LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND CLIMATE INFORMATION: THE ROLE OF TRUST AND RISK IN AGRICULTURAL DECISIONS ABOUT DROUGHT

Climate change is projected to dramatically impact agricultural production across the world. Agricultural producers must adapt to changing conditions by implementing practices and utilizing knowledge that creates resilient operations. This study explores how Montana farmers and ranchers use of different types of knowledge during periods of drought and how risk perceptions and trust influence the use of knowledge. To understand the role trust and risk in producers’ use of local knowledge and climate information, I conducted five focus groups with 34 Montana agricultural producers. Producers explained that they encounter many agriculture-related risks, including uncertain forecasts, financial losses, and adverse weather. To manage these risks, producers rely on knowledge gained from past experiences. Producers also test out new practices and information through small-scale experimentation to expand their knowledge of what works on their farm or ranch. Agricultural agencies should support producers by promoting producer-conducted experimentation. To do so, agencies need to address financial barriers to on-farm experimentation through programs that reduce expenses and incentivize experimentation

Resiliencia y cambio durante el Holoceno en La Canal de Navarrés (Valencia): recientes trabajos de prospección

Presentamos en este trabajo una evaluación inicial de los trabajos de prospección sistemática llevados a cabo en la comarca de La Canal de Navarrés (Valencia) desde el año 2014 en el marco del proyecto NSF "The Emergence of Coupled Natural and Human Landscapes in the Western Mediterranean". El programa desarrollado ha seguido un protocolo previamente establecido por nuestro equipo de trabajo con la novedad de la incorporación de nuevas tecnologías en el trabajo de campo (dispositivos electrónicos) cuyo objetivo ha sido agilizar el procesado de la información posterior en el laboratorio mediante el uso de un entorno GIS. Los resultados obtenidos confirman la presencia de materiales en diferentes puntos del valle indicativos de una amplia cronología (entre el Pleistoceno final y el desarrollo del Holoceno) que se suman a los registros prehistóricos conocidos en el área desde el Paleolítico medio a la Edad del Bronce. In this paper we present a preliminary approach to the survey work carried out in La Canal de Navarrés (Valencia) since 2014 in the framework of the NSF Project 'The Emergence of Coupled Natural and Human Landscapes in the Western Mediterranean'. The programme developed follows previous protocols established by us with the novelty of the use of new technologies (electronic devices) with the goal to make more dynamic the analysis of data in a GIS environment. The results confirm the existence, in several open-air locations, of prehistoric artefacts along the valley regarding to a wide chronology (from the final Pleistocene and covering the Holocene) that can be added to the sequence known at the area including Middle Palaeolithic to Bronze Age evidences

Extending a sense of story through retelling experiences in a unit on historical fiction

Literacy can be defined as the ability to make use of all available possibilities of written language to create meaning (Smith, 1983). With this definition in mind, a teacher finds support in developing a learning environment in which children can encounter a whole array of opportunities to extend their reading and writing abilities. A nurturing environment allows children to bring their experiences to reading and writing in order to engage in predicting and risk taking which is what comprehension and composition of written materials is all about. Then they can acquire basic insights into written language: Print needs to be meaningful, and written language is different from speech (Smith, 1983). Children can develop language abilities to comprehend written material through a variety of experiences such as dramatization, storytelling, poetry, reciting/reading and reading fiction and nonfiction

Ideational Diffusion and the Great Witch Hunt in Central Europe

The great upsurge of witch trials in early modern Europe remains a historical puzzle. Popularly known as the “witch craze”, this eruption of persecution is puzzling because belief in witchcraft had existed for centuries, but large-scale witch-hunting appeared rather abruptly, spread widely, and was remarkably brutal in comparison with the past. We define a theory of ideational diffusion to describe the general process of the emergence and spread of a new idea along with its prescribed behavioral change, in this case the adoption of witch-hunting. Ideational diffusion distinguishes between the adoption of new ideas, which lead social actors to reinterpret the world and thus to change their behavior, and the adoption of behavior alone. We relate how a new theory of witchcraft appeared in the fifteenth century and show that its widespread propagation, owing to the new technology of printing, matches our description of ideational diffusion. We then analyze the diffusion of witch trials in Central Europe by combining data on the publication of demonological treatises alongside climate, state capacity, religious economy, and city network variables. We find that cities adopted persecution after demonological treatises were printed, and that nearby trials induced neighbors to adopt persecution. Tracing the print vectors and social interdependence spurring witch-hunting helps us understand the general mechanisms behind the spread of persecution

The effects of using music and movement to enhance learning

This paper reviews the effects of using music and movement to enhance learning in early childhood years and in the elementary classroom. Information includes Howard Gardner\u27s musical and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences, the effects of music on brain development in infants and children, studies in the effects of music on spatial-temporal reasoning, how music affects learning in the early childhood and primary years, and the effects of music on special learners. Appropriate for parents, caregivers, and educators, this review provides the basis for incorporating music into everyday early childhood and classroom experiences

Human-Impact Gradients through Anthropogenic Pollen Indicators in a Mediterranean Mosaic Landscape (Balearic Islands)

This paper proposes new anthropogenic pollen indicators for the Balearic Islands and attempts to assess gradients of human impact on vegetation in Mediterranean islands. A combination of modern pollen analogue studies, complemented by phytosociological descriptions and ordination techniques using quantitative and presence/absence data was used. Redundancy analysis allowed us to evaluate the relationships between pollen types and significant environmental variables and propose regional (e.g., Centaurea, Rubus, Plantago lanceolata-t) and local/microregional anthropogenic pollen indicators (e.g., Cerealia, Poygonum aviculare, Matricaria-t). Additionally, an anthropogenic index score (AIS) for each sampled location was calculated to correlate each pollen type to a specific degree of human impact: (a) low (e.g., Cerastium-t, Erica arborea-t, Cistus albidus), (b) moderate (e.g, Sinapis-t, Sanguisorba minor-t, Plantago bellardii-t), (c) high (e.g., Papaveraceae undiff., Dipsacaceae, Secale-t). This paper contributes to a further understanding of land-use dynamics and to defining the degree of impact, which is especially necessary to assess colonization and anthropization rhythms in Mediterranean island environments

Patch-based survey methods for studying prehistoric human land-usein agriculturally modified landscapes: A case study from the Canal de Navarrés, eastern Spain

In landscapes whose surface has been modified by terracing and other agricultural land-use, the spatial and temporal patterning of prehistoric settlement can be difficult to detect using traditional, site- orientated archaeological survey methods, especially for small-scale societies. In these contexts, methods that can reveal occupational patterns at landscape scales, without the need to pinpoint specific sites of human occupation, can be especially useful. We employ a stratified, randomly selected patch- based survey strategy to examine socio-ecological dynamics from the Middle Paleolithic through Bell Beaker (Chalcolithic) periods within the Canal de Navarre,s, eastern Spain. We divide the study region into survey strata according to differences in topography and vegetation communities and use a random selection of demarcated, terraced fields as data collection patches. All survey data is digitally recorded using tablets in the field, creating a streamlined and more accurate workflow, where observations of artifacts, soils, ground visibility, and photographs are georeferenced and ready for analysis in a GIS. Surface artifact densities, estimated from sampled patches, are used to generate prehistoric land-use maps and empirical Bayesian methods allow us to track shifts in occupational patterns through time. Regional reference collections of well-dated lithic artifacts provide the 'prior knowledge' required to make estimates of the probability of prehistoric occupation in each sampled patch. This combination of field and analytical methods makes possible the study of regional-scale land-use dynamics in agriculturally modified landscape

Breaking the Patterns of Homelessness

Homelessness is a global issue that affects people living in all kinds of different environments. The impacts of homelessness are relatively similar when it comes to developed and undeveloped countries. The uncertainty and stress of homelessness can lead to mental health problems including depression, anxiety and many others. When it comes to physical health, not having a stable living environment can make it more difficult to have access to basic needs such as clean water, safe shelter and nutritious foods. The lack of basic necessities often leads to malnutrition, exposure to harmful weather conditions and a higher sensitivity to diseases and illness. In the US, two of the leading causes of homelessness is lack of affordable housing and mental health/substance abuse. While in an underdeveloped country like Syria, the main cause of homelessness is the collapsing of infrastructure caused by natural disaster. Due to these conditions, people can be exposed to diseases and without health care or if not that, they may not have a place to store which makes it harder to treat. The goal of this study is to find the underlying causes of homelessness in countries of different economic status’ in order to identify ways to break the cycle of homelessness

Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: A meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children

Background: The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, we meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults (n = 218,166) and nine studies of children and adolescents (n = 19,268). Methods and Findings: All studies identified to have data on the FTO rs9939609 variant (or any proxy [r2>0.8]) and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active) in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were performed within each study by including the FTO×PA interaction term in an additive model, adjusting for age and sex. Subsequently, random effects meta-analysis was used to pool the interaction terms. In adults, the minor (A-) allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity by 1.23-fold/allele (95% CI 1.20-1.26), but PA attenuated this effect (pinteraction= 0.001). More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio = 1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19-1.25) than in the inactive group (odds ratio = 1.30/allele, 95% CI 1.24-1.36). No such interaction was found in children and adolescents. Concl

Genome-wide physical activity interactions in adiposity. A meta-analysis of 200,452 adults

Physical activity (PA) may modify the genetic effects that give rise to increased risk of obesity. To identify adiposity loci whose effects are modified by PA, we performed genome-wide interaction meta-analyses of BMI and BMI-adjusted waist circumference and waist-hip ratio from up to 200,452 adults of European (n = 180,423) or other ancestry (n = 20,029). We standardized PA by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable where, on average, 23% of participants were categorized as inactive and 77% as physically active. While we replicate the interaction with PA for the strongest known obesity-risk locus in the FTO gene, of which the effect is attenuated by similar to 30% in physically active individuals compared to inactive individuals, we do not identify additional loci that are sensitive to PA. In additional genome-wide meta-analyses adjusting for PA and interaction with PA, we identify 11 novel adiposity loci, suggesting that accounting for PA or other environmental factors that contribute to variation in adiposity may facilitate gene discovery.Peer reviewe