Pile-dwellings of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age in Switzerland. Long-term research and future tasks

Swiss lake-side settlements dating between 4300 and 800 BC were first recognized in the early 19th century and between 1854 and 1880 early research boomed due to the first scientific studies and the artificial lowering of lakes in Western Switzerland. In the 20th century underwater and wetland archaeology experienced an enormous surge not only because of large rescue excavations, due to extensive motorway construction projects but also due to the evolution of modern IT technology in the 1970s. For the first time huge quantities of ancient wooden structures could be dated by dendrochronology. This produced a quantum leap in the 150 years of pile-dwelling research. In 2011, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee recognized the outstanding universal value of these sites. This article presents an overview about Swiss pile-dwellings of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age and the results of two recent diploma works (case study Sutz-Lattrigen Haupstation innen and case study Seedorf Lobsigensee) as examples of research and cooperation between universities and government agencies for cultural heritage management.

A synthesis of long-term research by the Florida Coastal Everglades LTER Program

This paper synthesizes research conducted during the first 5–6 years of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research Program (FCE LTER). My objectives are to review our research to date, and to present a new central theme and conceptual approach for future research. Our research has focused on understanding how dissolved organic matter (DOM) from upstream oligotrophic marshes interacted with a marine source of the limiting nutrient, phosphorus (P), to control productivity in the oligohaline estuarine ecotone. We have been working along freshwater to marine transects in two drainage basins located in Everglades National Park (ENP). The Shark River Slough transect (SRS) has a direct connection to the Gulf of Mexico, providing this estuarine ecotone with a source of marine P. The oligohaline ecotone along our southern Everglades transect (TS/Ph), however, is separated from this marine P source by the Florida Bay estuary. We originally hypothesized an ecosystem productivity peak in the SRS ecotone, driven by the interaction of marine P and Everglades DOM, but no such productivity peak in the TS/Ph ecotone because of this lack of marine P. Our research to date has tended to show the opposite pattern, however, with many ecosystem components showing enhanced productivity in the TS/Ph ecotone, but not in the SRS ecotone. Water column P concentrations followed a similar pattern, with unexpectedly high P in the TS/Ph ecotone during the dry season. Our organic geochemical research has shown that Everglades DOM is more refractory than originally hypothesized. We have also begun to understand the importance of detrital organic matter production and transport to ecotone dynamics and as the base of aquatic food webs. Our future research will build on this substantial body of knowledge about these oligotrophic estuaries. We will direct our efforts more strongly on biophysical dynamics in the oligohaline ecotone regions. Specifically, we will be focusing on inputs to these regions from four primary water sources: freshwater Everglades runoff, net precipitation, marine inputs, and groundwater. We are hypothesizing that dry season groundwater inputs of P will be particularly important to TS/Ph ecotone dynamics because of longer water residence times in this area. Our organic geochemical, biogeochemical, and ecosystem energetics work will focus more strongly on the importance of detrital organics and will take advantage of a key Everglades Restoration project, scheduled for 2008 or 2009, that will increase freshwater inputs to our SRS transect only. Finally, we will also begin to investigate the human dimensions of restoration, and of a growing population in south Florida that will become increasingly dependent on the Everglades for critical ecosystem services (including fresh water) even as its growth presents challenges to Everglades sustainability.

Long-Term Oceanographic and Ecological Research in the Western English Channel

Long-term research in the western English Channel, undertaken by the marine laboratories in Plymouth, is described and details of survey methods, sites, and time series given in this chapter. Major findings are summarized and their limitations outlined. Current research, with recent reestablishment and expansion of many sampling programmes, is presented, and possible future approaches are indicated. These unique long-term data sets provide an environmental baseline for predicting complex ecological responses to local, regional, and global environmental change. Between 1888 and the present, investigations have been carried out into the physical, chemical, and biological components (ranging from plankton and fish to benthic and intertidal assemblages) of the western English Channel ecosystem. The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom has performed the main body of these observations. More recent contributions come from the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey, now the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, dating from 1957; the Institute for Marine Environmental Research, from 1974 to 1987; and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, which was formed by amalgamation of the Institute for Marine Environmental Research and part of the Marine Biological Association, from 1988. Together, these contributions constitute a unique data series; one of the longest and most comprehensive samplings of environmental and marine biological variables in the world. Since the termination of many of these time series in 1987-1988 during a reorganisation of UK marine research, there has been a resurgence of interest in long-term environmental change. Many programmes have been restarted and expanded with support from several agencies. The observations span significant periods of warming (1921-1961; 1985-present) and cooling (1962-1980). During these periods of change, the abundance of key species underwent dramatic shifts. The first period of warming saw changes in zooplankton, pelagic fish, and larval fish, including the collapse of an important herring fishery. During later periods of change, shifts in species abundances have been reflected in other assemblages, such as the intertidal zone and the benthic fauna. Many of these changes appear to be related to climate, manifested as temperature changes, acting directly or indirectly. The hypothesis that climate is a forcing factor is widely supported today and has been reinforced by recent studies that show responses of marine organisms to climatic attributes such as the strength of the North Atlantic Oscillation. The long-term data also yield important insights into the effects of anthropogenic disturbances such as fisheries exploitation and pollution. Comparison of demersal fish hauls over time highlights fisheries effects not only on commercially important species but also on the entire demersal community. The effects of acute ("Torrey Canyon" oil spill) and chronic (tributyltin [TBT] antifoulants) pollution are clearly seen in the intertidal records. Significant advances in diverse scientific disciplines have been generated from research undertaken alongside the long-term data series.

Surprises and Insights from Long-Term Aquatic Data Sets and Experiments

long-term research on freshwater ecosystems provides insights that can be difficult to obtain from other approaches. Widespread monitoring of ecologically relevant water-quality parameters spanning decades can facilitate important tests of ecological principles. Unique long-term data sets and analytical tools are increasingly available, allowing for powerful and synthetic analyses across sites. long-term measurements or experiments in aquatic systems can catch rare events, changes in highly variable systems, time-lagged responses, cumulative effects of stressors, and biotic responses that encompass multiple generations. Data are available from formal networks, local to international agencies, private organizations, various institutions, and paleontological and historic records; brief literature surveys suggest much existing data are not synthesized. Ecological sciences will benefit from careful maintenance and analyses of existing long-term programs, and subsequent insights can aid in the design of effective future long-term experimental and observational efforts. long-term research on freshwaters is particularly important because of their value to humanity.

Meteorological and hydrologic studies in the Alaskan Arctic in support of long-term ecological research

Long-term hydrologic studies in the Arctic simply do not exist. Although the Arctic has been identified as an area that is extremely sensitive to climate change, continuous scientific research has been limited to the past seven years. Earlier research was spotty, of short duration, and directed at only one or two hydrologic elements. Immediate future research needs to encompass all the major hydrologic elements, including winter processes, and needs to address the problem of scaling from small to larger areas in hydrologic models. Also, an international program of cooperation between northern countries is needed to build a greater scientific base for monitoring and identifying potential changes wrought by the climate.

Identifying research priorities in long term care homes

Concerns about the quality of care in long term care (LTC) homes range from inadequate daily care to understaffing and insufficient funding. LTC decision makers are challenged to keep up with the changing demographics of residents admitted to LTC who have increasingly complex care needs. Decisions regarding LTC policies and procedures need to be informed by research that identifies the most effective and efficient care practices.This study solicited feedback from LTC decision makers in Ontario, Canada, regarding research priorities to guide improvement in the quality of care in LTC homes. Representatives from 134 LTC homes responded (53.6% response rate). Nine thematic areas of research were identified: delivery of care; staffing; organization and structure of homes; funding; indicators, standards, policies, and procedures; managing difficult behaviors; education; safety; and infectious disease control. It is anticipated that these themes will steer research down a path that is responsive to the information needs of practitioners in LTC homes. © 2012 American Medical Directors Association, Inc.

Role and potential influence of technologies on the most relevant challenges for long-term care. ENEPRI Research Report No. 113, 26 June 2012

This report considers three case studies (namely diabetes, dementia and obesity) for setting up a framework to assess the systemic influences of technologies in the long-term care milieu, using a problem-driven approach in relation to health care. Such technologies could be an enabling factor or a catalyser of advances taking place in the health and social sectors. They offer opportunities to support and amplify relevant organisational changes in the context of innovative care models, which stem from overall policies and regulations of a national or regional jurisdiction to address the future sustainability of health and social care.

Technological Solutions Potentially Influencing the Future of Long-Term Care. ENEPRI Research Report No. 114, April 2012

This report provides a forecast of the potential direct and indirect influences of various kinds of technologies on the LTC milieu, answering the following question: from a technology-driven perspective: “Consider each technological solution. What could be its future usage in the LTC sector?” Future technological deployments will induce changes in the respective roles of the care recipient and of the formal and informal carers, with an impact on three major concerns: the transformation of the care recipient into a proactive subject, the augmented potentiality for home care and the new functions that informal carers could assume.

Mobilidades Urbanas - Brevíssimas notas sobre o projeto 'Emerging Middle Classes and Low Carbon Mobilities: Setting long term foundations for transnational research'

Em uma conjuntura de expansão urbana, intensificação do consumo, mudança climática e escassez de petróleo, o tema das mobilidades assume inquestionável importância econômica, social e ambiental. O seminário internacional "Mobilidades Urbanas: Alicerces para Pesquisas Transnacionais" volta-se, por um lado, para a fomentação do debate em torno do paradigma das novas mobilidades - envolvendo mobilidade espacial e socioeconômica, entre outras - e de sua aplicabilidade no contexto brasileiro; por outro, para a capacitação de pesquisadores cujas investigações tematizam os processos de mobilidade social e espacial a partir de perspectivas comparativas e transnacionais.