Mitogenome of the Extinct Desert ‘Rat-Kangaroo’ Times the Adaptation to Aridity in Macropodoids

The evolution of Australia’s distinctive marsupial fauna has long been linked to the onset of continent-wide aridity. However, how this profound climate change event affected the diversification of extant lineages is still hotly debated. Here, we assemble a DNA sequence dataset of Macropodoidea — the clade comprising kangaroos and their relatives — that incorporates a complete mitogenome for the Desert ‘rat-kangaroo’, Caloprymnus campestris. This enigmatic species went extinct nearly 90 years ago and is known from a handful of museum specimens. Caloprymnus is significant because it was the only macropodoid restricted to extreme desert environments, and therefore calibrates the group’s specialisation for increasingly xeric conditions. Our robustly supported phylogenies nest Caloprymnus amongst the bettongs Aepyprymnus and Bettongia. Dated ancestral area optimisations further reveal that the Caloprymnus-Bettongia lineage originated in nascent arid zone settings from the later-middle to early-late Miocene, ~12 million years ago (Ma), but subsequently dispersed into mesic habitats during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. This coincides with ancestral divergences amongst kangaroos in disparate woodland-forest and shrubland settings, but predates their adaptive radiation into proliferating grasslands during the late Miocene to Pliocene, after ~7 Ma. We thus demonstrate that protracted changes in both climate and vegetation likely staged the emergence of modern arid zone macropodoids.

Career Transitions and Change

Over the last decade, the athlete’s career transition literature has shifted from a deterministic (or linear) to a probabilistic (nonlinear) perspective. Athletes’ careers can be perceived as a roller coaster ride, shaped by transitions (i.e., normative, nonnormative, quasi-normative, dual career, cultural, crisis), a change-event, appraisals, decision-making, coping, and environmental influences. Athletes can enjoy a fruitful and meaningful career as long as they positively adapt to the various transitional periods and changes encountered, potentially creating multiple career pathways. Furthermore, research has expanded to additional sport performers, including coaches and referees. Finally, the lives of sport performers have tremendously changed in the past decade as a result of the globalization process, social media, and migration, requiring career researchers to modify existing conceptualizations. This chapter, therefore, provides a critical examination of the recent developments in the career transition and change literature, mainly focusing on critical questions to be asked and a prospective view of this field.

The Influence of COVID-19 Lockdown on Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior and Social Support Specific to Physical Activity Among Belgian Adults

In Belgium, lockdown measures were taken to counter the spread of COVID-19. This major life-change event may disrupt a person's daily routine and influence health behaviors. Although measures were restrictive, citizens were encouraged to engage in physical activity (PA) behavior in order to maintain well-being. Social support specific to PA (SSPA) had been highlighted as an important psychosocial factor in initiating and/or maintaining active behavior. The main aims of this study were to explore the influence of COVID-19 lockdown on PA and sedentary behavior, and on SSPA from family and from friends; and investigate the potential differences in terms of professional status. An online survey was distributed during the 1st weeks of the lockdown. A total of 272 Belgian adults responded to the survey. The findings show no significant difference between prior to and during lockdown with regard to the amount of PA. The results show a significant increase in sedentary behavior among the entire sample, workers and retirees. The findings also suggest that the support of other individuals is particularly useful for certain population groups such as retirees. Given the importance of the levels of PA and sedentariness as health behaviors preceding a major life-change event such as a lockdown, there is a need to promote these health behaviors during normal life in order for the population to remain active throughout their lifespan.

A retrospective analysis of organizational change: A case study of Octaware Technologies

Purpose: The aim of this paper was to describe the change events as a case study in Octaware Technologies and analyze the change events utilizing the constructs of organizational development in order to get a better understanding of the change in an organization. Methodology: This study was conducted using a qualitative case study method to analyze the organizational change event in Octaware Technologies. Findings: The study revealed that the external environment of regulatory and economic change are the key drivers of organizational development in the company. The findings also highlighted that the organizational development of the company is demonstrated by its learning culture and outstanding management processes. Unique contribution to theory, practice, and policy: The results of the study make two contributions to the literature. First, the author sheds light on the underlying change that leads to the improvement of the specific construct of organizational development. Second, the author presented an empirically validated model conceptualized from a theoretical framework of organizational development.

Human impact and landscape changes between 3000 and 1000 BC on the Tropea Promontory (Calabria, Italy)

Pollen data were collected from a one-meter peat succession recovered from the top of the Tropea Promontory (Calabria), a territory continuously inhabited throughout Prehistory and Protohistory. The peat was deposited in a small pond/marsh that was gradually filled up. Six 14C dates allowed the peat growth to be constrained to between ca. 3000 and 1000 calBC. Considerable landscape and land use changes occurred in the area in that time interval, due to both environmental changes and intensive human activities. An open landscape with scattered oak woods characterized the high plain, whereas on the wet soils surrounding the marsh, wet woodlands ( Alnus), and hygrophilous vegetation (Cyperaceae) developed, their relative abundance being used to mark the local environmental evolution. The occurrence of different anthropogenic indicators reveals that the area was exploited for agricultural practices (cereal cultivation) and livestock grazing, the latter being the main activity practiced around the marsh between the Eneolithic (stable settlements) and the Early-Middle Bronze Age (seasonal presence). The possibility of climatic influence on the peat evolution was studied by comparisons with well-dated isotope records. The marsh contraction phase roughly coincides with the 4.2 ka calBP event, while the end of peat accumulation postdates the 3.0 ka calBP rapid climate change event.