Climate and society in 20th century Mexico

Mexican agriculture has been greatly transformed by the widespread introduction of 'Green Revolution' technologies (irrigation, chemical fertilizers, and improved seeds), through land reform, and by land use policies oriented to export crops and grain production. Drought prone Mexico provides an excellent case to study how technological and social changes alter the impact of drought on food and agricultural system. A goal is to document and understand how relationships between climate and agriculture in Mexico have changed in the last fifty years. The results for several locations will be interpreted in light of the prospects of regional climate change due to global warming. This analysis will be complimented by four case studies of vulnerability to drought which will use local records and interviews to try and show how environmental, technological, and social changes may have altered the impacts of climate on local agricultural systems

Junior Recital, Eric Liverman, trumpet

The presentation of this junior recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. Eric Liverman studies trumpet with Kevin Maloney and Rex Richardson

Comparing the rates of absorption and weight loss during a desorption test using near infrared spectroscopy

The importance of determining skin hydration has over the years prompt the development of many instruments and methods, specifically designed to assess this parameter or water contents especially in the stratum corneum, and have greatly matured to suit different anatomical sites and measure multiple attributes. Of those, Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) has gained wide interest as a precise, safe, fast and noninvasive technique for determining skin hydration due to its high sensitivity to hydrogen bonding and ability to measure the amount of water in skin directly using the intensities of overtone and combination bands of OH and HOH water bonds occurring in the NIR region, that are good indicators of the state of skin hydration. This paper reports near infrared spectrophotometric measurements using a highly sophisticated spectrophotometer in the region of 1000-2500 nm to study the water uptake and dehydration properties of skin in vitro using samples of porcine skin. Initial results of pure liquid water and skin samples have clearly displayed the prominent bands associated with water content, and desorption tests have been able to verify changes in these bands associated with water content, although a clear correlation between the rates of weight loss and absorbance loss at various hydration periods has not yet been established. These preliminary results are expected to further explain the relationship between water and skin, and its role within, in hope to aid the future development of a portable instrument based on near infrared spectroscopy that would be capable of directly measuring skin hydration and/or water content in a fast and noninvasive manner

Late Quaternary Relative Sea-Level Change on the West Coast of Newfoundland

Two revised relative sea-level (RSL) curves are presented for the Port au Choix to Daniel’s Harbour area of the Great Northern Peninsula, northwestern Newfoundland. Both curves are similar, showing continuous emergence of 120-140 m between 14 700 cal BP and present. The half-life of exponential curves fit to the RSL data is 1400 years and the rate of emergence varies from ~2.3 m per century prior to 10 000 cal BP to ~0.13 m per century since 5000 cal BP. The curves fit a general pattern of RSL history along the west coast of Newfoundland, where there is a southward transition from solely emergence to emergence followed by submergence. Isostatic depression curves are generated for four RSL records spanning the west coast. Almost double the crustal depression is recorded to the northwest, reflecting the greater glacioisostatic loading by the Laurentide Ice Sheet over southern Labrador and Québec compared to a smaller loading centre by a regional ice complex over Newfoundland. Only the St. George’s Bay RSL record in the southwest appears to show evidence for a proglacial forebulge, when at 6000 cal BP an isostatic ridge of 4 m amplitude begins to collapse.Deux courbes du niveau marin relatif (NMR) sont présentées pour la région allant de Port-au-Choix à Daniel’s Harbour sur la Grande Péninsule Nord, au nord-ouest de Terre-Neuve. Les deux courbes sont semblables, montrant une émergence continue de 120 à 140 m entre 14 700 cal BP et l’actuel. La demi-vie des courbes exponentielles ajustées au NMR est de 1400 ans, et le taux d’émergence varie de ~2.3 m par siècle avant 10 000 cal BP à ~0.13 m par siècle depuis 5000 cal BP. Les courbes s’ajustent au modèle général de l’histoire du NMR de la côte ouest de Terre-Neuve, où il existe une transition d’émergence seule à une émergence suivie d’une submergence, en allant vers le sud. Des courbes de dépressions isostatiques préliminaires sont générées pour quatre chronologies du NMR couvrant la côte ouest. Presque le double de la dépression de la croûte est enregistré au nord-ouest, reflétant la charge glacio-isostatique plus grande de l’Inlandsis Laurentidien sur le sud du Labrador et du Québec comparée à la charge plus faible du complexe glaciaire régional localisé sur Terre-Neuve. Seules les données du NMR de St. George’s Bay, au sud-ouest, semble démontrer l’affaissement du bourrelet périphérique lorsqu’une vague isostatique de 4 m d’amplitude commence à s’effondrer vers 6000 cal BP

Is small-scale agriculture really the main driver of deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon? Moving beyond the prevailing narrative

A key premise underlying discussion about deforestation in Amazonian Peru is that small-scale or so-called migratory agriculture is the main driver of deforestation. This premise has been expressed in government documents and public outreach events. How the Peruvian government understands drivers of deforestation in the Amazon has profound implications for how it will confront the problem. It is therefore important to critically revisit assumptions under-lying this narrative. We find that the narrative is based on remote sensing of deforestation patch sizes but not on field data, potentially conflating distinct drivers of deforestation under the umbrella of “migratory,” “small-scale,” or “subsistence” agriculture. In fact, small patches of deforested land may indicate any number of processes, including sustainable fallow management and agroforestry. Moreover, the data underlying the narrative tell us little about the actors driving these processes or their motivations. Different pro-cesses have distinct implications for environmental sustainability and require targeted policy responses. We unpack these diverse actors, geographies, and motivations of small-patch deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon and argue that differentiating among these drivers is necessary to develop appropriate policy responses. We call for researchers to revisit assumptions and critically assess the motivations of observed deforestation to appropriately target policy action

Comparative evaluation of the performance of online databases in answering toxicology queries

An evaluation of toxicology information resources is reported, comparing commercial online databases and a specialised in-house database. A mixed qualitative/quantitative approach, using ten test queries and detailed failure analysis was used. The main conclusions are: the in-house database is superior to any ‘general’ database in recall and precision; commercial databases are a useful complement, usually providing unique material; a range of databases should be used for good recall; for the commercial databases, complex search strategies are necessary, using the specific access points of each database; retrieval failures are due primarily to coverage, secondly to poor indexing of specific toxic effect. Detailed discussion is given of indexing policies and search strategies

A Study of the Planning Process Utilized by Urban School Divisions in Constructing Public Schools in the State of Virginia, 1984-1989

This research tested utilization of the team approach to planning for new school construction. The team approach is characterized by seven essential variables. To successfully plan a new school building, educators must: (1) involve more than one individual in collecting data; (2) provide quantitative data to the architect; (3) provide qualitative data to the architect; (4) provide data to the architect in advance of design; (5) provide data to the architect in written form; (6) provide original data, not prototype data; and (7) provide data which is used by the architect. Collective use of all seven variables constitute the team approach to planning new school construction. A group of ten urban school divisions which constructed new school buildings since 1984 was selected for review. The question under investigation was: Have urban school divisions which constructed satisfactory school buildings utilized the team approach to planning as described in research literature? Data was collected through personal interviews during on-site visitations to each of ten selected schools. The purpose of the interviews was to measure the degree of satisfaction urban school divisions have with new school buildings and to identify the process used by urban divisions when planning new school construction. Three schools were identified as the most satisfactory and labeled exemplary buildings. Tanner\u27s Creek Elementary School in Norfolk, Willow Springs Elementary School in Fairfax, and Nansemond River High School in Suffolk were perceived by individuals interviewed as the most satisfactory school buildings. Only Norfolk utilized the team approach to planning as defined in school plant planning literature. Fairfax and Suffolk used six of the seven planning variables identified as the team approach to planning. Both Fairfax and Suffolk failed to supply architects with original data for each new school, opting to use prototype data when simultaneously constructing more than one building. The three divisions constructing exemplary schools involve more than a single individual when planning new school construction. Additionally, the individuals planning each of the three exemplary buildings prepare and supply both quantitative and qualitative data to architects in written form in advance of building design. In each case, information presented to architects has been used to produce building designs

Imre Nagy and the First Phase of the Hungarian Revolution

This thesis is an analysis of the relationship between the national communists and Moscow emigres in the government of Hungary, between the Hungarian government and that of the Soviet Union, and between the Hungarian government and the various insurgent groups in Budapest and the Hungarian provinces immediately preceding and during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. An attempt is made to evaluate the effect of each of these forces on the course of revolution and its final outcome. The study is based on traditional sources and on interviews with leading figures involved in the revolution

Priorities, policies and (time)scales : the delivery of emissions reductions in the UK transport sector

Peer reviewedPreprin