Thomas L. Brodie
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195138368
- eISBN:
- 9780199834037
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195138368.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
In contrast with the documentary theory, which presumed that the sources of Genesis were lost, George Smith indicated in 1872 that source‐like material from Assyria concerning the flood story is ...
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In contrast with the documentary theory, which presumed that the sources of Genesis were lost, George Smith indicated in 1872 that source‐like material from Assyria concerning the flood story is still extant. Today it is possible to identify other extant materials that Genesis used in diverse ways. These materials include historiography, epic, prophetic books, and law.Less
In contrast with the documentary theory, which presumed that the sources of Genesis were lost, George Smith indicated in 1872 that source‐like material from Assyria concerning the flood story is still extant. Today it is possible to identify other extant materials that Genesis used in diverse ways. These materials include historiography, epic, prophetic books, and law.
Deepak Lal
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199275793
- eISBN:
- 9780191706097
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199275793.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter begins with a discussion of the geographical environment of Pre-Aryan India. It then discusses the emergence of pastoralism and agriculture, this is followed by a look at the development ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of the geographical environment of Pre-Aryan India. It then discusses the emergence of pastoralism and agriculture, this is followed by a look at the development of the Indus valley civilization. This was the first urban civilization on the subcontinent, which was based on the agriculture and animal husbandry of the Indus flood-plain which appears to have been similar to that of recent centuries in the Indus valley.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of the geographical environment of Pre-Aryan India. It then discusses the emergence of pastoralism and agriculture, this is followed by a look at the development of the Indus valley civilization. This was the first urban civilization on the subcontinent, which was based on the agriculture and animal husbandry of the Indus flood-plain which appears to have been similar to that of recent centuries in the Indus valley.
Emily Boyd
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0020
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Adaptive governance explains processes of reaction and social learning through leadership, experience, and experimentation. Much of this is set in frameworks of culture, power, social relations, ...
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Adaptive governance explains processes of reaction and social learning through leadership, experience, and experimentation. Much of this is set in frameworks of culture, power, social relations, social justice, and vulnerability. Adaptive governance stipulates cooperative management, collective action to help prepare society, business, markets, and civil organizations for the characteristics of tipping points: convulsive and unpredictable change and outcomes, and huge uncertainty over the effectiveness of initial responses. Resilience comes about when resources are released by sudden events, or by social value shifts, leading to overall transformation. Examples are offered from drought in Amazonia and the Sahel and urban flooding in Mumbai. Adaptivity is neither easy nor assured and always unpredictable. Local to global institutional fits are required but often wanting. Yet resilience can be found even in the most adverse circumstances, so we need to discover more about its character and adaptiveness.Less
Adaptive governance explains processes of reaction and social learning through leadership, experience, and experimentation. Much of this is set in frameworks of culture, power, social relations, social justice, and vulnerability. Adaptive governance stipulates cooperative management, collective action to help prepare society, business, markets, and civil organizations for the characteristics of tipping points: convulsive and unpredictable change and outcomes, and huge uncertainty over the effectiveness of initial responses. Resilience comes about when resources are released by sudden events, or by social value shifts, leading to overall transformation. Examples are offered from drought in Amazonia and the Sahel and urban flooding in Mumbai. Adaptivity is neither easy nor assured and always unpredictable. Local to global institutional fits are required but often wanting. Yet resilience can be found even in the most adverse circumstances, so we need to discover more about its character and adaptiveness.
Diane M. McKnight, Michael N. Gooseff, Warwick F. Vincent, and Bruce J. Peterson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199213887
- eISBN:
- 9780191707506
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213887.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Aquatic Biology
Flowing-water ecosystems occur in the desert oases around the margins of Antarctica, and are common throughout the Arctic. This chapter describes the limnological properties of Antarctic streams by ...
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Flowing-water ecosystems occur in the desert oases around the margins of Antarctica, and are common throughout the Arctic. This chapter describes the limnological properties of Antarctic streams by way of examples from the McMurdo Dry Valleys and Arctic rivers and streams, with emphasis on observation and experiments in northern Alaska. Large rivers are an important feature of the Arctic and discharge globally significant quantities of fresh water, dissolved organic carbon, and other materials into the Arctic Ocean. The rapidly increasing knowledge base on the ecology of these waters and their associated lakes is summarized, including the abundant lakes and ponds over their delta flood-plains, and the large stamukhi lakes that form behind thick sea ice at the river mouths.Less
Flowing-water ecosystems occur in the desert oases around the margins of Antarctica, and are common throughout the Arctic. This chapter describes the limnological properties of Antarctic streams by way of examples from the McMurdo Dry Valleys and Arctic rivers and streams, with emphasis on observation and experiments in northern Alaska. Large rivers are an important feature of the Arctic and discharge globally significant quantities of fresh water, dissolved organic carbon, and other materials into the Arctic Ocean. The rapidly increasing knowledge base on the ecology of these waters and their associated lakes is summarized, including the abundant lakes and ponds over their delta flood-plains, and the large stamukhi lakes that form behind thick sea ice at the river mouths.
Samuel Randalls
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199557431
- eISBN:
- 9780191721687
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199557431.003.0010
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Political Economy, Finance, Accounting, and Banking
Financial risks relating to the environment are frequently concentrated in cities, both in the source of risks and in the management of those risks. Urban areas are prone to a number of environmental ...
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Financial risks relating to the environment are frequently concentrated in cities, both in the source of risks and in the management of those risks. Urban areas are prone to a number of environmental concerns including brownfield biodiversity, flooding, and potential relations to climate change, and the effects of ‘everyday’ environmental changes, for example the weather, on productivity. Managing these risks will frequently be found in the city too through mainstream financial institutions like banks and insurers that seek both physical and financial protection for themselves and their clients from the worst environmental effects. One clear example is decision-making about the Thames Barrier in London, which aims to protect the financial heartland of the UK from severe flooding. At the same time, in nearby offices, a wide range of new products are being created to manage these urban environmental risks, including diverse catastrophe bonds, weather derivatives, and global warming indexes. This chapter explores the range of financial risks emerging from environmental changes and the ways in which these are being managed. This brings together both an appreciation of the nature of these risks as well as a financial focus on environmental risks. Relatively little has been written in geography on these products and this chapter provides an overview that is both introductory, but also based on contemporary research on these issues that addresses much deeper questions. If environmental risks are to be successfully managed, then it is clear that there will need to be an appreciation of the raft of financial responses, both current and potential, that will be introduced by companies to achieve this.Less
Financial risks relating to the environment are frequently concentrated in cities, both in the source of risks and in the management of those risks. Urban areas are prone to a number of environmental concerns including brownfield biodiversity, flooding, and potential relations to climate change, and the effects of ‘everyday’ environmental changes, for example the weather, on productivity. Managing these risks will frequently be found in the city too through mainstream financial institutions like banks and insurers that seek both physical and financial protection for themselves and their clients from the worst environmental effects. One clear example is decision-making about the Thames Barrier in London, which aims to protect the financial heartland of the UK from severe flooding. At the same time, in nearby offices, a wide range of new products are being created to manage these urban environmental risks, including diverse catastrophe bonds, weather derivatives, and global warming indexes. This chapter explores the range of financial risks emerging from environmental changes and the ways in which these are being managed. This brings together both an appreciation of the nature of these risks as well as a financial focus on environmental risks. Relatively little has been written in geography on these products and this chapter provides an overview that is both introductory, but also based on contemporary research on these issues that addresses much deeper questions. If environmental risks are to be successfully managed, then it is clear that there will need to be an appreciation of the raft of financial responses, both current and potential, that will be introduced by companies to achieve this.
Malcolm Ausden
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198568728
- eISBN:
- 9780191717529
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198568728.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
Arable (also known as rowcrop fields) is land that is cultivated regularly for production of food and, increasingly, bioenergy. The value of arable land to wildlife is heavily influenced by the ...
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Arable (also known as rowcrop fields) is land that is cultivated regularly for production of food and, increasingly, bioenergy. The value of arable land to wildlife is heavily influenced by the presence of permanent grassland and other uncropped habitats along its boundaries, such as hedgerows, scattered trees, water-filled drainage ditches, grass strips, and stone walls. This chapter discusses the management of arable land. Topics covered include farming systems and crop types, minimizing pesticide and fertilizer use on field margins, providing cultivated but unsown areas within fields, minimizing destruction of birds' nests during mechanical operations, providing unharvested crops for birds to eat, and manipulating flooding regimes.Less
Arable (also known as rowcrop fields) is land that is cultivated regularly for production of food and, increasingly, bioenergy. The value of arable land to wildlife is heavily influenced by the presence of permanent grassland and other uncropped habitats along its boundaries, such as hedgerows, scattered trees, water-filled drainage ditches, grass strips, and stone walls. This chapter discusses the management of arable land. Topics covered include farming systems and crop types, minimizing pesticide and fertilizer use on field margins, providing cultivated but unsown areas within fields, minimizing destruction of birds' nests during mechanical operations, providing unharvested crops for birds to eat, and manipulating flooding regimes.
Mark Carey
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195396065
- eISBN:
- 9780199775682
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195396065.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This chapter analyzes the onset of Cordillera Blanca glacier disasters in 1941 through an examination of a glacial lake outburst flood that killed 5,000 people and destroyed one-third of the Ancash ...
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This chapter analyzes the onset of Cordillera Blanca glacier disasters in 1941 through an examination of a glacial lake outburst flood that killed 5,000 people and destroyed one-third of the Ancash capital city of Huaraz in the Callejón de Huaylas. In the aftermath, Peruvians scrambled not only to survive and rebuild but also to determine the cause of the flood. While hazard mitigation began right after the catastrophe, it progressed haphazardly during the 1940s. Just as the 1941 flood made urban residents in Huaraz intimately aware of the previously unrecognized melting glaciers over their city, the glacial lake disaster made Peruvians in Lima and elsewhere significantly more aware of the Andean mountains—both their peril and their possibilities. Local urban and rural residents, engineers, scientists, and government officials who began studying glacial lake hazards after 1941 all brought their own perspectives about glaciers, construing them simultaneously as hazards and resources.Less
This chapter analyzes the onset of Cordillera Blanca glacier disasters in 1941 through an examination of a glacial lake outburst flood that killed 5,000 people and destroyed one-third of the Ancash capital city of Huaraz in the Callejón de Huaylas. In the aftermath, Peruvians scrambled not only to survive and rebuild but also to determine the cause of the flood. While hazard mitigation began right after the catastrophe, it progressed haphazardly during the 1940s. Just as the 1941 flood made urban residents in Huaraz intimately aware of the previously unrecognized melting glaciers over their city, the glacial lake disaster made Peruvians in Lima and elsewhere significantly more aware of the Andean mountains—both their peril and their possibilities. Local urban and rural residents, engineers, scientists, and government officials who began studying glacial lake hazards after 1941 all brought their own perspectives about glaciers, construing them simultaneously as hazards and resources.
Mark Carey
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195396065
- eISBN:
- 9780199775682
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195396065.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This chapter examines disaster responses and environmental perceptions of climate change and glacier retreat through an analysis of the 1941 Huaraz and 1945 Chavín de Huantar glacial lake outburst ...
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This chapter examines disaster responses and environmental perceptions of climate change and glacier retreat through an analysis of the 1941 Huaraz and 1945 Chavín de Huantar glacial lake outburst floods, which killed 5,000 and 500 people, respectively. For the people most affected, the urban Huaraz population, the disaster not only leveled physical structures but also toppled symbols of social standing, wealth, status, and even the culturally constructed racial categories that supposedly distinguished Indians, mestizos, and creoles (whites). Essentially, the floods erased supposed boundaries between highland and lowland, countryside and city, and nature and civilization. Conceptualizing Cordillera Blanca glacial lake disasters as the combination of societal and environmental forces illuminates the culture of climate change and reveals why residents later rejected hazard zoning. It also explains why Huaraz urban inhabitants turned to state science and technology to protect them from glacier retreat.Less
This chapter examines disaster responses and environmental perceptions of climate change and glacier retreat through an analysis of the 1941 Huaraz and 1945 Chavín de Huantar glacial lake outburst floods, which killed 5,000 and 500 people, respectively. For the people most affected, the urban Huaraz population, the disaster not only leveled physical structures but also toppled symbols of social standing, wealth, status, and even the culturally constructed racial categories that supposedly distinguished Indians, mestizos, and creoles (whites). Essentially, the floods erased supposed boundaries between highland and lowland, countryside and city, and nature and civilization. Conceptualizing Cordillera Blanca glacial lake disasters as the combination of societal and environmental forces illuminates the culture of climate change and reveals why residents later rejected hazard zoning. It also explains why Huaraz urban inhabitants turned to state science and technology to protect them from glacier retreat.
Mark Carey
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195396065
- eISBN:
- 9780199775682
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195396065.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
In 1950, the Los Cedros glacial lake outburst flood destroyed the nearly constructed Cañón del Pato hydroelectric facility. President Manuel Odría responded by creating the Control Commission of ...
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In 1950, the Los Cedros glacial lake outburst flood destroyed the nearly constructed Cañón del Pato hydroelectric facility. President Manuel Odría responded by creating the Control Commission of Cordillera Blanca Lakes to prevent additional floods caused by climate change and glacier retreat in the Andes. The Lakes Commission achieved marked success in glacier science and glacial lake engineering during the 1950s and 60s, including a glacial lake inventory, lake classification system, and engineering projects to drain and dam glacial lakes. Government support for the Lakes Commission was often motivated by and facilitated coast-focused economic development initiatives through the Peruvian Santa Corporation rather than humanitarian concerns for vulnerable populations. These hazard mitigation programs ultimately made the state responsible for disaster prevention, and in the process facilitated nation building and gave the government more control over Andean space and resources, in part with local support because residents wanted to prevent floods.Less
In 1950, the Los Cedros glacial lake outburst flood destroyed the nearly constructed Cañón del Pato hydroelectric facility. President Manuel Odría responded by creating the Control Commission of Cordillera Blanca Lakes to prevent additional floods caused by climate change and glacier retreat in the Andes. The Lakes Commission achieved marked success in glacier science and glacial lake engineering during the 1950s and 60s, including a glacial lake inventory, lake classification system, and engineering projects to drain and dam glacial lakes. Government support for the Lakes Commission was often motivated by and facilitated coast-focused economic development initiatives through the Peruvian Santa Corporation rather than humanitarian concerns for vulnerable populations. These hazard mitigation programs ultimately made the state responsible for disaster prevention, and in the process facilitated nation building and gave the government more control over Andean space and resources, in part with local support because residents wanted to prevent floods.
Patrik Hagman
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199593194
- eISBN:
- 9780191595677
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593194.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
The chapter discusses the theoretic development regarding asceticism, first by reviewing various ways of defining asceticism, focusing in particular on the works of Richard Valantasis and Gavin ...
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The chapter discusses the theoretic development regarding asceticism, first by reviewing various ways of defining asceticism, focusing in particular on the works of Richard Valantasis and Gavin Flood, then on other ways to theoretically discuss asceticism, based on Elizabeth A. Clark's criticism of earlier research into asceticism. From this discussion, a sketch of the current scholarly view of asceticism is presented and the key question of the study are formulated, seeking to go beyond this view in the areas of the understanding of the role of the body in asceticism as well as its relation to society. Some key concepts of the study, such as worldview are discussed and additional theoretical frameworks (ritual theory) are presented.Less
The chapter discusses the theoretic development regarding asceticism, first by reviewing various ways of defining asceticism, focusing in particular on the works of Richard Valantasis and Gavin Flood, then on other ways to theoretically discuss asceticism, based on Elizabeth A. Clark's criticism of earlier research into asceticism. From this discussion, a sketch of the current scholarly view of asceticism is presented and the key question of the study are formulated, seeking to go beyond this view in the areas of the understanding of the role of the body in asceticism as well as its relation to society. Some key concepts of the study, such as worldview are discussed and additional theoretical frameworks (ritual theory) are presented.
Rohan D'Souza
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195682175
- eISBN:
- 9780199082094
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195682175.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Indian History
The volume deals with major debates in India’s environmental history. It critiques existing discourse by discussing colonial flood control strategies in eastern India, especially Orissa Delta. It ...
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The volume deals with major debates in India’s environmental history. It critiques existing discourse by discussing colonial flood control strategies in eastern India, especially Orissa Delta. It explores the idea and practice of flood control and argues for a comprehensive reconsideration of the debate on the colonial environmental watershed, its hydraulic legacy and questions contemporary enthusiasm for flood control in post-independent India. The emphasis is on revealing how colonial flood control measures were implicated in attempts to consolidate capitalist relations in ownership, production, and towards commanding the deltaic rivers as a ’natural resource’ for capitalist accumulation. The idea and practice of flood control was not merely a technical intervention but principally a political project, deeply implicated in the social, economic, and political calculations of capitalism in general and colonialism in particular. Such an analytical perspective also provides a useful backdrop to understanding several aspects of the contemporary water crisis in postcolonial India. The book also intends to be a necessary corrective and a useful addition to the otherwise limited writings on the Indian subcontinent’s hydraulic histories.Less
The volume deals with major debates in India’s environmental history. It critiques existing discourse by discussing colonial flood control strategies in eastern India, especially Orissa Delta. It explores the idea and practice of flood control and argues for a comprehensive reconsideration of the debate on the colonial environmental watershed, its hydraulic legacy and questions contemporary enthusiasm for flood control in post-independent India. The emphasis is on revealing how colonial flood control measures were implicated in attempts to consolidate capitalist relations in ownership, production, and towards commanding the deltaic rivers as a ’natural resource’ for capitalist accumulation. The idea and practice of flood control was not merely a technical intervention but principally a political project, deeply implicated in the social, economic, and political calculations of capitalism in general and colonialism in particular. Such an analytical perspective also provides a useful backdrop to understanding several aspects of the contemporary water crisis in postcolonial India. The book also intends to be a necessary corrective and a useful addition to the otherwise limited writings on the Indian subcontinent’s hydraulic histories.
S. C. Humphreys
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269235
- eISBN:
- 9780191710094
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269235.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This chapter gives a radically new account of the history of this festival. It is usually represented as a traditional ritual with origins in celebrations of new wine and an ancient All Souls’ Day. ...
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This chapter gives a radically new account of the history of this festival. It is usually represented as a traditional ritual with origins in celebrations of new wine and an ancient All Souls’ Day. Here it is suggested that rites symbolizing renewal and new beginnings were constantly reinterpreted and modified as Athenian culture became more urban, attitudes to drunkenness changed, and Dionysus became more closely associated with the theatre. Because Athenians themselves saw the Anthesteria as ‘traditional’, the festival attracted learned speculation about culture history, the origins of drama, and the Flood as the beginning of human history. Some elements taken by modern scholars as part of age-old tradition may be late (return and expulsion of souls of the dead) or purely textual (the Aiora as a rite of swinging). The aim of this narrative is to startle readers into re-examining unquestioned assumptions.Less
This chapter gives a radically new account of the history of this festival. It is usually represented as a traditional ritual with origins in celebrations of new wine and an ancient All Souls’ Day. Here it is suggested that rites symbolizing renewal and new beginnings were constantly reinterpreted and modified as Athenian culture became more urban, attitudes to drunkenness changed, and Dionysus became more closely associated with the theatre. Because Athenians themselves saw the Anthesteria as ‘traditional’, the festival attracted learned speculation about culture history, the origins of drama, and the Flood as the beginning of human history. Some elements taken by modern scholars as part of age-old tradition may be late (return and expulsion of souls of the dead) or purely textual (the Aiora as a rite of swinging). The aim of this narrative is to startle readers into re-examining unquestioned assumptions.
JOHN L. FLOOD
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264904
- eISBN:
- 9780191754081
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264904.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Historiography
Arthur Hatto was an outstanding scholar of German studies at the University of London who formulated a theory of epic heroic poetry. He was recruited to work in the cryptographic bureau at the ...
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Arthur Hatto was an outstanding scholar of German studies at the University of London who formulated a theory of epic heroic poetry. He was recruited to work in the cryptographic bureau at the Foreign Office in February 1939 and afterwards worked at Bletchley Park. Later, in order to study epic poetry, Hatto taught himself Russian and Kirghiz. He was elected as a Senior Fellow of the British Academy in 1991. Obituary by John L. Flood.Less
Arthur Hatto was an outstanding scholar of German studies at the University of London who formulated a theory of epic heroic poetry. He was recruited to work in the cryptographic bureau at the Foreign Office in February 1939 and afterwards worked at Bletchley Park. Later, in order to study epic poetry, Hatto taught himself Russian and Kirghiz. He was elected as a Senior Fellow of the British Academy in 1991. Obituary by John L. Flood.
Stacy M. Philpott, Ivette Perfecto, Inge Armbrecht, and Catherine L. Parr
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199544639
- eISBN:
- 9780191720192
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544639.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Animal Biology
Habitat transformation and disturbance are important threats to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function, and can strongly affect ant communities. As with other animal communities, ...
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Habitat transformation and disturbance are important threats to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function, and can strongly affect ant communities. As with other animal communities, disturbance impact will depend on frequency and intensity of disturbance. Anthropogenic habitat transformation where the degree of change in resources and microclimate may be especially severe (e.g. mining or urbanization) or repeated (e.g. agriculture), have strong impacts on ant assemblages. In contrast, some natural disturbances, such as fire, tree‐fall gaps, and short floods, although drastic in their immediate effects, may have minimal impacts on the assemblages if entire colonies are not lost, or if foundresses colonize disturbed sites quickly. Disturbed sites tend to be dominated by opportunistic or generalist species presumably because these species can take advantage of changing resource bases. Ants provide essential ecosystem functions such as biological pest control, seed dispersal, and soil modification, many of which are affected by habitat transformation and disturbance.Less
Habitat transformation and disturbance are important threats to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function, and can strongly affect ant communities. As with other animal communities, disturbance impact will depend on frequency and intensity of disturbance. Anthropogenic habitat transformation where the degree of change in resources and microclimate may be especially severe (e.g. mining or urbanization) or repeated (e.g. agriculture), have strong impacts on ant assemblages. In contrast, some natural disturbances, such as fire, tree‐fall gaps, and short floods, although drastic in their immediate effects, may have minimal impacts on the assemblages if entire colonies are not lost, or if foundresses colonize disturbed sites quickly. Disturbed sites tend to be dominated by opportunistic or generalist species presumably because these species can take advantage of changing resource bases. Ants provide essential ecosystem functions such as biological pest control, seed dispersal, and soil modification, many of which are affected by habitat transformation and disturbance.
Richard S. Briggs
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195383355
- eISBN:
- 9780199870561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195383355.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, History of Christianity
This chapter looks at the issues occupying the interpretation of Genesis at the time of Darwin and notes that the impact of the discovery of ancient Near Eastern creation accounts came at more or ...
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This chapter looks at the issues occupying the interpretation of Genesis at the time of Darwin and notes that the impact of the discovery of ancient Near Eastern creation accounts came at more or less the same time as the impact of Darwin's writing. As a result, the interpretation of Genesis could operate within two completely different hermeneutical frameworks, neither of which was directly linked to the plain-sense concerns of the Genesis text. A variety of examples of interpreting Genesis in the light of ancient Near Eastern texts is explored, seeking to demonstrate that there is a variety of ways in which hermeneutical benefit may be derived from reading a text in the light of other concerns, and a similar case is then made with respect to the hermeneutics of reading Genesis after Darwin.Less
This chapter looks at the issues occupying the interpretation of Genesis at the time of Darwin and notes that the impact of the discovery of ancient Near Eastern creation accounts came at more or less the same time as the impact of Darwin's writing. As a result, the interpretation of Genesis could operate within two completely different hermeneutical frameworks, neither of which was directly linked to the plain-sense concerns of the Genesis text. A variety of examples of interpreting Genesis in the light of ancient Near Eastern texts is explored, seeking to demonstrate that there is a variety of ways in which hermeneutical benefit may be derived from reading a text in the light of other concerns, and a similar case is then made with respect to the hermeneutics of reading Genesis after Darwin.
M. L. West
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199280759
- eISBN:
- 9780191712913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280759.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter discusses the Indo-European deities of rain and thunder, wind and fire, river and flood. These include the god of thunder, the water dragon, wind gods, fire gods, and the holy status of ...
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This chapter discusses the Indo-European deities of rain and thunder, wind and fire, river and flood. These include the god of thunder, the water dragon, wind gods, fire gods, and the holy status of terrestrial (potable) waters.Less
This chapter discusses the Indo-European deities of rain and thunder, wind and fire, river and flood. These include the god of thunder, the water dragon, wind gods, fire gods, and the holy status of terrestrial (potable) waters.
Cagan H. Sekercioglu
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199554232
- eISBN:
- 9780191720666
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199554232.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
In this chapter, Cagan H. Sekercioglu recapitulates natural ecosystem functions and services. Ecosystem services are the set of ecosystem functions that are useful to humans. These services make the ...
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In this chapter, Cagan H. Sekercioglu recapitulates natural ecosystem functions and services. Ecosystem services are the set of ecosystem functions that are useful to humans. These services make the planet inhabitable by supplying and purifying the air we breathe and the water we drink. Water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur are the major global biogeochemical cycles. Disruptions of these cycles can lead to floods, droughts, climate change, pollution, acid rain, and many other environmental problems. Soils provide critical ecosystem services, especially for sustaining ecosystems and growing food crops, but soil erosion and degradation are serious problems worldwide. Higher biodiversity usually increases ecosystem efficiency and productivity, stabilizes overall ecosystem functioning, and makes ecosystems more resistant to perturbations. Mobile linked animal species provide critical ecosystem functions and increase ecosystem resilience by connecting habitats and ecosystems through their movements. Their services include pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient deposition, pest control, and scavenging. Thousands of species that are the components of ecosystems harbor unique chemicals and pharmaceuticals that can save people's lives, but traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is disappearing and many potentially valuable species are threatened with extinction. Increasing habitat loss, climate change, settlement of wild areas, and wildlife consumption facilitate the transition of diseases of animals to humans, and other ecosystem alterations are increasing the prevalence of other diseases. Valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs helps integrate these services into public decision‐making and can ensure the continuity of ecosystems that provide the services.Less
In this chapter, Cagan H. Sekercioglu recapitulates natural ecosystem functions and services. Ecosystem services are the set of ecosystem functions that are useful to humans. These services make the planet inhabitable by supplying and purifying the air we breathe and the water we drink. Water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur are the major global biogeochemical cycles. Disruptions of these cycles can lead to floods, droughts, climate change, pollution, acid rain, and many other environmental problems. Soils provide critical ecosystem services, especially for sustaining ecosystems and growing food crops, but soil erosion and degradation are serious problems worldwide. Higher biodiversity usually increases ecosystem efficiency and productivity, stabilizes overall ecosystem functioning, and makes ecosystems more resistant to perturbations. Mobile linked animal species provide critical ecosystem functions and increase ecosystem resilience by connecting habitats and ecosystems through their movements. Their services include pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient deposition, pest control, and scavenging. Thousands of species that are the components of ecosystems harbor unique chemicals and pharmaceuticals that can save people's lives, but traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is disappearing and many potentially valuable species are threatened with extinction. Increasing habitat loss, climate change, settlement of wild areas, and wildlife consumption facilitate the transition of diseases of animals to humans, and other ecosystem alterations are increasing the prevalence of other diseases. Valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs helps integrate these services into public decision‐making and can ensure the continuity of ecosystems that provide the services.
Stephen R. Haynes
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195142792
- eISBN:
- 9780199834280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195142799.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter connects the history of interpretation of Genesis 9–11 with contemporary American culture. It also describes the thematic structure of Genesis 9–11 in terms of dispersion and ...
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This chapter connects the history of interpretation of Genesis 9–11 with contemporary American culture. It also describes the thematic structure of Genesis 9–11 in terms of dispersion and differentiation, reviews the history of “Noah's curse” as an explanation of blackness and a justification for racial slavery, introduces the concepts of honor and order that will figure prominently in subsequent chapters, reviews the arguments of Eugene Genovese against the centrality of Noah's curse in the American proslavery argument, and explores “other chapters in the Genesis of race,” including pre‐Adamism, racialist readings of the Flood story, and pro‐apartheid interpretation of Genesis 11 in South Africa.Less
This chapter connects the history of interpretation of Genesis 9–11 with contemporary American culture. It also describes the thematic structure of Genesis 9–11 in terms of dispersion and differentiation, reviews the history of “Noah's curse” as an explanation of blackness and a justification for racial slavery, introduces the concepts of honor and order that will figure prominently in subsequent chapters, reviews the arguments of Eugene Genovese against the centrality of Noah's curse in the American proslavery argument, and explores “other chapters in the Genesis of race,” including pre‐Adamism, racialist readings of the Flood story, and pro‐apartheid interpretation of Genesis 11 in South Africa.
Thomas L. Brodie
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195138368
- eISBN:
- 9780199834037
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195138368.003.0019
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
The flood story consists of two balancing sections: the accounts of creation being undone (Genesis 6–7) and creation being remade (Genesis 8:1–9:17). It echoes the original creation (1:1–2:24), but ...
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The flood story consists of two balancing sections: the accounts of creation being undone (Genesis 6–7) and creation being remade (Genesis 8:1–9:17). It echoes the original creation (1:1–2:24), but in a sense, integrates evil and sin. It indicates tension within God – a blend of anger, compassion, and forgiveness. As with the first creation, which culminated with a picture of marriage (2:24), the flood story emphasizes monogamous marriage. The tensions and contradictions of the text are probably best seen as reflections not of diverse hypothetical documents (the documentary theory), but as reflections of the paradoxical content of the narrative.Less
The flood story consists of two balancing sections: the accounts of creation being undone (Genesis 6–7) and creation being remade (Genesis 8:1–9:17). It echoes the original creation (1:1–2:24), but in a sense, integrates evil and sin. It indicates tension within God – a blend of anger, compassion, and forgiveness. As with the first creation, which culminated with a picture of marriage (2:24), the flood story emphasizes monogamous marriage. The tensions and contradictions of the text are probably best seen as reflections not of diverse hypothetical documents (the documentary theory), but as reflections of the paradoxical content of the narrative.
Thomas L. Brodie
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195138368
- eISBN:
- 9780199834037
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195138368.003.0025
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
God's wondrous life‐giving visit to Abraham and Sarah at Mamre (Genesis 18) is the counterpoint to God's fiery destruction of two cities (19:1–29). The catastrophe is attributed to God, but the ...
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God's wondrous life‐giving visit to Abraham and Sarah at Mamre (Genesis 18) is the counterpoint to God's fiery destruction of two cities (19:1–29). The catastrophe is attributed to God, but the terrible divine action is set in the context of God's care for life and justice – a care that exceeds even that of Sarah and Abraham – and in the context of the evil of the people of Sodom. Between the two – between generosity‐based justice and evil – Lot dithers and chooses narrowly. The scene as a whole – the destruction by fire – has some continuity with the destruction by water (the flood).Less
God's wondrous life‐giving visit to Abraham and Sarah at Mamre (Genesis 18) is the counterpoint to God's fiery destruction of two cities (19:1–29). The catastrophe is attributed to God, but the terrible divine action is set in the context of God's care for life and justice – a care that exceeds even that of Sarah and Abraham – and in the context of the evil of the people of Sodom. Between the two – between generosity‐based justice and evil – Lot dithers and chooses narrowly. The scene as a whole – the destruction by fire – has some continuity with the destruction by water (the flood).
