Prior to 2000 Zimbabwe was hailed as a conservation success story, with large areas of commercial (private) land outside of national parks being used to support wildlife. In 2000, however, a Fast-Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) was initiated, resulting in the resettlement of most commercial land. This had well known socio-economic impacts, but to date little research has been conducted on the effects on wildlife and human-wildlife conflict. This study aimed to determine the impact of the FTLRP on the conservation of large carnivores and on human-carnivore conflict, focussing on the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). A case study compared three land use types (LUTs): commercial (Savé Valley Conservancy private wildlife reserve); resettlement (area of the conservancy that had been resettled); and neighbouring communal land. Spoor density of large carnivores was on average 98% lower in the resettlement LUT than the commercial LUT, while sighting reports and historical written records showed that the abundance of large carnivores had declined since the onset of the FTLRP. Aerial census data demonstrated a reduction in carnivore carrying capacity in both the commercial and resettlement areas. Habitat loss and fragmentation, alongside poaching, appeared to be the main mechanisms affecting changes in carnivore abundance. Interviews revealed that in the resettlement LUT, rates of livestock losses to large carnivores were perceived to be greater than in the communal LUT, and attitudes towards carnivores were more negative than the commercial LUT. It appears that the FTLRP had a significant negative impact on wildlife conservation and human-carnivore conflict, and is estimated to have driven a 70% decline in Zimbabwe’s cheetah population. It is recommended that future resettlement is carefully planned to mitigate these problems, and that schemes are established to allow communities to benefit from wildlife while minimising the impact of resettlement on human-wildlife conflict.

The primary objective of this research was to give insight into the spatial cognitive abilities of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) and to address the question whether chacma baboons internally represent spatial information of large-scale space in the form of a so-called topological map or a Euclidean map. Navigating the environment using a topological map envisions that animals acquire, remember and integrate a set of interconnected pathways or route segments that are linked by frequently used landmarks or nodes, at which animals make travel decisions. When animals navigate using a Euclidean map, animals encode information in the form of true angles and distances in order to compute novel routes or shortcuts to reach out of view goals. Although findings of repeatedly used travel routes are generally considered evidence that animals possess topological-based spatial awareness, it is not necessarily evidence that they navigate (solely) using a topological map or lack complete Euclidean spatial representation. Therefore, three predictions from the hypothesised use of a topological map and Euclidean map were tested to distinguish between them. It was investigated whether there was a difference in travel linearity between the core area and the periphery of the home range, whether travel goals were approached from all directions or from one (or a few) distinct directions using the same approach routes and lastly, whether there was a difference between the initial leaving direction from a travel goal and the general direction towards the next goal. Data were collected during a 19-month period (04/2007-11/2008) at Lajuma research centre in the Soutpansberg (Limpopo Province, South Africa). A group of baboons were followed from their morning sleeping site to their evening sleeping site for 234 days, during which location records, behavioural data and important resource data were recorded. A statistical procedure termed the change-point test (CPT) was employed to identify locations at which baboons started orienting towards a goal and baboons showed goal-directed travel towards identified travel goals. Subsequently, hotspot analysis was employed to delineate clusters of such change-points, termed ‘decision hotspots’. Decision hotspots coincided with highly valuable resources, towards which baboons showed significantly faster travel. It thus seemed that they ‘knew’ when they were nearing their goals and adapted their speed accordingly. Decision hotspots were also located at navigational landmarks that delineated a network of repeatedly used travel routes characteristic of a topological map. Therewith, this method reveals an important utility to the study of decision-making by allowing a range of sites to be selected for detailed observations, which were previously limited to sleeping sites or ‘stop’ sites, which would be impossible if the decision hotspots had not been previously identified. Furthermore, baboons travelled as efficiently in the periphery as in the core area of their home range, which was suggested to be more consistent with Euclidean spatial awareness. However, comparatively low travel linearity throughout the home range revealed it is more likely that the baboons accumulated a similar knowledge of the periphery as of the core area, which allowed them to navigate with a similar efficiently through both areas. The mountainous terrain at the study site provided ample prominent landmarks to aid the baboons in navigation and allowed baboons to initiate navigation to a travel goal with the same direction as when they reached that goal. Baboons did not approach travel goals from all directions, but instead they approached their goals from the same direction(s). In conclusion, the findings of this research are more consistent with the use of a topological spatial representation of large scale space, where landmarks aid baboons to navigate efficiently through large scale space. A review of the literature shows that until date, evidence for the existence of Euclidean spatial representation in both animals and humans is extremely limited and often unconvincing. It is likely that a high level of experimental control is necessary to unambiguously demonstrate the existence of Euclidean spatial awareness in the future.

Species of the genus Microtus are known to be some of the most rapidly evolving taxa during the Quaternary. Their remains are common in archaeological and palaeontological contexts and are frequently used in palaeoclimatic and habitat reconstructions as well as providing a key component of biostratigraphic dating models. This study focused on the dental morphology of the lower M1 in 6 species of Microtus found in the British early Middle Pleistocene. The study examined the potential for a new approach to gaining better resolution in biostratigraphic and palaeoclimatic reconstructions in this period, using Geometric Morphometric (GMM) analyses. GMM analyses of modern samples of known origin found that it was possible to identify M1 teeth to species level with a high degree of statistical significance ( <0.0001). The application of protocols developed on modern samples to those from the early Middle Pleistocene sites at Westbury sub-Mendip and Boxgrove suggested species identification on ancient material was also possible. Taxonomic revision of the extinct species Microtus arvalinus was suggested by their morphological similarity to both modern and ancient M. agrestis samples, not M. arvalis as has previously been suggested. Identification of a large morphological disparity between modern and early Middle Pleistocene examples of M. subterraneus also suggest a complex genetic history, which previously had not been identified. Additionally, evidence for morphological differences linked to climate was found. Variation in morphology between stratigraphic levels was found to be relatively low in most cases, even when samples were thought to be separated by a significant period of time. These findings strongly support the use of GMM methods in determining Microtus remains to species level and suggest a strong potential for their use as palaeoclimatic and relative-dating proxies, requiring further research.

Introduction South Asian minority groups in the UK are at greater risk of heart disease and diabetes than the general White population. Physical activity and diet may play an important role in the onset of these diseases. Previous studies suggest levels of physical activity may be particularly low in British Pakistani girls. This mixed-method study aimed to test hypotheses that British Pakistani girls would be less active and more sedentary and would consume a greater proportion of energy from fat than White British girls. It also explored activity and dietary behaviours in the two groups. Methods Eighty-two British Pakistani and 82 White British girls, aged 9 to 11 years, were recruited from seven primary schools on Teesside, North-east England. Accelerometry was used to collect objective measurements of physical activity and sedentary time for four days. Three previous day physical activity recalls were used to determine participation in sport and exercise, outdoor play, screen-time and active modes of school transport. Food records and three previous day multiple-pass diet recalls were used to determine intake of energy and macro-nutrients and to characterise dietary habits. Parental interviews explored familial influences on children’s physical activity and dietary behaviour. Results British Pakistani girls accumulated: 148 (95% CI: 95, 201) fewer counts per minute per day; 19 (95% CI: 11, 26) fewer minutes in moderate-to vigorous physical activity and 5% (95% CI: 3, 7) more sedentary time, compared with White British girls. According to activity recalls British Pakistani girls accumulated: 14 (95% CI: 0.4, 28) fewer minutes per day in sport and exercise; 24 (95% CI: 13, 37) fewer minutes in outdoor play and 4 (95% CI: 0.1, 8.3) fewer minutes in active modes of school transport. There was no significant difference in screen time. British Pakistani girls gained an additional 1.7 (95% CI: 0.4, 3.3) per cent of their overall energy intake from fat, compared with White British girls. According to dietary recalls a greater proportion of British Pakistani girls consumed fast-food as an evening meal (p=0.034) and were more likely to consume food that had been deep fried (p=0.04) or shallow fried (p<0.001) during cooking. Conclusion The lower levels of physical activity and higher amounts of sedentary time, coupled with the higher intake of total fat found in British Pakistani compared with White British girls, may be associated with the increased cardiometabolic risk found in these populations, both in childhood and later in life.

An increasingly common part of being human is living with chronic health problems for which management over time, and not cure, is the goal of medical treatment. One such chronic condition is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease caused by breathing-in smoke, dusts and chemicals, including tobacco smoke. This ethnographic study set out to explore how COPD is lived with and cared for in Uruguay, where rates of COPD are amongst the highest in South America and where most cases go undiagnosed. The aims of the research were to explore the following questions: a) what does it feel like to be breathless and how is COPD experienced within family and healthcare relationships? b) how is the lived-experience of COPD shaped by cultural, social, economic and political contexts? And, c) what are some of the challenges and opportunities for preventing and treating COPD? The objective of this ethnography is to contribute a unique case study to the anthropological literature on chronic illness both in terms of the disease under investigation and the cultural context. The thesis responds to a call in the literature for more sophisticated phenomenological approaches. By incorporating a multitude of field methods into ethnographic fieldwork I combine a sensorial medical anthropology approach and a political-economy of health perspective. The ethnography begins with a cultural and sensorial analysis of breathing and breathlessness in Uruguay in order to situate the expressions of this disease across a diverse group of participants. I argue that the experience of COPD is shaped by healthcare systems and inequalities and highlight two healthcare contexts where space is made for people to socially interpret sensations in the body. The thesis culminates in the critical assessment of public health goals and makes recommendations for improving COPD prevention and care in Uruguay.

As one of the most extensively excavated and archaeologically interesting areas of Thailand, the Upper Mun River valley is central to archaeologists‘ interpretations of Southeast Asian prehistory. In this area there is demonstrable growth in social complexity from first occupation to eventual annexation by the state society of Angkor in the mid first millennium AD. The exact nature of social evolution, however, is still not fully understood. Debate rages over the factors upon which social stratification was based, whether hierarchy or heterarchy was in place, the timing of agricultural intensification and impact of external populations. In this thesis isotopic studies are combined with osteological indicators of kinship and population affinity to shed light on these and other archaeological problems which remain unanswered in the Upper Mun River Valley. Isotopic analysis has allowed the identification of migrants in the cemetery of Ban Non Wat, and shown changes in subsistence strategy through time relating to the onset of social inequality and climate change. Analysis of cranial shape has shown that most migrant individuals have similar genetic backgrounds to local people, but with the notable exception of one of the only adult jar burials at the site. The combination of dental non-metric techniques, isotopic analysis and cranial shape analysis has also added evidence to the debates over the presence of hunter-gatherers at the site, and the nature of social organization.

Insufficient sleep duration in preschool children has been associated with adverse health consequences, including increased risk of obesity; impaired reaction time, attention, memory and behaviour regulation and reduced academic performance. Very little research has been undertaken on the sleep of ‘normal’ children, which includes children who have not been identified with a sleep disorder but are not getting enough sleep for their individual requirements. This study aimed to implement two social marketing interventions targeting the sleep practices of ‘normal’ three and four year old children within Stockton-on-Tees. The thesis explores the process of designing and delivering one intervention via participatory research with parents and one intervention through collaborative working with a number of agencies. The parent intervention used posters and leaflets and was delivered via four Sure Start children’s centres, one school nursery and one private nursery (n=19). The nursery intervention targeted children and delivered seven fun activities through two private nurseries and two school nurseries (n=31). A control group was recruited from five children’s centres and four school nurseries (n=40). A questionnaire assessed child sleep duration and behaviour, parental beliefs and knowledge pre and post-intervention. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with parents post-intervention. Unfortunately it was not possible to evaluate the parent intervention due to lack of ongoing engagement by the pre-intervention group with the Sure Start Centres during the intervention. However, although these findings relate to a small sample and should be treated with caution, following the nursery intervention, statistically significant changes were found in children's morning waking behaviour, parental satisfaction with their children's sleep and bedtime routine, and parental knowledge (p<.05). The difficulties encountered, and how these influenced the study is discussed, particularly with regard to power structures. The mechanisms by which the two interventions may have impacted upon parents’ behaviour, beliefs and knowledge are also considered.

This dissertation presents the cultural study of scientific search for extraterrestrial life conducted over the past sixty years by the scientific community. It introduces an original piece of research that conceptualises the extraterrestrial life hypothesis as a significant part of the general world-view, constantly shaped by the work and discoveries of science. It sheds light on the ways in which alien life is imagined and theorised and presents its concept in both the scientific community and in popular culture. Drawing from anthropology of science it offers elaboration of ‘culture of science’ and ‘scientific culture’ and describes the scientific search for other life as a specific culture of science, here referred to as ‘charming science’. The three scientific search methods: message sending, analysing of cosmic signals and the search for extrasolar planets are conceptualised as the three search modes: messaging, listening and exploring respectively. This work introduces the extraterrestrial ‘Other’ as a profoundly cultural concept, firstly presented as the missing subject of ‘charming science’. Exploration of public understanding the extraterrestrial life and popular imagination of the ‘Other’ is intended to introduce the scientific search in broader social context and address the role of science in contemporary Western world. The dissertation draws on the multi-sited and multi-method ethnographic fieldwork conducted over two years in the UK. The research methods included interviewing (semi-structured face-to-face interviews and interviews conducted via email), participation (conferences and scientific meetings), and data collection from the global ‘online’ community including social networks.

A recurring theme in Canadian social and political history concerns the fight for the recognition of Aboriginal rights including cultural rights within a context of development. It has been stated that there is a lack of dialogue between these two discourses. There are few specific and engaged studies about these conflicts. This thesis provides an engaged examination of a Canadian First Nation from British Columbia, the Esketemc, and its struggle against a proposed mega development, the Prosperity gold and copper mine. The study focusses on the use of power, control and the discourse of development through the lens of the environmental assessment process. It examines whether the Esketemc voice is heard through the dominant discourse, or whether the environmental assessment process obstructs it through the manipulation of people, space and resources. The analysis of the environmental assessment process identified and described opportunities and obstacles for dialogue between the Esketemc, the federal and provincial governments, the federal government selected Panel, and the mine developer. The community hearings that formed a part of the environmental assessment process provided an opportunity for many community members to tell about their deep relationships with the land, their family connections to the land, their spiritual connections to the land, and the knowledge gained from these cultural practices to determine what the impacts of this project will be on the community. The positioning of this Esketemc traditional knowledge within this assessment demonstrates how it was viewed and valued by the government and the developer and how it was used to formulate the Panel recommendations for the federal Minister of the Environment. The analysis of the environmental assessment process also illustrates the strategies of power and resistance used by the Esketemc to oppose and respond to the unequal power dynamics. The imposition of power on First Nations within the historical colonial period endures in current encounters with government agencies such as the environmental assessment agency through environmental assessments. This unequal power permits those with control to decide what is valid, true and while dismissing that which does not conform to the prevailing paradigms. The study identified the structural processes within the Prosperity Mine environmental assessment process that served to validate some of the Esketemc concerns, while excluding others. The types of knowledge that the environmental assessment panel validated were those rooted in government processes such as a commercial venture, the Esketemc Community Forest and lands to be included in a final settlement within the British Columbia Treaty Process. The types of knowledge that were not recognized by the Panel were those that dealt with the project’s negative impacts on traditional hunting, plant and medicine harvesting, family areas and spiritual values. The result is a positioning of Esketemc traditional knowledge and cultural values as marginalized in contrast to the discourse of western science and development.

London Rap belongs to the transnational public of hip-hop. As a result of the birth of the genre of the music-video (in the 1980s) and the diffusion of music TV channels like MTV (from the 1990s), hip-hop has become a worldwide public first and foremost because of its visual power. The internet revolution has further expanded the audio-visuality of hip-hop, particularly via the current roles of YouTube and social media. The cognitive change this passage entails, for the younger generations of hip-hoppers, is that the technology of the video has become more commonly used than that of the book to captivate an audience. Yet, as suggested in this thesis, the screen brings to completion the search for visual analogues for words that alphabetic writing, since the birth of philosophy in ancient Greece, developed. If digital audio-visual capitalism declares the crisis of modern nationalism based on print, what I call here the “boxing obsession” – the obsession whereby words need to mean things – is still far from being dead. We observe through interviews, lyrics, speech and music-video analysis how London Conscious Rappers ambiguously relate to the boxing obsession with regards to what concerns the imagination of ethnicities. In viewing the “political correctness” of the dominant discourse as the hypocrisy to unmask, the rappers rebel against the effects the boxing obsession produces, such as police brutality, the crypto-racism of media talk, and everyday racist attacks; but in reifying views of “blackness”, “whiteness” and “Islam”, and in attaching them to specific bodies on the basis of their physical appearance, they struggle to identify the causes. The fieldwork methodology here presented (an “exit from the text”) offers a way for informants and anthropologists to definitively get to grips with the boxing obsession and move forward.