A millennial record of environmental change in peat deposits from the Misten bog (East Belgium)

In this study, palaeoenvironmental changes recorded in the top metre of a peat profile (Misten bog, East Belgium) were investigated using a multiproxy approach. Proxies include bulk density, Ti and Si content, pollen, macrofossils, d13C on specific Sphagnum stems, and d13C–d18O on Sphagnum leaves. A high-resolution chronology was generated using 210Pb measurements and 22 14C AMS dates on carefully selected Sphagnum macrofossils. d13C only records large change in mire surface wetness. This is partly due to the fact that the core was taken from the edge of a hummock, which may make it difficult to track small isotopic changes. The d13C signal seems to be dependent upon the Sphagnum species composition. For example, a change between Sphagnum section Cuspidata towards Sphagnum imbricatum causes a significant drop in the d13C values. On the whole, the C and O isotopes record two shallow pool phases during the 8th–9th and the 13th centuries. Pollen and atmospheric soil dust (ASD) fluxes records increased human occupation in the area. There may be some climatic signals in the ASD flux, but they are difficult to decipher from the increasing human impact (land clearance, agriculture) during the last millennium. The variations in the proxies are not always synchronous, suggesting different triggering factors (temperature, wetness, windiness) for each proxy. This study also emphasizes that, compared to studies dealing with pollution using geochemical proxies, palaeoclimatic inferences from peat bogs need as many proxies as possible, together with highly accurate and precise age-models, in order to better understand climate variability and their consequences during the Holocene.

The chronostratigraphy of the Haua Fteah cave (Cyrenaica, northeast Libya)

The 1950s excavations by Charles McBurney in the Haua Fteah, a large karstic cave on the coast of northeast Libya, revealed a deep sequence of human occupation. Most subsequent research on North African prehistory refers to his discoveries and interpretations, but the chronology of its archaeological and geological sequences has been based on very early age determinations. This paper reports on the initial results of a comprehensive multi-method dating program undertaken as part of new work at the site, involving radiocarbon dating of charcoal, land snails and marine shell, cryptotephra investigations, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments, and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of tooth enamel. The dating samples were collected from the newly exposed and cleaned faces of the upper 7.5m of the ~14.0m-deep McBurney trench, which contain six of the seven major cultural phases that he identified. Despite problems of sediment transport and reworking, using a Bayesian statistical model the new dating program establishes a robust framework for the five major lithostratigraphic units identified in the stratigraphic succession, and for the major cultural units. The age of two anatomically modern human mandibles found by McBurney in Layer XXXIII near the base of his Levalloiso-Mousterian phase can now be estimated to between 73 and 65ka (thousands of years ago) at the 95.4% confidence level, within Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4. McBurney's Layer XXV, associated with Upper Palaeolithic Dabban blade industries, has a clear stratigraphic relationship with Campanian Ignimbrite tephra. Microlithic Oranian technologies developed following the climax of the Last Glacial Maximum and the more microlithic Capsian in the Younger Dryas. Neolithic pottery and perhaps domestic livestock were used in the cave from the mid Holocene but there is no certain evidence for plant cultivation until the Graeco-Roman period. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Redundancy and Workplace Occupation: The Case of the Republic of Ireland

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the antecedent influences and merits of workplace occupations as a tactical response to employer redundancy initiatives.

Design/methodology/approach – The data are based on analysis of secondary documentary material reporting on three workplace occupations in the Republic of Ireland during 2009.

Findings – Perceptions of both procedural (e.g. employer unilateral action) and substantive (e.g. pay and entitlements) justice appear pivotal influences. Spillover effects from other known occupations may also be influential. Workplace occupations were found to produce some modest substantive gains, such as enhancing redundancy payments. The tactic of workplace occupation was also found to transform unilateral employer action into scenarios based upon negotiated settlement supported by third-party mediation. However the tactic of workplace occupation in response to redundancy runs the risks of potential judicial injunction and sanction.

Research limitations/implications – Although operationally difficult, future studies should strive to collect primary data workplace occupations as they occur.

Originality/value – The paper identifies conditions conducive to the genesis of workplace occupations and the extent to which the tactic may be of benefit in particular circumstances to workers facing redundancy. It also contextualises the tactic in relation to both collective mobilisation and bargaining theories in employment relations.