
Eduardo Briceño-Souza ◽  
◽  
Nina Méndez-Domínguez ◽  
Ricardo j Cárdenas-Dajda ◽  
Walter Chin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Femoral Head ◽  
Decompression Sickness ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Prior History ◽  
Radiological Findings ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Left Limb ◽  
History Of ◽  
Decompression Stress ◽  
Probable Diagnosis

Diving as a method of fishing is used worldwide in small-scale fisheries. However, one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality among fishermen is decompression sickness (DCS). We report the case of a 46-year-old male fisherman diver who presented with chronic inguinal pain that radiated to the lower left limb. Living and working in a fishing port in Yucatan, he had a prior history of DCS. A diagnosis of avascular necrosis in the left femoral head secondary to DCS was made via analysis of clinical and radiological findings. The necrosis was surgically resolved by a total hip arthroplasty. Dysbaric osteonecrosis is a more probable diagnosis. In this region fishermen undergo significant decompression stress in their daily fishing efforts. Further studies regarding prevalence of dysbaric osteonecrosis among small-scale fisheries divers are needed. In a community where DCS is endemic and has become an epidemic, as of late, the perception of this health risk remains low. Furthermore, training and decompression technique are lacking among the fishing communities.

Between Specters of War and Visions of Peace

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald M. Mara
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
First Century ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Democracies

This book examines how ideas of war and peace have functioned as organizing frames of reference within the history of political theory. It interprets ten widely read figures in that history within five thematically focused chapters that pair (in order) Schmitt and Derrida, Aquinas and Machiavelli, Hobbes and Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche, and Thucydides and Plato. The book’s substantive argument is that attempts to establish either war or peace as dominant intellectual perspectives obscure too much of political life. The book argues for a style of political theory committed more to questioning than to closure. It challenges two powerful currents in contemporary political philosophy: the verdict that premodern or metaphysical texts cannot speak to modern and postmodern societies, and the insistence that all forms of political theory be some form of democratic theory. What is offered instead is a nontraditional defense of the tradition and a democratic justification for moving beyond democratic theory. Though the book avoids any attempt to show the immediate relevance of these interpretations to current politics, its impetus stems very much from the current political circumstances. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century , a series of wars has eroded confidence in the progressively peaceful character of international relations; citizens of the Western democracies are being warned repeatedly about the threats posed within a dangerous world. In this turbulent context, democratic citizens must think more critically about the actions their governments undertake. The texts interpreted here are valuable resources for such critical thinking.

The Property Species

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart J. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
First Century ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Full Account ◽  
Symbolic Thought ◽  
Core Property ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

What is property, and why does our species happen to have it? The Property Species explores how Homo sapiens acquires, perceives, and knows the custom of property, and why it might be relevant for understanding how property works in the twenty-first century. Arguing from some hard-to-dispute facts that neither the natural sciences nor the humanities—nor the social sciences squarely in the middle—are synthesizing a full account of property, this book offers a cross-disciplinary compromise that is sure to be controversial: All human beings and only human beings have property in things, and at its core, property rests on custom, not rights. Such an alternative to conventional thinking contends that the origins of property lie not in food, mates, territory, or land, but in the very human act of creating, with symbolic thought, something new that did not previously exist. Integrating cognitive linguistics with the philosophy of property and a fresh look at property disputes in the common law, this book makes the case that symbolic-thinking humans locate the meaning of property within a thing. The provocative implications are that property—not property rights—is an inherent fundamental principle of economics, and that legal realists and the bundle-of-sticks metaphor are wrong about the facts regarding property. Written by an economist who marvels at the natural history of humankind, the book is essential reading for experts and any reader who has wondered why people claim things as “Mine!,” and what that means for our humanity.

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