19683 research outputs found
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Techniques for investigating past landscapes and environments
No full textThis paper was included in the 13th issue of Excavations, Surveys and Heritage Management in Victoria and was presented at the annual Victorian Archaeology Colloquium held at La Trobe University on 2 February 2024.</p
Setting an agenda for the education for and of archaeological knowledge
No full textArchaeology is not only a discipline that bridges the humanities and sciences but also one which brings people together. Through archaeology, we tell stories that speak to a shared cultural history extending tens of millennia into the past. There are also individual stories which resonate with our modern lives, and through that resonance, provide connections between disparate members of contemporary communities. There are numerous global examples where local archaeological research has brought communities together, crossing divisions of age, gender and culture, drawn together through a shared interest in the lives of past peoples. This recognition of an interconnected history is a characteristic that is unique to the discipline of archaeology and is something that we, as a contemporary Community of Practice, can build upon to elicit excitement and interest from the public in the work that we do, to highlight why it is important, and why it ought to continue.</p
Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) modulates quadriceps motor cortex inhibition and facilitation during rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction: a triple-blind, randomised controlled proof of concept trial
No full textOBJECTIVES: Following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), maladaptive changes occur in the motor cortex representation of the quadriceps, evidenced by increases in intracortical inhibition and facilitation. The primary objective of this proof-of-concept study was to determine if anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can alter quadriceps intracortical inhibition and facilitation in an early-ACLR population after 6 weeks of application during exercise. METHODS: We performed a randomised, triple-blind controlled trial for proof of concept comparing anodal-tDCS to sham-tDCS following ACLR. Anodal-tDCS or sham-tDCS was delivered to the primary motor cortex for 20 min, three times per week, for 6 weeks from week 2 post ACLR. Transcranial magnetic stimulation quantified quadriceps short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI) and short-interval intracortical facilitation (SICF). Significance at pRESULTS: Participants were randomised to anodal (n=11) or sham (n=10) tDCS. Participants were predominantly male (n=13) and had a mean (SD) age of 24.4 (4.7) years. For SICI, there was a group-by-time effect for anodal-tDCS (β=0.519, 95% CI 0.057 to 0.981, p=0.028) and an effect for time (β=-1.421, 95% CI -1.919 to -0.923, pCONCLUSION: This study provided proof of the efficacy of anodal-tDCS post ACLR in reducing maladaptive quadriceps inhibition and facilitation. We demonstrated anodal-tDCS improved facilitation and inhibition post ACLR, which are drivers of arthrogenic muscle inhibition.</p
Comparative Analysis of Mechanistic and Correlative Models for Global and Bhutan-Specific Suitability of Parthenium Weed and Vulnerability of Agriculture in Bhutan
No full textParthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) is one of the most noxious and fast-spreading invasive alien species, posing a major threat to ecosystems, agriculture, and public health worldwide. Mechanistic and correlative species distribution models are commonly employed to determine the potential habitat suitability of parthenium weed. However, a comparative analysis of these two approaches for parthenium weed is lacking, leaving a gap in understanding their relative effectiveness and ability to describe habitat suitability of parthenium weed. This study compared the mechanistic model CLIMEX with random forest (RF), the best-performing of a suite of correlative models. When compared against occurrence records and pseudo-absences, measured by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, true skill statistic, sensitivity, and specificity, the results revealed higher performance of RF compared to CLIMEX. Globally, RF predicted 7 million km2 (2% of the total land mass) as suitable for parthenium weed, while CLIMEX predicted 20 million km2 (13%). Based on binary maps, RF and CLIMEX identified 67 and 20 countries as suitable, respectively. For Bhutan, globally trained RF predicted 8919 km2 (23% of the country’s total 38,394 km2) as currently suitable, with high suitability in the southern, west–central, central, and eastern districts, particularly along major highways. For the future, the 10 general circulation models downscaled to Bhutan showed a decrease in suitability across four scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, SSP585) and three periods (2021–2050, 2051–2080, 2071–2100), with a northward shift in suitable habitats ranging from 2 to 76 km. Additionally, 2049 (23%) km2 of agricultural land is currently at risk of being invaded by parthenium weed. Correlative and mechanistic models are based on different niche concepts (i.e., realized and fundamental, respectively), and therefore combining them can provide a better understanding of actual and potential species distributions. Given the high suitability of parthenium weed under the current climate and its potential negative impacts in Bhutan, early action such as early detection and control of infested areas, regular survey and monitoring, and creating public awareness are proposed as risk mitigation strategies.</p
Acceleration of straw-nitrogen mineralization under co-elevation of CO<sub>2</sub> and temperature is associated with microbial attributes in the rhizosphere of rice
No full textQuantifying the straw-nitrogen (N) in soil N pools and exploring soil microbial phylogenetic diversity involved in N mineralization are important for effectively managing crop straw to optimize crop N use under climate change. This study used 15N-labeled rice straw to quantify straw-N mineralization in the rhizosphere and N uptake of rice plants in response to elevated CO2 (700 ppm) and warming (2 °C above ambient). The CO2 and temperature co-elevation resulted in 20 mg kg−1 of straw-N mineralized in the rhizosphere, 50 % greater than the ambient control. A similar trend was found for soil-N mineralization. The CO2 and temperature co-elevation significantly increased the gaseous loss of straw-derived N from the rhizosphere, and straw-N in microbial biomass fraction, soluble organic and mineral N fractions in bulk soil. It also increased microbial biomass N originated from the rhizosphere soil. Irrespective of climatic treatments, the amount of mineralized N from straw and soil was greater in the rhizosphere than bulk soil. The CO2 and temperature co-elevation increased plant N uptake by 32 % with the dominant origin of soil-N rather than straw-N. With straw amendment, elevated CO2 plus warming significantly (p </p
A global review of the impact on women from men’s alcohol drinking: the need for responding with a gendered lens
No full textBackground: Global evidence shows that men’s harmful alcohol use contributes to intimate partner violence (IPV) and other harms. Yet, interventions that target alcohol-related harms to women are scarce. Quantitative analyses demonstrate links with physical and verbal aggression; however, the specific harms to women from men’s drinking have not been well articulated, particularly from an international perspective. Aim: To document the breadth and nature of harms and impact of men’s drinking on women. Methods: A narrative review, using inductive analysis, was conducted of peer-reviewed qualitative studies that: (a) focused on alcohol (men’s drinking), (b) featured women as primary victims, (c) encompassed direct/indirect harms, and (d) explicitly featured alcohol in the qualitative results. Papers were selected following a non-time-limited systematic search of key scholarly databases. Results: Thirty papers were included in this review. The majority of studies were conducted in low- to middle-income countries. The harms in the studies were collated and organised under three main themes: (i) harmful alcohol-related actions by men (e.g. violence, sexual coercion, economic abuse), (ii) impact on women (e.g. physical and mental health harm, relationship functioning, social harm), and (iii) how partner alcohol use was framed by women in the studies. Conclusion: Men’s drinking results in a multitude of direct, indirect and hidden harms to women that are cumulative, intersecting and entrench women’s disempowerment. An explicit gendered lens is needed in prevention efforts to target men’s drinking and the impact on women, to improve health and social outcomes for women worldwide.</p
A broad battle: public opinion and the 1945–1946 General Motors strike
No full textThis article explores the 1945–1946 strike at General Motors, a massive dispute involving 320,000 workers. The 113-day walkout was the longest of the 1945–1946 strike wave, which saw over three million U.S. workers mobilize. A key feature of the strike–and one particularly overlooked–is public reaction. The strike secured widespread press coverage, and much of the United Automobile Workers’ (UAW) strategy revolved around appealing for public support. Drawing on under-utilized strike records, this article argues that reaction to the dispute highlights why labour would be on the defensive in succeeding decades. While many citizens were supportive, seeing this as an emblematic dispute, opponents were vociferous. In a rich body of letters, they outlined key arguments that were used later to justify attacks on unions–that their demands were selfish and excessive, that they caused strikes and violence, that they hurt business competitiveness, and that their leaders were ‘union bosses’ and ‘racketeers’.’ Opponents particularly opposed UAW calls for GM to ‘open its books’ to prove they could not afford big wage increases. Overall, the strike set the stage for post-war labour relations, where unions made economic gains but were unable to impinge on executives’ ‘right to manage’.</p
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ Experiences Factsheet 2: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ relationships, families and children
No full textBetween 2017 and 2020, several national surveys of LGBTQA+ people across Australia were conducted by the Telethon Kids Institute and by ARCSHS. These included:Trans Pathways: a study of gender diverse young people and their mental health and care pathwaysPrivate Lives 3: a study of health and wellbeing among LGBTQ+ adults (aged 18+)Writing Themselves In 4: a study of health and wellbeing among LGBTQA+ young people (aged 14-21)Each of these studies heard from some LGBTQA+ people who were also Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. In order to highlight their specific and unique experiences, this project sought to draw together the responses from these LGBTQA+ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Findings from these responses are presented in a series of factsheets.This factsheet explores intimate relationships and family support amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ participants in Writing Themselves In 4 and Private Lives 3.</p
Castoriadis reads Thucydides: The aspiration to autonomy and the acceptance of history
No full textAbstract: This essay discusses the third of Castoriadis’s seminars on Ancient Greece. Following the structure of the book, the first part deals with questions of autonomy and its limits. In that regard, Castoriadis’s analysis leads to more sceptical conclusions and modest expectations than in some earlier writings. This applies both to the social context and to the anthropological grounding of aspirations to autonomy. The second part focuses on some key points in Castoriadis’s reading of Thucydides. His interpretation of Athenian political culture in the fifth century bce, largely based on the funeral oration which Thucydides ascribes to Pericles, is shown to be problematic in some respects, especially with regard to power structures, but his key claims are nevertheless defended against the views of Nicole Loraux and Jonas Grethlein. The essay concludes with reflections on Thucydides’s account of interstate competition and geopolitical dynamics, and on its implications for our times.</p
The immovable goddess: the long life of Miyo Lang Sangma
No full textIn the 1850s, Andrew Waugh, head of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India, named the highest peak in the central Himalayas after his mentor, George Everest. As Ruth Gamble describes in this chapter, Waugh’s decision obscured the mountain’s centuries-long association with Chomolungma, also known as Miyo Langsangma, a deity revered by the Tibetans and Sherpas who lived near it. By tracing this goddess’s history back through the centuries, Gamble places the goddess in the wider contexts of Himalayan sacred geography, demonstrating the role she and her sisters, the Tseringma Chenga (Five Sisters of Long Life), played in the region’s cultural history and the life stories of two of the Himalaya’s most famous religious figures, Guru Rinpoche (semi-mythical, eighth century) and Milarepa (eleventh century). By tracing this history, Gamble shows that the British claims that there were no local names for the mountain are incorrect, and the Tibetan and Sherpa communities have continued to venerate the goddess despite commercial imperatives to refer to it as Everest and Chinese and Nepali attempts to recast the mountain as nationalist symbols.</p