Identification of last interglacial deposits in eastern Beringia: a cautionary note from the Palisades, interior Alaska

Last interglacial sediments in unglaciated Alaska and Yukon (eastern Beringia) are commonly identified by palaeoecological indicators and stratigraphic position ~2-5m above the regionally prominent Old Crow tephra (124±10ka). We demonstrate that this approach can yield erroneous age assignments using data from a new exposure at the Palisades, a site in interior Alaska with numerous exposures of last interglacial sediments. Tephrochronology, stratigraphy, plant macrofossils, pollen and fossil insects from a prominent wood-rich organic silt unit are all consistent with a last interglacial age assignment. However, six 14C dates on plant and insect macrofossils from the organic silt range from non-finite to 4.0 14C ka BP, indicating that the organic silt instead represents a Holocene deposit with a mixed-age assemblage of organic material. In contrast, wood samples from presumed last interglacial organic-rich sediments elsewhere at the Palisades, in a similar stratigraphic position with respect to Old Crow tephra, yield non-finite 14C ages. Given that local permafrost thaw since the last interglaciation may facilitate reworking of older sediments into new stratigraphic positions, minimum constraining ages based on 14C dating or other methods should supplement age assignments for last interglacial sediments in eastern Beringia that are based on palaeoecology and stratigraphic association with Old Crow tephra.

Learning curves, taking instructions, and patient safety:using a theoretical domains framework in an interview study to investigate prescribing errors among trainee doctors

ABSTRACT:

Enquiring about traumatic experiences in bipolar disorder: A case note and self- report comparison

Objectives: This study examined: (i) the prevalence of lifetime trauma, childhood trauma and trauma related to civil unrest in a Bipolar Disorder sample, and (ii) the agreement between rates of disclosure of trauma in case notes and self-report questionnaires.

Methods: The case notes of sixty participants, recruited from a geographically well-defined mental health service in Northern Ireland, were examined for reports of experiences of lifetime, childhood and traumatic events related to civil conflict. The participants also completed self-report measures of trauma.

Results: Considerable differences were found between the prevalence of trauma as measured by self-report questionnaires and case notes reports. The prevalence of lifetime trauma as measured by the Trauma History Questionnaire was 61.7% (compared to case notes prevalence of 33.3%). The prevalence of moderate and severe levels of childhood trauma as measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was 65% (case notes 21.7%). Rates of trauma related to civil unrest were 35% (case notes 3.3%). Poor levels of agreement were found between all self-report trauma measures and case notes reports. Agreement on two categories of trauma (childhood emotional neglect and childhood physical neglect) reached statistical significance but kappa scores suggest this agreement was poor (kappa = .14. p<.05; kappa = .127, p<.05). © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conclusions: It is probable that the increased rate of trauma disclosed in the self-report questionnaire arises because clinicians during initial assessment and subsequent treatment do not consistently enquire about trauma. The need for staff training is discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Taking as Giving, Appropriation as Access: Transfers of Land Development Rights and China’s Recent Experiments

Economic development at both the domestic and global levels is associated with increasing tensions which are inextricably linked to the meaning and allocation of property rights, which has a great impact on appropriation of resources and may lead to different paths of development. “Taking”-- the appropriation of private land for public needs -- is a typical example that exhibits those tensions, posing a challenge to the conventional conception of property as individualistic and exclusive rights of possession, use, and disposition and to the associated neoliberal model of development. Should the individual landowner be left to bear the cost of a regulatory intervention which endures to the wider benefit of the whole community? How to mitigate the tensions between private ownership and public regulation? If we take the liberal concept of property, then private property seems to be in constant conflict with public interests and wider social concerns. Meanwhile, community, situating between the state and the individuals, and community’s relationship to development rights, have not provoked enough discussion. The paper explores the different ways land development rights might be seen both in Western, essentially common law systems, and in China, especially now and in view of two case studies. An empirical example in Wugang, China reveals the importance of integrating the “community lens” proposed by Roger Cotterrell into studies of the transfer of land development rights. Reading through the community lens, taking could be giving and appropriation could also be access. This approach provides a new perspective to re-evaluate the relationship between legal appropriation and development.

A Note on Networks of Collaboration in Multimarket Oligopolies

In this note, we extend the Goyal and Joshi’s model of collaboration networks in oligopoly to multi-market situations. We examine the incentive of firms to form links and the architectures of the resulting equilibrium networks in this setting. We then present some results on efficient networks.

Risk-Taking Differences Across the Adult Life Span:A Question of Age and Domain

Older adults face important risky decisions about their health, their financial future, and their social environment. We examine age differences in risk-taking behaviors in multiple risk domains across the adult life span.