Sites In Britain Research Articles

How did university departments interweave the Web: A study of connectivity and underlying factors

This paper presents two studies of the use of the WWW in Scottish universities and American land-grant universities. First, we investigated the relationship between the organisational profile of a university department in Scotland and its structural connectivity on the WWW. A Spearman rank order correlation analysis revealed a number of strong correlation relationships between structural connectivity measures and the organisational profile based on research assessment exercise ratings, teaching quality assessments, student–staff ratios and funding levels. Linkage patterns from 13 Scottish academic sites to commercial sites in Britain and America highlighted the impact of culture and the appropriateness of information technologies on the acceptance of the WWW. The second study is a content survey of WWW-based education activities in American land-grant universities to investigate successful applications of these enabling techniques in education. The two studies together highlighted cultural, political and technological interactions in the use of the WWW.

Increased abundance of the red admiral butterfly Vanessa atalanta in Britain: the roles of immigration, overwintering and breeding within the country

The migratory butterflyVanessa atalantaincreased in abundance at monitored sites in Britain from 1976 to 1996. Three possible causes of the increase are improved winter survival within Britain, greater breeding success within Britain, and increased immigration. Trends during most of the season were similar to those of immigrant or overwintered individuals in spring; thus the evidence does not support greater breeding success in Britain. As abundance in spring was not correlated with abundance in the previous autumn, when trend was taken into account, it seemed unlikely that overwintering in Britain was important. Thus the increase in abundance was probably due to increased immigration. Incidental to the main study, the mean index per site per year was closely correlated with the collated index, the usual measure of annual fluctuations. This agreement suggests that the mean index may be a useful check for trends in monitoring data for other wide‐ranging organisms.

Primeval health economics in Britain: a personal retrospect of the pre-HESG (Health Economists' Study Group) period.

There is a danger that the history of health economics in Britain comes to be regarded as roughly co-terminous with the history of the Health Economists' Study Group (HESG). As one of the founders of that Group, I would take some pride from that, if it were true. But it is not. Just as primitive human societies existed before recorded history, so there was primeval health economics in Britain prior to 1972. There is probably more of this primeval health economics than even I know about, but as one of the ancient relics of that period I have been offered the opportunity to reminisce about what I saw during those dark ages! When one reaches the advanced age of 70, there is no escaping the fact that your past is bound to be more extensive (and probably more enjoyable) than your future, which is why the old enjoy looking back more than they enjoy looking forward! I am no exception. Hence this essay, which may either be seen as a rather self-indulgent bout of nostalgia concerning the early days of health economics in Britain, or as an archaeological enterprise, exhibiting, for all to wonder at, the treasures to be found at carefully selected ancient (i.e., pre-HESG) sites in Britain. Either way, my purpose is to suggest that most of the fundamental issues with which health economists have grappled in the last 25 years had already been identified and addressed in a careful way during the decade preceding the formation of the HESG.

The molecular palaeoecology of geese: identification of archaeological goose remains using ancient DNA analysis

The remains of six species of geese are commonly recovered from archaeological sites in Britain dating from the Saxon and later periods. However, identification of this material to species level is hampered by a lack of morphological variation and a large overlap in size. To address this issue we obtained DNA sequence data for a section of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from modern samples of each species, and successfully identified several DNA markers for Branta species. No markers were found within the cytochrome b gene for the genus Anser. Ancient DNA techniques were then used to recover DNA from goose bones excavated from two archaeologi- cal sites. The DNA sequences enabled identification of Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) from one site and confirmed the presence of Anser species at another. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Devonian terrestrial arthropods from Gondwana

The origin of the most diverse terrestrial animal group, Atelocerata (myriapods and hexapods), is obscured by an incomplete fossil record1. Early (Silurian and Devonian) body fossils of terrestrial arthropods have been found only in Laurussia, with key sites in Britain and eastern North America2,3,4,5. Although trace fossil assemblages indicate the presence of various arthropods on land in Australia in the Silurian Period6, definite terrestrial arthropods have not been discovered in mid-Palaeozoic stages of the southern continents. Here I describe the first atelocerates from the Devonian stages of Gondwana; these are perhaps the earliest known remains of Australian land animals. The fossils comprise two closely related myriapod species of the genus Maldybulakia, first identified from Kazakhstan7,8. They add substantially to our knowledge of the anatomy of this problematic arthropod, and illustrate the widespread distribution of parts of the Devonian terrestrial fauna. A clade including Maldybulakia is distinct within the Myriapoda at a high taxonomic level. The existence of Maldybulakia and the extinct classes Arthropleuridea and Kampecarida9, with centipedes and millipedes, indicates the high class-level diversity of myriapods in the Devonian.

Greenfields and “wildebeests”: management strategies and labour turnover in Japanese firms in Telford

This article examines the nature of industrial relations and work practices in Japanese firms within an investment cluster in Telford, Shropshire. Telford has the highest concentration of Japanese firms in one site in Britain. The article examines how conditions which were supposedly favourable to the transfer of Japanese production and personnel practices ‐ a new town, offering greenfield investment opportunities within a quiescent industrial relations environment ‐ actually did not facilitate ease of transfer. Rather, we suggest that problems within the labour market, including the very absence of trade unions as a collective voice for expressing workers’ grievances, created conditions unfavourable to the transplantation of Japanese work and personnel practices.

The state of large earthwork sites in the United Kingdom

The management of earthwork sites and their protection from erosion is a constant problem. Here Kevin Jones assesses methods and materials used on archaeological sites in Britain. It is essential to find compatible, economic land uses for most earthworks but this use should not lead to diminished expectations of good protection and historic interpretation.

Further parameters of insight and neuropsychological deficit in schizophrenia and other chronic mental disease.

Evidence has begun to accumulate which suggests that lack of awareness of illness in schizophrenia is related to and possibly the result of a cognitive deficit involving prefrontal cerebral dysfunction. This study further explores this relationship along with other domains of self-awareness in chronic schizophrenics and other subjects with serious mental disorders. One hundred eight schizophrenics and 21 bipolar subjects from three separate sites in Britain, Germany, and Canada were administered the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and three measures of self-awareness. Lack of illness awareness and other domains of self-knowledge were significantly more related to poorer neuropsychological performance in schizophrenia patients than in the other subjects. The results support the hypothesis that lack of illness awareness is related to defective frontal lobe functioning as indexed by neuropsychological measures.

The impact of Rhinanthus spp. on sward productivity and composition: Implications for the restoration of species-rich grasslands

The impact of parasitic angiosperms of the genus Rhinanthus on grassland productivity and floristic composition was monitored at five sites in Britain and N. Italy. A combination of non-intervention and perturbation studies were used to detect differences in the yield and community composition of swards in the presence and absence of Rhinanthus spp. Productivity was found to be consistently lower in areas where Rhinanthus was present. The degree of suppression ranged between 8 and 73%, and was found to be positively correlated with site productivity. Community composition differed significantly between parasite infected and uninfected regions of the sward, the most notable differences being a decline in the proportion of grasses, and a concomitant increase in the proportion of dicotyledons, in the presence of the parasite. The results are discussed in relation to the use of Rhinanthus spp. as management tools for the restoration of species-rich grasslands. The practicalities associated with this option are considered.

Mineralogy and weathering processes in historical smelting slags and their effect on the mobilisation of lead

The mineralogy and weathering of historical lead slags and contaminated soils from five historical smelting sites in Britain were examined using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). Slags were found to be highly heterogeneous materials, dominated by calcium and barium compounds and a variety of lead phases. In this preliminary study, evidence was found which indicates that an unstable di-calcium silicate phase (Ca 2 SiO 4 : H 2O) may be one of the first to breakdown during weathering. Air and water will then penetrate the slag structure, facilitating further weathering and the release of lead into the soil. The weathering of this di-calcium silicate, and other Ca compounds present in the slags, may be responsible for elevating the pH in the upper soil layers at the study sites. This appears to have pramoted the precipitation of Pb mainly as cerussite (PbCO 3), although other weathering products have been noted at particular sites, such as the adsorption of Pb onto Fe/Mn oxides. Formation of these weathering products may have slowed the downward migration of the lead at the study sites.

Phenology of migration and use of wintering sites by the increasing population of dark‐bellied brent geese Branta bernicla bernicla

During the recovery of the population of dark‐bellied brent geese Branta bernicla bernicla, traditional wintering sites in Britain have experienced increases in numbers and new sites have been colonized. Goose counts were used to describe the migration phenology and winter use of Scolt Head, north Norfolk (a traditional site) and the Burry Inlet, South Wales (a relatively new site) over the period of re‐colonization and colonization, respectively. During the 1950s, only a few hundred birds wintered at Scolt Head, and most stayed for only a short period. By the late 1980s/early 1990s, numbers had reached several thousands, their period of stay was longer and there was little variation between years in median arrival (28 October) and departure (11 March) dates. A similar process was observed during the entire colonization phase at the Burry Inlet; initially birds arrived late and departed early, but arrived progressively earlier and departed later as wintering numbers increased. The autumn arrival rates at both sites were slower than the spring departure rates. During years of good breeding productivity, those adults with young arrived slightly later in Norfolk than failed breeders and non‐breeders, and a higher proportion of young birds remained in spring after the main departure. However, the overall pattern of arrival and departure did not vary according to whether there had been a good or poor breeding season. Some adults of breeding age also remained until May. The effects of food depletion and use of novel feeding habitats in relation to migration phenology and winter use of sites are discussed.

Forms and rates of release of 137Cs in two peat soils

SummaryCation exchange resin saturated with H+ and Ca2+ was used to extract 137Cs from peat soil at two sites in Britain affected by l37Cs deposition following the Chernobyl accident. The technique identified three classes of 137Cs, similar to those observed for K+ in soils: ‘Fast’, ‘Intermediate’ and ‘Slow’. These classes are probably related to the selectivity for 137Cs of the cation exchange sites on the organic matter and the clay minerals, and to the structure of the soil. With one exception, most 137Cs was in the ‘Slow’ form and was only very slowly released to the resins, if at all. However, there was enough l37Cs in the ‘Fast’ and ‘Intermediate’ forms to contaminate pasture and thus grazing animals for some years. Based on the resin technique, it is estimated that contamination will persist for several decades in uplands contaminated at these activity concentrations.

Ancient and modern occurrences of common fig (Ficus carica L.) in the British isles

Knowledge of the reproductive biology of the common fig ( Ficus carica) is essential for the interpretation of present and past occurrences of pips from archaeological layers as well as for understanding the status of trees, cultivated or wild. Only parthenocarpic varieties ripen figs in Britain and these cannot produce fertile pips. Common figs growing wild in Britain all come from pips from imported figs, often figs that had been eaten and the pips evacuated. There are many discoveries of pips from Roman and later urban and military sites in Britain. These pips too were derived from imported figs and not from locally cultivated trees. There is no proof that the Romans grew common fig in Britain and the earliest documentary evidence of cultivation is as late as the 15th century A.D.

Xylem cavitation in two mature Scots pine forests growing in a wet and a dry area of Britain

ABSTRACTThe xylem cavitation rate, stem water content, stomatal conductance and leaf water potential of mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were compared over a period of 18 months at two sites in Britain where trees were planted from the same seed source. The sites were at Thetford in south‐east England, where the climate is relatively warm and dry (average rainfall of 600mm per year), and Aberfoyle in central Scotland, where it is relatively cool and wet (average rainfall of 1500 mm year−1). In the first year of study (1992) the natural difference between the sites was amplified by a severe drought affecting south‐east England. Acoustic emissions (as a result of cavitation) were detected at both sites, but were not an everyday occurrence, and rates depended on short‐term meteorological variation. The relative water content (RWC) of the trunk at breast height at Thetford was significantly lower than at Aberfoyle, and declined in parallel with increasing severity of drought. Following the release from drought a gradual increase in RWC was found, but the pre‐drought RWC was not attained. The same xylem water potential gradient and stomatal conductance was found at the two sites; but on a diurnal basis, as water potential declined, cavitation rates increased. There was no difference in vulnerability to cavitation or in hydraulic conductance between the sites.

Behaviour of female and pup grey seals Halichoerus grypus during the breeding period at Froan, Norway

We studied the behaviour of grey seals, Halichoerus grypus, during the breeding period at Froan, Norway, and compared our findings with existing studies on grey seals at breeding sites in Britain and Canada. The pups at Froan spent more time in water than pups at other breeding sites. While on‐shore, the pups at Froan spent most of their time resting, behaviour similar to pups at other breeding sites. Lactating females at Froan spent most of their time in the sea, thus differing from females at most other breeding sites which spend most of their time on‐shore. While in the sea, the females at Froan spent most time diving, typically interrupted by regular periods of surface swimming.

Archaeomagnetism: An Error Assessment of Fired Material Observations in the British Directional Database.

The direction of the geomagnetic field in Britain is now moderately well established for the last 2, 000 year based on analyses of the directions of magnetic remanence isolated at some 466 archaeological sites in Britain and parts of N.E. France. The vast majority of these observations are of fired, in situ archaeological materials, with only 21 site observations being based on sediments. Most of these findings are only available in virtually inaccessible field reports and theses, or similar such publications, so the summary mean site British values have been placed into a database; this has then been extended to include may directional observations on a global basis. These data are now available as Dbase and Access databases, as well as in ASCII form. It is hoped that such data will enable more detailed secular variation studies to be undertaken and encourage other workers to add their observations to this database, particularly those that may otherwise be observed scatter with that expected from archaeomagnetic, geomagnetic and archaeological site sources suggest that the precision of the mean direction is only a partial estimate of the total error, evaluated as being of the order of ±5° for any given site that may have taken place after the last heating. There is also clear evidence for invalid age assignments in some of the published data but increasing archaeomagnetic data are now enabling such errors to be re-evaluated and the technique is thus improving as more data accumulate.

Woodland small mammal population ecology in Britain: a preliminary review of the Mammal Society survey of Wood Mice Apodemus sylvaticus and Bank Voles Clethrionomys glareolus, 1982–87

AbstractThe Mammal Society has co‐ordinated a population survey of Wood Mice Apodemus sylvaticus and Bank Voles Clethrionomys glareolus in 13 0.81 ‐hectare sites in Britain. Numbers of mice and voles live‐trapped using standard methods were collated every May/June and November/December from 1982 to 1987. The data were analysed with results from four independent studies in England and the corresponding assessments of tree seed crop size. Wood Mouse numbers are usually higher in winter than in summer but Bank Vole fluctuations are less regular. In deciduous woodland, Wood Mouse mean relative densities are significantly greater in the winter and the following summer after a good seed crop than after a poor one; rates of population change from summer to winter are significantly higher when a good seed crop falls. Bank Vole relative densities are significantly greater in the summer following a good seed crop than after a poor one, and rates of change from winter to summer are significantly higher. In Wood Mouse populations, tests for density dependence suggest that it is strong from summer to winter but absent from winter to summer; in Bank Voles weaker density dependence is present in both halves of the year. Thus, Wood Mouse numbers are regulated in autumn but are also influenced by seed crop size in winter and the following summer; Bank Vole numbers are less strongly regulated during both autumn and spring and are influenced by seed crop size in the following summer. Evidence is presented suggesting that populations of each species in deciduous woodlands are synchronized over the country in summer and that Wood Mice are also synchronized in winter; highs and lows tend to coincide between different sites. The yield of tree seed is shown to vary significantly from year to year and may be the cause of the synchrony, but weather effects may also be involved.

COIN SCALES IN LATE PRE‐ROMAN IRON AGE BRITAIN

SummaryA survey of excavation reports for sixty‐one LPRIA sites in Britain reveals five ‘fine’ balances and objects possibly representing seven more. This paper describes the scales and discusses their use in Iron Age Britain.

Management of conifer plantations for the conservation of stream macroinvertebrates

Conifer plantations are a major land use in the British uplands and an important influence on stream ecosystems. This paper evaluates the effects of four types of plantation management on stream macroinvertebrates across 66 sites in Britain. CON sites had mature conifers up to the stream edge; in CLR sites the conifers had been clear-felled in a ‘buffer strip’ on either side of the stream; MOR sites had unplanted moorland buffer strips or were entirely in moorland; BRD sites had broadleaf buffer strips or were entirely in broadleaf woodland. In stream riffles and margins, invertebrates were collected by timed kick samples and the physical habitat structure was surveyed. Previous analyses showed that CON and BRD streams had rocky (=‘hard’) margins with tree roots, MOR streams had the most vegetation in the margins (=‘soft’) and CLR streams were intermediate. In this study, taxon occurrences were most frequently related to stream acidity, which was not significantly different between these management groups. CON sites had comparatively low abundances of 12 families which were usually most abundant at MOR sites and intermediate at CLR and BRD sites. For Leptophlebiidae, Dytiscidae and Hydrophilidae differential abundance between management groups corresponded with a preference for soft marginal habitats. Perlidae, Helodidae and Philopotamidae favoured hard margins and tended to be most abundant in BRD streams. Few differences in abundance between management groups were significant at the species level. Despite an overriding influence of stream acidity, a number of taxa were influenced by forest management. Our data indicated that different management techniques can generate a range of habitat types necessary to support different invertebrate taxa.

Impacts of sulphur and nitrogen deposition on sites and species of nature conservation importance in Great Britain

A significant proportion of important nature conservation sites in Britain are subject to rates of deposition of sulphur and/or nitrogen which may perturb their ecology. This paper reviews studies of some of the effects of such pollutants on woodlands, upland and lowland heaths, and freshwaters. The weight of evidence shows that acidic deposition is causing damage on many sites which receive statutory protection. Many affected communities occur in areas where critical loads for H + and S are exceeded, and would remain so even after implementation of current targets for reducing pollution. Little can be done on site to prevent such damage; conservation interests will best be protected by consideration of ecological data in the formulation of strategies for major reductions in emissions.