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Africa's fossil record of late Cenozoic mammals documents considerable ecological and evolutionary changes through time. Here, we synthesize those changes in the context of the mechanisms proposed to account for them, including bottom-up (e.g., climate change) and top-down (e.g., hominin impacts) processes. In doing so, we (a) examine how the incompleteness of the fossil record and the varied spatiotemporal scales of the evidence complicate efforts to establish cause-effect relationships; (b) evaluate hypothesized drivers of long-term ecological and evolutionary change, highlighting key unknowns; and (c) synthesize major taxonomic and functional trends through time (e.g., downsizing of faunal communities) considering the proposed drivers. Throughout our review, we point to unresolved questions and highlight research avenues that have potential to inform on the processes that have shaped the history of what are today the most diverse remaining large mammal communities on Earth. The study of late Cenozoic African mammal communities is intertwined with questions about the context, causes, and consequences of hominin evolution. The fossil record documents major functional (e.g., loss of megaherbivores) and taxonomic (e.g., rise of the Bovidae) changes over the past ∼7 Myr. Complexities inherent to the fossil record have made it difficult to identify the processes that drove ecological and evolutionary changes. Unanswered questions about the drivers of faunal change and the functioning of past ecosystems represent promising future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though herbivore grass dependence has been shown to increase with body size across herbivore species, it is unclear whether this relationship holds at the community level. Here we evaluate whether grass consumption scales positively with body size within African large mammalian herbivore communities and how this relationship varies with environmental context. We used stable carbon isotope and community occurrence data to investigate how grass dependence scales with body size within 23 savanna herbivore communities throughout eastern and central Africa. We found that dietary grass fraction increased with body size for the majority of herbivore communities considered, especially when complete community data were available. However, the slope of this relationship varied, and rainfall seasonality and elephant presence were key drivers of the variation—grass dependence increased less strongly with body size where rainfall was more seasonal and where elephants were present. We found also that the dependence of the herbivore community as a whole on grass peaked at intermediate woody cover. Intraspecific diet variation contributed to these community‐level patterns: common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) and giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) ate less grass where rainfall was more seasonal, whereas Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) grass consumption were parabolically related to woody cover. Our results indicate that general rules appear to govern herbivore community assembly, though some aspects of herbivore foraging behavior depend upon local environmental context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal snowpacks, characterized by their snow water equivalent (SWE), can play a major role in the hydrological cycle of montane environments with months of snow accretion followed by episodes of melt controlling flood risk and water resource availability downstream. Quantifying the temporal and spatial patterns of snowpack accumulation and its subsequent melt and runoff is an internationally significant challenge, particularly within mountainous regions featuring complex terrain with limited or absent observational data. Here we report a new approach to snowpack characterization using open-source global satellite and modelled data products (precipitation and SWE) greatly enhancing the utility of the widely used Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The paper focusses on the c. 23,000 km2 Chenab river basin (CRB) in the headwaters of the Indus Basin, globally important because of its large and growing population and increasing water insecurity due to climate change. We used five area-weighted averaged satellite, gridded and reanalysis precipitation datasets: ERA5-Land, CMORPH, TRMM, APHRODITE and CPC UPP. As well as comparison to local weather station data, these were used in SWAT to model streamflow for evaluation against observed streamflow at the basin outlet. ERA5-Land data provided the best streamflow match-ups and was used to infer snowpack (SWE) dynamics at basin and sub-basin scales. Snow reference data were derived from remote sensing and modelled SWE re-analysis products: ULCA-SWE and KRA-SWE, respectively. Beyond conventional auto-calibration and single-variable approaches we undertook multi-variable calibration using R-SWAT to manually adjust snow parameters alongside observed streamflow data. Characterization of basin-wide patterns of snowpack build-up and melt (SWE dynamics) were greatly strengthened using KRA-SWE data accompanied by improved streamflow simulation in sub-basins dominated by seasonal snow cover. UCLA-SWE data also improved SWE estimations using R-SWAT but weakened the performance of simulated streamflow due to under capture of seasonal runoff from permanent snow/ice fields in the CRB. This research highlights the utility and value of remote sensing and modelling data to drive better understanding of snowpack dynamics and their contribution to runoff in the absence of in situ snowpack data in high-altitude environments. An improved understanding of snow-bound water is vital in natural hazard risk assessment and in better managing worldwide water resources in the populous downstream regions of mountain-fed large rivers under threat from climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) is at the core of the Global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but achieving this goal depends on the extent to which policy decisions reflect local science and circumstances. We examine the extent to which the WaSH sector is coordinated in Nigeria through interviews, workshops and literature reviews. Findings demonstrate that WaSH related agencies pursue conflicting goals shaped by international agenda, preferences of donors as well as economic and political interests of actors. These and related factors limit the capacity for coordination, innovation and knowledge sharing for evidence-based and home-grown policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the Late Pleistocene (36–12 ka) mammals from Kibogo in the Nyanza Rift of western Kenya, providing (1) a systematic description of the mammal remains, (2) an assessment of their paleoenvironmental implications, and (3) an analysis of the biogeographic implications of non-analog species associations. Kibogo has yielded one of the largest paleontological assemblages from the Late Pleistocene of eastern Africa, and it is dominated by grassland ungulates (e.g., equids and alcelaphin antelopes), including an assortment of extralimital (e.g., Equus grevyi, Ceratotherium simum, Redunca arundinum) and extinct species (Syncerus antiquus, Damaliscus hypsodon, Megalotragus sp.). The composition of the fauna, in conjunction with the soils and topography of the region, indicate the local presence of edaphic grassland situated within a broader environment that was substantially grassier and likely drier than at present. In contrast to non-analog faunas from higher latitudes (e.g., North America and western Eurasia), the climatic niches of non-analog species associations strongly overlap, indicating that non-analog climate regimes during the Late Pleistocene of eastern Africa are not necessary to account for the former association of presently allopatric species. The Kibogo faunas add to a growing body of evidence implying that the composition of present-day African herbivore communities is distinct from those of the geologically recent past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the factors governing global patterns of biodiversity are key to predicting community responses to ongoing and future abiotic and biotic changes. Although most research has focused on present-day climate, a growing body of evidence indicates that modern ecological communities may be significantly shaped by paleoclimatic change and past anthropogenic factors. However, the generality of this pattern is unknown, as global analyses are lacking. Here we quantify the phylogenetic and functional trait structure of 515 tropical and subtropical large mammal communities and predict their structure from past and present climatic and anthropogenic factors. We find that the effects of Quaternary paleoclimatic change are strongest in the Afrotropics, with communities in the Indomalayan realm showing mixed effects of modern climate and paleoclimate. Malagasy communities are poorly predicted by any single factor, likely due to the atypical history of the island compared with continental regions. Neotropical communities are mainly codetermined by modern climate and prehistoric and historical human impacts. Overall, our results indicate that the factors governing tropical and subtropical mammalian biodiversity are complex, with the importance of past and present factors varying based on the divergent histories of the world's biogeographic realms and their native biotas. Consideration of the evolutionary and ecological legacies of both the recent and ancient past are key to understanding the forces shaping global patterns of present-day biodiversity and its response to ongoing and future abiotic and biotic changes in the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camels are exceptionally rare in the Plio-Pleistocene fossil record of Africa, hindering attempts to understand the evolution of this family on the continent. Here we describe recently collected camel specimens from the Shungura Formation, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, and attribute these remains to Camelus grattardi. The new specimens date to the late Pliocene (~3 to 2.6 Ma) and consist of three upper molars, one upper premolar, and two proximal metatarsals. The dental specimens confirm this species' small P4 relative to its molars, a trait that differs significantly from all extant and fossil Old World camels. The metatarsals indicate that C. grattardi was similar in size to the living Bactrian camel, C. bactrianus. Phylogenetically, we find no suitable ancestor, sister, or descendant of the eastern African fossil camel, which suggests greater lineage diversity in Plio-Pleistocene Camelus than previously recognised. Microwear analyses suggest that C. grattardi was likely a mixed-feeder preferring browse, which is consistent with carbon isotopes of enamel from the Turkana Basin. A review of the fossil record of African camels suggests no clear paleoenvironmental association, as fossil camels occur in a range of environments from dry savannas with no permanent water bodies to closed woodlands along the paleo-Omo River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present-day African ecosystems serve as referential models for conceptualizing the environmental context of early hominin evolution, but the degree to which modern ecosystems are representative of those in the past is unclear. A growing body of evidence from eastern Africa’s rich and well-dated late Cenozoic fossil record documents communities of large-bodied mammalian herbivores with ecological structures differing dramatically from those of the present day, implying that modern communities may not be suitable analogs for the ancient ecosystems of hominin evolution. To determinewhen andwhy the ecological structure of eastern Africa’s herbivore faunas came to resemble those of the present, here we analyze functional trait changes in a comprehensive dataset of 305 modern and fossil herbivore communities spanning the last ∼7Myr. We show that nearly all communities prior to ∼700 ka were functionally non-analog, largely due to a greater richness of non-ruminants and megaherbivores (species >1,000 kg). The emergence of functionally modern communities precedes that of taxonomically modern communities by 100,000s of years, and can be attributed to the combined influence of Plio-Pleistocene C4 grassland expansion and pulses of aridity after ∼1 Ma. Given the disproportionate ecological impacts of large-bodied herbivores on factors such as vegetation structure, hydrology, and fire regimes, it follows that the vast majority of early hominin evolution transpired in the context of ecosystems that functioned unlike any today. Identifying how past ecosystems differed compositionally and functionally from those today is key to conceptualizing ancient African environments and testing ecological hypotheses of hominin evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper represents the continuously unfolding enquiry on spirituality by Rowan. By providing a definition of Third Tier thinking as a starting point, he further explores the relationship between existentialism and spirituality. The paper questions the existential position on spirituality and argues that at present, there is no specific existential position on spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a critique on transpersonal psychologists in terms of their experience and practices. Rowan observed that most participants in transpersonal psychology conferences had not embodied the experience of Nondual - the highest level of consciousness in the realms of the transpersonal according to Wilber (2000). Rowan further pointed out that most great religious traditions made the distinction between Subtle; Causal; Nondual level of consciousness, citing Judaism, Christianity, Muslim, Hinduism and Yoga as examples. The paper further claims that all spiritual experiences come from the Subtle level, which is often confused with the Causal and Nondual level of consciousness. In conclusion, Rowan argued that psychologists should be engaged with their own experience and practice in terms of the three levels of consciousness if they were to be transpersonal psychologists and claimed that they know what transpersonal psychology is about. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been proposed that pre-modern hominin impacts drove extinctions and shaped the evolutionary history of Africa’s exceptionally diverse large mammal communities, but this hypothesis has yet to be rigorously tested. We analyzed eastern African herbivore communities spanning the past 7 million years—encompassing the entirety of hominin evolutionary history—to test the hypothesis that top-down impacts of tool-bearing, meat-eating hominins contributed to the demise of megaherbivores prior to the emergence of Homo sapiens. We Document a steady, long-term decline of megaherbivores beginning ~4.6 million years ago, long before the appearance of hominin species capable of exerting top-down control of large mammal communities and predating evidence for hominin interactions with megaherbivore prey. Expansion of C4 Grasslands can account for the loss of megaherbivore diversity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Dominant sediment sources contrasted between intensive agricultural catchments. • Greater field contributions when connectivity occurred on low groundcover soils. • Channel sediments were dominant sources in two catchments. • Sediment connectivity fluctuations could explain source changes over time. • Targeted sediment policies should be prioritised in intensifying catchments. Abstract Management strategies to reduce soil loss and sediment delivery from agricultural land requires an empirical understanding of sediment sources. Sediment fingerprinting is a technique to apportion sources to a downstream sediment sample which, when applied at high spatial and temporal resolutions, can offer insights into catchment sediment dynamics. However, developing an over-arching tool can be hindered due to indeterminate interactions such as, for example, landuse, soil and geological conditions and multiple sediment source pressures. To address this, a multi-proxy sediment fingerprinting approach was used in three catchment observatories in Ireland, characterised and referred to by their predominant soil drainage and land use characteristics: poorly-drained grassland, well-drained arable and moderately-drained arable. Potential sediment source groups: channels, field topsoils, and roads, were sampled. Target sediment samples were collected from six sites within each catchment over approximately two-years from May 2012 to May 2014. Geochemical, mineral magnetic and radionuclide tracers were measured in source and target sediment samples and, following justified tracer selection, source proportions were estimated using an uncertainty inclusive un-mixing model. Overall, the poorly-, well- and moderately-drained catchments exported 828, 421 and 619 tonnes, respectively (36, 19 and 33 t km−2 yr-1). Estimated source contributions from channel, field topsoil and road groups were overall, 67%, 27% and 4% in the poorly-drained grassland, 53%, 24% and 24% in the well-drained arable and 9%, 82% and 8% in the moderately-drained arable catchment outlets. Sub-catchment source estimates were generally consistent with the catchment outlet over space and time. Short-term activation of previously unidentified transport pathways were detected, for example, field sources transported by the road network in the well-drained catchment. In catchments with high hydrological surface connectivity (moderate and poor soil drainage), exposed soils were most sensitive to soil erosion and sediment delivery. Where groundcover is maintained on these soils, sediment connectivity was diminished and flow energy is transferred to the stream network where channel bank erosion increased. In the well-drained arable catchment, sub-surface flow pathways dominated and consequently channel sources, broadly representative of subsoil characteristics, were the largest sediment source. Sediment connectivity contrasted in the studied agricultural catchments according to source availability, and erosion, transport and delivery processes. Effective sediment management strategies in intensive and intensifying agricultural catchments must consider sediment loss risk resulting from catchment specific sediment connectivity and emphasise mitigation strategies accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to examine the question as to whether there is such a thing as existential spirituality. Emmy van Deurzen has postulated that there is: in addition to the well-established categories of the Umwelt, the Mitwelt and the Eigenwelt she has urged that we should also consider the Uberwelt -- the spiritual world. However, she has said very little about this realm and the present paper attempts to put some flesh on the bones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand the environmental conditions that prevailed in the Plio-Pleistocene Shungura Formation, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, we analyze the feeding preferences of Tragelaphini, the third most common tribe of Shungura bovids. Molar mesowear and dental microwear texture analyses were applied to three species ( Tragelaphus rastafari , T. nakuae , and T. gaudryi ) and body mass estimates were calculated for the T. rastafari-nakuae lineage to test whether dietary shifts were linked to body mass changes. We compare our results with previous work on stable carbon isotopes (δ 13 C) of enamel, which indicated that tragelaphins from the Shungura Formation possessed dietary flexibility. We found that the both the T. rastafari-nakuae lineage and T. gaudryi maintained a mixed feeding dietary niche, with varying proportions of C 3 versus C 4 inputs, from ~3.6 to >2 Ma. Our results show that T. rastafari consumed more browse than its descendant, T. nakuae , which was a mixed feeder consuming a greater proportion of C 4 dicots ~ 2.8 Ma. The T. rastafari - T. nakuae dietary shift may reflect environmental changes in the Shungura Formation during this time, but appears to be offset from body mass increases in this lineage, which occurred gradually through the Plio-Pleistocene. This study highlights the importance of a multi-proxy approach to precisely determine the dietary ecologies of extinct bovids and points to how each proxy offers a slightly different perspective on the ecology of fossil organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The giraffid fossils recovered from ~ 2.8-2.6 million year old (Ma) sediments from Lee Adoyta, Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, are described here. Sivatherium maurusium and Giraffa cf. G. gracilis are the two identified taxa, with the former being more abundant than the latter. We interpret this skew of relative abundance to be of paleoenvironmental significance, as Sivatherium is rare and Giraffa is common in the adjacent, but older sediments of the Hadar Formation at Hadar (~ 3.4 to 2.95 Ma), which was characterized by wooded and well-watered habitats through most of its sequence. Stable carbon isotope analyses show that Giraffa remained an obligate browser throughout the lower Awash Valley (LAV) sequence while Sivatherium underwent a dietary transition from a browser in the Hadar Formation to a grazer at Lee Adoyta. This dietary shift in Sivatherium reflects local environmental change through time in the LAV as open habitats spread during the late Pliocene. A compilation of isotopic data from other sites in eastern Africa shows that the LAV dietary shift in Sivatherium occurred roughly one million years earlier than in the Turkana Basin, Kenya, reflecting a spatiotemporally staggered expansion of C vegetation across eastern Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paleoenvironmental conditions surrounding the origins of pastoralism and the movement of herders from eastern to southern Africa sometime between ∼4000 and 2000 ybp have been much debated. We lack, however, detailed paleoenvironmental data from sites sampling the hunter-to-herder transition in southeastern Africa, the likely corridor from eastern to southern Africa for early pastoralists. Here we report on new paleoenvironmental data from a site in the under-sampled area of eastern Zambia, Makwe Rockshelter, which has two aggregates of archaeological horizons representing the mid-Holocene (∼5700-5000 ybp) and the late Holocene (∼1600-800 ybp). The mid-Holocene sediments at Makwe document a foraging society, whereas the late Holocene sediments include both wild game and domestic livestock. Using stable carbon isotopes (δ 13 C) of herbivore enamel (n = 107), we show that the shift from mid-Holocene to late Holocene paleoenvironments was characterized by an increase in C 4 vegetation. These data are complemented by paleoenvironmental records from Lake Malawi that show that C 4 vegetation peaked after ∼2000 ybp and was coincident with the onset of cooler, more arid climates. This combined paleoenvironmental record has implications for the spread of pastoralism across southeastern Africa between ∼3000 and 2000 ybp and potential ‘animal disease barriers’ these early herders may have faced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connection between existentialism and multiplicity of the self seems impossible at first, but on closer examination it turns out to be not only possible but actually important, as witness such names as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Cooper and Spinelli. The latest theory of such an approach is Dialogical Self Theory (Hubert Hermans). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing the relationship between craniodental morphology and dietary ecology in extant species permits inferences to be made about the ecology and biology of fossil species and the habitats they inhabited. Previous work linking diet and craniodental morphology has historically relied upon categorical classifications of diet and has not considered the phylogenetic signal (i.e., non-independence) of morphology due to shared evolutionary history. Here we use phylogenetic comparative methods to analyze the relationship between diet and eight craniodental indices for 40 species of African Bovidae using both categorical and continuous (stable carbon isotopes of enamel, δC) classifications of diet. In addition, we examine three modes of evolution that best explain interspecific variation in each of these indices, including: Brownian Motion (BM), Early Burst (EB), and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU). Our results show that the hypsodonty index (HI), the length of the masseteric fossa relative to facial depth (MAS-F), and the length of the diastema relative to the total toothrow length (DIAS-TR) are the best predictors of diet among African bovids. These indices are best explained by either a BM or OU mode of evolution. Our findings have important implications for understanding the evolution of craniodental traits and reconstructing the diet of fossil mammals, especially bovids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological research often assumes that species are adapted to their current climatic environments. However, climate fluctuations over geologic timescales have influenced species dispersal and extinction, which in turnmay affect community structure. Modern community structure is likely to be the product of both palaeoclimate and modern climate, with the relative degrees of influence of past and present climates unknown. Here, we assessed the influence of climate at different time periods on the phylogenetic and functional trait structure of 203 African mammal communities. We found that the climate of the mid-Holocene (approx. 6000 years ago) and Last Glacial Maximum (approx. 22 000 years ago) were frequently better predictors of community structure thanmodern climate formammals overall, carnivorans and ungulates. Primate communities were more strongly influenced by modern climate than palaeoclimate. Overall, community structure of African mammals appears to be related to the ecological flexibility of the groups considered here and the regions of continental Africa that they occupy. Our results indicate that the future redistribution, expansion and contraction of particular biomes due to human activity, such as climate and land-use change, will differentially affect mammal groups that vary in their sensitivity to environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Africa has produced the earliest record of Homo sapiens ~ 200 ka and a punctuated record of Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age behaviors. We lack, however, a detailed late Quaternary paleoenvironmental record for the region, particularly during humid periods. Without a regional record, hypotheses about the evolution and ecology of early Homo sapiens in East Africa remain vague and untestable. The Kibish Formation of southern Ethiopia presents a long, albeit punctuated, record of late Middle Pleistocene to Holocene faunal change in East Africa, which was deposited during humid periods. Here, we present oxygen and carbon stable isotope data of the Kibish ungulates and test whether there are environmental changes within the Kibish Formation. Significant differences in δ 18 O enamel isotopes are consistent with more humid conditions during the Holocene-age Member IV (~ 13–4 ka) than either Pleistocene-age Member I (~ 196 ka) or Member III (~ 104 ka). Mesowear data document a shift toward more attritional wear among grazers in Member IV and are correlated with more depleted δ 18 O enamel values, suggesting that the wear pattern shift is linked to the onset of more humid conditions during the Holocene. δ 13 C enamel values show subtle variations through time, but do not suggest any major changes in diets. We propose that the paleoenvironmental differences evident in Member IV, based on δ 18 O enamel values, mesowear, and bovid abundances, may be explained by cooler and wetter conditions at the beginning of the Holocene in the lower Omo Valley. The evidence suggesting that the Holocene humid phase is more pronounced than earlier humid phases may explain why arid-adapted grassland ungulates became extinct in East Africa by the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, but persisted through previous humid phases of the late Quaternary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses issues related to mystical and spiritual experiences. He explains the subtle level, which he considers as the first of the mystical regions. He tackles the limitations of British public philosopher and epistemologist Walter Stace's research on mystical experiences. He also examines the relationship between all mystical experiences and the subtle realm.

Within agricultural watersheds suspended sediment-discharge hysteresis during storm events is commonly used to indicate dominant sediment sources and pathways. However, availability of high-resolution data, qualitative metrics, longevity of records, and simultaneous multiwatershed analyses has limited the efficacy of hysteresis as a sediment management tool. This two year study utilizes a quantitative hysteresis index from high-resolution suspended sediment and discharge data to assess fluctuations in sediment source location, delivery mechanisms and export efficiency in three intensively farmed watersheds during events over time. Flow-weighted event sediment export was further considered using multivariate techniques to delineate rainfall, stream hydrology, and antecedent moisture controls on sediment origins. Watersheds with low permeability (moderately- or poorly drained soils) with good surface hydrological connectivity, therefore, had contrasting hysteresis due to source location (hillslope versus channel bank). The well-drained watershed with reduced connectivity exported less sediment but, when watershed connectivity was established, the largest event sediment load of all watersheds occurred. Event sediment export was elevated in arable watersheds when low groundcover was coupled with high connectivity, whereas in the grassland watershed, export was attributed to wetter weather only. Hysteresis analysis successfully indicated contrasting seasonality, connectivity and source availability and is a useful tool to identify watershed specific sediment management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 50% of the world's population live within 3 km of rivers and lakes highlighting the on-going importance of freshwater resources to human health and societal well-being. Whilst covering c . 3.5% of the Earth's non-glaciated land mass, trends in the environmental quality of the world's standing waters (natural lakes and reservoirs) are poorly understood, at least in comparison with rivers, and so evaluation of their current condition and sensitivity to change are global priorities. Here it is argued that a geospatial approach harnessing existing global datasets, along with new generation remote sensing products, offers the basis to characterise trajectories of change in lake properties e.g., water quality, physical structure, hydrological regime and ecological behaviour. This approach furthermore provides the evidence base to understand the relative importance of climatic forcing and/or changing catchment processes, e.g. land cover and soil moisture data, which coupled with climate data provide the basis to model regional water balance and runoff estimates over time. Using examples derived primarily from the Danube Basin but also other parts of the World, we demonstrate the power of the approach and its utility to assess the sensitivity of lake systems to environmental change, and hence better manage these key resources in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kibish Formation of southern Ethiopia has yielded the earliest fossils of Homo sapiens , ca. 196 ka, and has thus figured prominently in discussions of the origins of modern humans. Here we describe the fossil Bovidae from the Kibish Formation, a record that spans the late Middle Pleistocene to the early to mid-Holocene, and reconstruct aspects of their dietary ecology using mesowear analyses. All of the Kibish bovids represent extant taxa with the exception of the extinct blesbok-like alcelaphin Damaliscus hypsodon ; extinct arid-adapted forms Syncerus antiquus and Megalotragus , common in other Late Quaternary sites, are notably absent. Mesowear of the Kibish bovids suggests that the Late Quaternary specimens were characterized by diets with considerably more abrasion-dominated wear relative to their extant conspecifics. Finally, the Kibish record provides supporting evidence for recent phylogeographic hypotheses by demonstrating significant range expansions of Aepyceros melampus , Connochaetes taurinus , Hippotragus equinus , and, to a lesser extent, Kobus kob in the late Middle Pleistocene through the early to mid-Holocene coincident with humid phases that punctuated dry spells of the Late Quaternary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is projected to alter river flows and the magnitude/frequency characteristics of floods and droughts. Ecosystem-based adaptation highlights the interdependence of human and natural systems, and the potential to buffer the impacts of climate change by maintaining functioning ecosystems that continue to provide multiple societal benefits. Natural flood management (NFM), emphasising the restoration of innate hydrological pathways, provides important regulating services in relation to both runoff rates and water quality and is heralded as a potentially important climate change adaptation strategy. This paper draws together 25 NFM schemes, providing a meta-analysis of hydrological performance along with a wider consideration of their net (dis) benefits. Increasing woodland coverage, whilst positively linked to peak flow reduction (more pronounced for low magnitude events), biodiversity and carbon storage, can adversely impact other provisioning service -- especially food production. Similarly, reversing historical land drainage operations appears to have mixed impacts on flood alleviation, carbon sequestration and water quality depending on landscape setting and local catchment characteristics. Wetlands and floodplain restoration strategies typically have fewer disbenefits and provide improvements for regulating and supporting services. It is concluded that future NFM proposals should be framed as ecosystem-based assessments, with trade-offs considered on a case-by-case basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerated soil erosion threatens sustainable food production by degrading the physical and biogeochemical functioning of arable field soils and lowering crop yields. Much less recognized is the potential for soil erosion to impinge on wider ecosystem services including the weed seedbank that underpins much of the biodiversity in temperate agro-ecosystems of northern Europe. This paper assesses the likely impact of soil erosion on the composition and abundance of the arable weed seedbank, and presents an overview of erosion mechanisms affecting arable land coupled with an outline of the main factors influencing arable weed seedbank abundance and composition. The information presented on both these sets of processes enables assessment of the likely impact of soil erosion on arable seedbank biodiversity at the field and landscape scales. Combining mean annual net erosion rates of c. 7 t ha−1 yr−1 and seedbank densities c. 2000 seeds m−2, both figures broadly representative of UK conditions, produces an average annual loss of the field seed inventory of c. 0.5% yr−1. Where seedbank abundance is otherwise relatively stable (i.e. losses through death, germination and weed control are largely balanced by gain through seed rain), average soil loss rates could export c. 10% of the arable weed seedbank in 20 years. Net erosion data conceal within-field sediment deposition within swales, foot slopes, buffer strips and hedgerows which provides a further dimension of spatial restructuring of weed assemblages. Seed size and shape also influence hydrodynamic behaviour through selective entrainment and preferential deposition. It is concluded that earth surface processes play an under-recognized role in structuring field-scale weed-based biodiversity in agro-ecosystems over decadal timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An attempt to comment on the low level of attention to the transpersonal in the journal Existential Analysis. In view of the eminent existentialists who have expressed a personal interest in the spiritual realms, this seems odd. Some possible lines of enquiry are pursued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics such as the prospect of same-sex marriage, privacy in the context of free speech and the right to property.

The author gives opinion on the book "Multicultural Odysseys: Navigating the New International Politics of Diversity," by Will Kymlicka, that has been chosen for the 2008 North American Society for Social Philosophy (NASSP) Book Prize. He states that the writer offers a clear description of liberal multiculturalism in the book. He also raises questions for Kymlicka about the topic. He adds that an awareness that some will find conflict between multiculturalism and liberalization is being shown by Kymlicka.

Sexual politics is very important in psychotherapy, as elsewhere, and a gender issue which has not been remarked on very much in the literature is therapist narcissism. This seems to be much more prevalent in men, and the present paper gives a good deal of evidence for this, while not claiming that the fault is peculiar to men. The essence of such narcissism seems to be a ‘stepping outside the circle’ set up between therapist and client, in such a way that the therapist becomes a separate ego. Thus it is actually anti-relationship, and therefore doubly interesting. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is about the failure of humanistic psychology to live up to the challenge of Maslow's basic idea of levels of psychospiritual development. Too many humanistic writers are still living in Flatland, where there are no levels, no differences in ways of looking at the world, no grades of consciousness. Some examples are given. This article argues that it would be more in keeping with Maslow's humanistic legacy to acknowledge an evolutionary hierarchy of thought in action. Ken Wilber shows how this could be taken even further. Some examples are given of what this might look like in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of supervision is important for everyone working in the field of transpersonal psychotherapy or counselling, but there is very little information available about it. This paper attempts to compare and contrast transpersonal supervision with two other kinds—the instrumental and the authentic. Then within the transpersonal itself, it attempts to distinguish between supervision and therapy at the Subtle level and at the Causal level, because both are important and different. It closes with a discussion of how all this applies particularly to cross-cultural work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An historical and personal account of the 1970s-80s UK anti-sexist men's movement and the journal Achilles Heel, together with an analysis of the movement's eventual end, using the theoretical concept of the 'Patripsych'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues that there are three basic level of relationship which can exist in any form of therapy and each requires different logic. Discussion on philosophical counseling; Levels of logic in philosophical counseling; Transpersonal therapy .

Part I. Provides the professional reflections of school principals in England. Phases of school leadership; Involvement in the creation of autonomous learning organizations; Reinvention of self in a climate of change, competition and customer demand.

Focuses on primary schools in Great Britain. Development of autonomous schools; Role of local education authority; Role of the board of governors.

The primary aim of this paper is to set out a moral justification for the main contract rights: the right to make a contract will be investigated in section IV, and the right to contract performance will be examined in section V. It will be suggested that the first of these is grounded in a Lockean conception of autonomy that can be subsequently justified by reference to a variety of moral theories. The second, the right to contract performance is better justified by a moral theory directly rather than through the moral value of autonomy. Only when these moral justifications are better understood can the resolution of practical debates be reasonably attempted. A brief discussion of some possible practical implications is provided in section VI. However, it is essential to completely understand the notions of rights and contracts. The logical starting point in understanding rights is the claim, which according to Wesley Hohfeld is a right in the strictest sense. Simply, a person has a claim when she is in a position, morally, to demand some sort of performance from others. Claim is strictly correlated to duty. The second type of right is a privilege. One is said to have a privilege to perform an act if she has no duty to refrain from performing that act.

In psychology, we can look at human beings either in their thing-like aspects or in their person-like aspects. One of the best places in which human beings can be studied as persons is in the arena of psychotherapy. Unfortunately, the prevalence of schoolism has meant that the findings of different schools of psychotherapy have not been integrated or indeed brought together in any way. But if we can take a wider view, we can see that there is actually a common path which therapy takes, which is common to all the schools. This paper is an attempt to outline this path. In doing so, I have found the fullest statement of it to be found in alchemical writings, but I have also found that as far as it goes, objective empirical research finds the same set of phases, and this suggests that alchemy may also be right about what goes beyond the orthodox research. It is rare to find something which unites the interests of the researcher and the practitioner, but here we have something which promises to do just that. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on contract rights. It should be clear that contract rights, understood as moral rights, offer both a wealth of ethical material and a context that is of particular relevance in society. Examples are widespread. The business organization, for example, has long been thought of as a nexus of contracts among the various parties therein. Management, typically thought to be the core of this nexus, contracts with employees, customers, suppliers, and other groups in operating the company. Assuming this contractual picture is tenable, a complete normative account of the business organization must then include an account of the rights associated with those contracts. In other words, without such an account, it will not be possible to fully answer a variety of ethical questions, such as which contracts are valid, which conditions allow for a valid contract to be legitimately breached, and what compensation is owed to a wronged party in such circumstances. Even a stakeholder theory of the firm, which applies a principle of equal consideration to all stakeholder groups, leaves open the answers to these sorts of questions. The language of rights is having the opposite effect of clouding the moral issues, because interested parties are referring to their rights as support for their positions in a rather careless manner. Unless the ethical underpinnings of the rights associated with contracts is examined, discussions of contracts will be incomplete morally and thus unhelpful practically.

It has become fashionable both in psychoanalytic and in humanistic circles to talk about dialogue, the interpersonal field, language and the socially constructed self, and to say that the old idea of the self as central, as real, as essence, is outdated and even patriarchal. But there is something strange about this. In discovering the field (which perhaps we could liken to the wave function in physics) and in denying the individual (which perhaps we could liken to the particle) many people seem to be denying or ignoring the principle of complementarity. The whole point about the authentic self is that it can relate authentically. I see no contradiction between saying that and saying that authentic selves in relation form a field, which has to be respected in its own right. Ken Wilber uses the idea (taken from Arthur Koestler) of a holon. A holon is a unit which is also a part of other units. Holons as a whole form a field, within which are numbers of sub-fields. In this way we can see how a holon can be regarded at one and the same time as a separable unit and as part of a larger field. There is nothing difficult about this. We don't have to give up one in order to have the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the ethical codes which have been drawn up are based on the empirical paradigm, where the research is on top and in control. When we move toward qualitative research, action research, collaborative inquiry and the like, new ethical questions arise. Our own authenticity comes into question. We are now talking about power much more. We are also talking about the self of the researcher as an issue. What are the unspoken assumptions of the researcher, and can the researcher become much more aware of these? The ethical problems become both wider and deeper. In this paper we shall look at these questions as a series of concentric circles, showing that as research becomes more comprehensive it becomes more ethically demanding. ticité personnelle fait partie de la question. Nous parlons alors beaucoup plus de pouvoir. Nous parlons aussi du ‘moi’ du chercheur en tant que problème. Quels sont donc les ‘à priori’ non formulés du chercheur et celui-ci peut-il devenir plus conscient de ceux-ci? Les problèmes éthiques deviennent plus profonds et ont plus d'envergure. Dans cet article nous envisageons ces questions comme une série de cercles concentriques, démontrant que lorsque la recherche devient plus compréhensive, les demandes de responsabilité éthique grandissent de même. Die meisten der Ethischen Codes basieren auf dem empirischen Paradigma wo Forschung obenauf und in Kontrolle ist. Wenn wir uns qualitative Forschung, Aktionsforschung und kollaborative Befragung und dergleichen ansehen, entstehen neue ethische Fragen. Unsere eigene Authentizität wird in Frage gestellt.Wir sprechen jetzt mehr über Macht. Das Selbst des Forschers wird auch mehr ein Thema. Was sind die unausgesprochenen Annahmen des Forschers und kann dieser sich derer mehr bewußt machen? Die ethischen Probleme reichen sowohl mehr in die Breite als auch in die Tiefe. In diesem Artikel werden diese Fragen als eine Serie von konzentrischen Kreisen betrachtet und aufgezeigt, daß je umfassender Forschung wird desto größer werden die Anforderungen an Ethik. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Motivation Main Types of Variables Contained Spatial Location and Grain Time Period and Grain Major Taxa and Level of Measurement Software Format Terrestrial predators play key roles in cycling nutrients, as well as limiting prey populations, and shaping the behaviour of their prey. Prehistoric, historic and ongoing declines of the world's predators have reshaped terrestrial ecosystems and are a topic of conservation concern. However, the availability of ecologically relevant predator functional traits is limited, hampering efforts to understand macroecological changes in this ecologically important functional group. Here, we present CarniTraits, a comprehensive open‐access functional trait database of all late Quaternary (~130,000 ybp) terrestrial mammalian predators (149 species, ≥1 kg body mass, ≥50% vertebrate meat consumption).Mammalian terrestrial predator functional traits including body mass, diet, scavenging, locomotion, cooperative hunting, hunting habitat, hunting method, bone consumption, temporal activity patterns, brain mass and encephalisation quotient.Global.Late Quaternary (the last ~130,000 years).All late Quaternary terrestrial mammalian predators (149 species, ≥1 kg body mass, ≥50% vertebrate meat consumption).csv. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criticizes the notion that Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a one-way linear trend from lower to higher levels. Background of Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of needs; Difference of the deficiency motivation from abundance motivation.

Discusses the concept of linking, a special kind of empathy, and its role in therapy. Terms that were examined; Views of existentialists about the concept of linking; Views of Jungians about the concept.

Points out that there are changes needed in the presentation of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of need to be consistent with its original sense and meaning. Two kinds of esteem; Maslow's need for competence; Misuse of a triangle to represents Maslow's hierarchy of need.

Presents an article about humanistic psychology. Perception of humanist Alvin Mahrer regarding choices; Implications of personal action; Arguments of other humanists.