scholarly journals Demographic shifts, inter-group contact, and environmental conditions drive language extinction and diversification

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Tulio Pacheco Coelho1 ◽  
Hannah J. Haynie ◽  
Claire Bowern ◽  
Robert K Colwell ◽  
Simon J. Greenhill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Constraints ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Group Contact ◽  
Demographic Shifts ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Size Limits ◽  
Random Shocks

Humans currently collectively use thousands of languages1,2. The number of languages in a given region (i.e. language “richness”) varies widely3–7. Understanding the processes of diversification and homogenization that produce these patterns has been a fundamental aim of linguistics and anthropology. Empirical research to date has identified various social, environmental, geographic, and demographic factors associated with language richness3. However, our understanding of causal mechanisms and variation in their effects over space has been limited by prior analyses focusing on correlation and assuming stationarity3,8. Here we use process-based, spatially-explicit stochastic models to simulate the emergence, expansion, contraction, fragmentation, and extinction of language ranges. We varied combinations of parameter settings in these computer-simulated experiments to evaluate the extent to which different processes reproduce observed patterns of pre-colonial language richness in North America. We find that the majority of spatial variation in language richness can be explained by models in which environmental and social constraints determine population density, random shocks alter population sizes more frequently at higher population densities, and population shocks are more frequently negative than positive. Language diversification occurs when populations split after reaching size limits, and when ranges fragment due to population contractions following negative shocks or due to contact with other groups that are expanding following positive shocks. These findings support diverse theoretical perspectives arguing that language richness is shaped by environmental and social conditions, constraints on group sizes, outcomes of contact among groups, and shifting demographics driven by positive innovations, such as new subsistence strategies, or negative events, such as war or disease.

scholarly journals Lessons learned from comparing spatially explicit models and the Partners in Flight approach to estimate population sizes of boreal birds in Alberta, Canada

The Condor ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Sólymos ◽  
Judith D Toms ◽  
Steven M Matsuoka ◽  
Steven G Cumming ◽  
Nicole K S Barker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Population Estimates ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Species Variation ◽  
Detection Distance ◽  
Spatially Explicit Models ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Partners In Flight

Abstract Estimating the population abundance of landbirds is a challenging task complicated by the amount, type, and quality of available data. Avian conservationists have relied on population estimates from Partners in Flight (PIF), which primarily uses roadside data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). However, the BBS was not designed to estimate population sizes. Therefore, we set out to compare the PIF approach with spatially explicit models incorporating roadside and off-road point-count surveys. We calculated population estimates for 81 landbird species in Bird Conservation Region 6 in Alberta, Canada, using land cover and climate as predictors. We also developed a framework to evaluate how the differences between the detection distance, time-of-day, roadside count, and habitat representation adjustments explain discrepancies between the 2 estimators. We showed that the key assumptions of the PIF population estimator were commonly violated in this region, and that the 2 approaches provided different population estimates for most species. The average differences between estimators were explained by differences in the detection-distance and time-of-day components, but these adjustments left much unexplained variation among species. Differences in the roadside count and habitat representation components explained most of the among-species variation. The variation caused by these factors was large enough to change the population ranking of the species. The roadside count bias needs serious attention when roadside surveys are used to extrapolate over off-road areas. Habitat representation bias is likely prevalent in regions sparsely and non-representatively sampled by roadside surveys, such as the boreal region of North America, and thus population estimates for these regions need to be treated with caution for certain species. Additional sampling and integrated modeling of available data sources can contribute towards more accurate population estimates for conservation in remote areas of North America.

scholarly journals Population size impacts host–pathogen coevolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1965) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Papkou ◽  
Rebecca Schalkowski ◽  
Mike-Christoph Barg ◽  
Svenja Koepper ◽  
Hinrich Schulenburg
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Finite Population ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Small Populations ◽  
Selection Dynamics ◽  
Host Pathogen ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Size Limits ◽  
Efficiency Of Selection

Ongoing host–pathogen interactions are characterized by rapid coevolutionary changes forcing species to continuously adapt to each other. The interacting species are often defined by finite population sizes. In theory, finite population size limits genetic diversity and compromises the efficiency of selection owing to genetic drift, in turn constraining any rapid coevolutionary responses. To date, however, experimental evidence for such constraints is scarce. The aim of our study was to assess to what extent population size influences the dynamics of host–pathogen coevolution. We used Caenorhabditus elegans and its pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis as a model for experimental coevolution in small and large host populations, as well as in host populations which were periodically forced through a bottleneck. By carefully controlling host population size for 23 host generations, we found that host adaptation was constrained in small populations and to a lesser extent in the bottlenecked populations. As a result, coevolution in large and small populations gave rise to different selection dynamics and produced different patterns of host–pathogen genotype-by-genotype interactions. Our results demonstrate a major influence of host population size on the ability of the antagonists to co-adapt to each other, thereby shaping the dynamics of antagonistic coevolution.

scholarly journals Design Is How We Change the World! Can We Do It in Socially, Environmentally and Economically Acceptable Ways? Synthesizing Design Tools for This Utopian Concept

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam ◽  
Abbas Seifi ◽  
Jamshid Mousavi
Keyword(s):  
Value Systems ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Hard Constraints ◽  
Design For Sustainability ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
Global Impacts ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Circular Design

Since the beginning, humans advanced their civilization by making better tools to improve their lives. Tools and products for better living were designed considering engineering (manufacturing) issues and cost (time and money as predominant criteria). It has become clear that not considering environment and society, both at local/global levels, has now become a major impediment affecting living conditions of large parts of earth and society. Design methodologies should lead to creative solutions considering engineering and economics for practicality but also environmental and social constraints for longevity. We propose a comprehensive design methodology based on multidisciplinary design for including the knowledge of humanities, and science and engineering and allowing for experts from these areas to provide various necessary inputs. For example, experts in humanities are expected to interact with stakeholders to evaluate their value systems to provide guidance for the design. The methodology that we synthesize is new and combines (i) Societal level impacts at all scales, (ii) Environmental impacts and (iii) Engineering design with economic impacts, including the consideration of uncertainties. The proposed Social-Environmental-Economical-Engineering-based-design Framework (SEEEF) can utilize tools such as circular design, donut economics, design based on environmental life cycle analysis, among others. SEEEF is quantity based and provide steps for evaluating any project or product in an objective manner and will help train engineers in design for sustainability and provide non-engineers a significant role in design and to increase their understanding of the hard constraints of engineering. Ultimately, SEEEF allows society to take an informed decision considering short/long term and local/global impacts much of which are affected by uncertainty.

Theoretical frameworks for understanding and predicting changes in hydrology and society 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc F. Müller ◽  
Maria Rusca ◽  
Ellis Adams ◽  
Maura Allaire ◽  
Günter Blöschl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Structure ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Engineering Sciences ◽  
Multiple Characteristics ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Future Work

<p>Coupled human water systems (CWHS) are distinctive in their diversity. Humans both affect and are affected by water across multiple, and sometimes interacting spatial, temporal, management and governance scales. These relationships pertain to multiple characteristics of both the human (e.g., culture, institutions, historical processes, power relations, and economic incentives) and water (e.g., abundance, scarcity, quality) components of CWHS. Changes in any of these characteristics might ripple through CWHSs to affect key societal outcomes, such as the distribution of hydrological risk and access to water and sanitation. The complexity of understanding and predicting hydrological and social changes lies in the fact that there are multiple, interwoven CHWS, each of which has been examined through a variety of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. <br>This chapter synthesizes existing CHWS frameworks across the social, environmental and engineering sciences. We first propose a typology for the CHWS themselves by identifying both their defining and differentiating characteristics. We then develop a typology for the frameworks used to study them, based on philosophical perspectives and methodological approaches. We then identify promising approaches (what “worked”) and outstanding gaps for future work on CHWS. Finally, we leverage the two previously defined typologies to propose a general structure around which to synthesize knowledge in the subsequent topical chapters of the book. </p>

scholarly journals Design Is How We Change the World! Can We Do It in Socially, Environmentally and Economically Acceptable Ways? Synthesizing Design Tools for This Utopian Concept

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam ◽  
Abbas Seifi ◽  
Jamshid Mousavi
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Hard Constraints ◽  
Design For Sustainability ◽  
Global Impacts ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Circular Design

Since the beginning, humans advanced their civilization by making better tools to improve their lives. Tools and products were designed for better living considering manufacturing issues, cost and time as predominant criteria. It has become clear that not considering environment and society, both at local/global levels, has now become a major impediment affecting living conditions on a large portion of the Earth and in many societies. Design methodologies should lead to creative solutions with consideration to engineering and economics for practicality but also to environmental and social constraints for sustainability. We propose a comprehensive design methodology based on multidisciplinary design to include the knowledge of humanities, environmentalists, science and engineering, and allowing for experts’ inputs from these areas to provide a holistic approach to engineering design . For example, experts in humanities are expected to interact with stakeholders to evaluate their value systems to provide guidance for the design. The methodology that we synthesize is new and combines (i) Societal level impacts at all scales, (ii) Environmental impacts and (iii) Engineering design with economic impacts, including uncertainty considerations. The proposed design methodology is called Social-Environmental-Economical-Engineering Framework (SEEEF). It can utilize concepts and tools such as Circular Design, Doughnut Economics, design based on environmental life cycle analysis, among others. SEEEF is quantity based and provides steps for evaluating any project or product in an objective manner and will help train engineers in design for sustainability. It also provides non-engineers with a significant role in design to increase their understanding of the hard constraints of engineering. Ultimately, SEEEF allows society to take an informed decision considering short/long term and local/global impacts of the design and the pertinent uncertainties.

scholarly journals Flyktige rom og tynne steder: En transnasjonal og spatial analyse av pentekostale migrantmenigheter i Norge

2020 ◽  
pp. 67-92
Author(s):  
Stian Sørlie Eriksen
Keyword(s):  
Space And Place ◽  
Transnational Networks ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Societal Transformation ◽  
Place And Space ◽  
Migrant Communities ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
Religious Landscape ◽  
Shed Light

This article discusses sociocultural and theological aspects related to space and place for Christian migrants and Pentecostal migrant churches in Norway. The article addresses how Christian migrants and migrant congregations relate to and produce dimensions of place and space within their migratory contexts, drawing from contextual examples and theoretical perspectives on space and place. Thus, spatial perspectives provide frameworks for discussing issues of belonging, religious discourses, and spirituality with regard to the migrant communities themselves, in the wider religious landscape, and in society. In particular, we ask how experiences of spatial and social constraints help shed light on how migrants and migrant churches seek to make home in new contexts. This also relates to how these migrants and churches navigate within the translocal, symbolic and virtual landscapes of Pentecostal transnational networks. Finally, the article addresses spatial dimensions of these churches and networks’ aims to bring about spiritual and societal transformation.

Common octopus settled in human-altered Mediterranean coastal waters: from individual home range to population dynamics

2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 585-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Arechavala-Lopez ◽  
M Minguito-Frutos ◽  
G Follana-Berná ◽  
M Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Specific Growth ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Mortality Probability ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Capture Recapture ◽  
Scr Model

Abstract A spatially explicit capture-recapture (SCR) model was applied to estimate simultaneously population parameters and individual activity (i.e. home range size) of O. vulgaris, based on experimental mark-recapture data in a human-altered Mediterranean coastal area. Seventy-two octopuses were captured, tagged with subcutaneous PIT-tags and released. Nineteen tagged individuals were recaptured (recapture rate: 26.4%) in the same area over the study period, which spanned over 6 months. Population sizes and densities decreased over the study period, from 337 octopuses (8 ind. ha−1) in September-October to 105 octopuses (2.5 ind. ha−1) in February-March. The highest recruitment probability was estimated to occur at the beginning of the study but it clearly decreased over time, while mortality probability during a fishing period slightly increased. Mean specific growth rate was 0.82 ± 0.11 day−1. Individual home range or activity area ranged from 2.8 ha to 7.3 ha (median home range radius: 121.8 m). Overall, these results suggest that human-altered coastal habitats, which are characterized by abundant shelters, abundant food and absence of predators, can act as settlement and growth areas for juveniles and adults of O. vulgaris. Furthermore, the methodologies applied in this study are recommended as innovative tools to improve management actions of coastal resources.

The Evolution of Music Therapy

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-221
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Mastnak
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Evidence Based Medicine ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Modern Music ◽  
Guided Imagery And Music ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
International Importance ◽  
Evolution Of Music ◽  
Based Medicine

Abstract. Five overlapping eras or stages can be distinguished in the evolution of music therapy. The first one refers to the historical roots and ethnological sources that have influenced modern meta-theoretical perspectives and practices. The next stage marks the heterogeneous origins of modern music therapy in the 20th century that mirror psychological positions and novel clinical ideas about the healing power of music. The subsequent heyday of music therapeutic models and schools of thought yielded an enormous variety of concepts and methods such as Nordoff–Robbins music therapy, Orff music therapy, analytic music therapy, regulatory music therapy, guided imagery and music, sound work, etc. As music therapy gained in international importance, clinical applications required research on its therapeutic efficacy. According to standards of evidence-based medicine and with regard to clearly defined diagnoses, research on music therapeutic practice was the core of the fourth stage of evolution. The current stage is characterized by the emerging epistemological dissatisfaction with the paradigmatic reductionism of evidence-based medicine and by the strong will to discover the true healing nature of music. This trend has given birth to a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary hermeneutics for novel foundations of music therapy. Epigenetics, neuroplasticity, regulatory and chronobiological sciences, quantum physical philosophies, universal harmonies, spiritual and religious views, and the cultural anthropological phenomenon of esthetics and creativity have become guiding principles. This article should not be regarded as a historical treatise but rather as an attempt to identify theoretical landmarks in the evolution of modern music therapy and to elucidate the evolution of its spirit.

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