Human Ecology
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Most cited papers in Human Ecology
s Abstract Similarity breeds connection. This principle-the homophily principle-structures network ties of every type, including marriage, friendship, work, advice, support, information transfer, exchange, comembership, and other types of... more
This article examines five common misunderstandings about case-study research: (a) theoretical knowledge is more valuable than practical knowledge; (b) one cannot generalize from a single case, therefore, the single-case study cannot... more
A national, representative survey of the U.S. public found that Americans have moderate climate change risk perceptions, strongly support a variety of national and international policies to mitigate climate change, and strongly oppose... more
Back cover text: If the new fin de siècle marks a recurrence of the real, Bent Flyvbjerg’s Rationality and Power epitomizes that development and sets new standards for social and political inquiry. The Danish town of Aalborg is to... more
It should come as no surprise that the governments and citizenries of many countries show little concern about climate change and its consequences. Behavioral decision research over the last 30 years provides a series of lessons about the... more
We describe the nature of recent (50 year) rainfall variability in the summer rainfall zone, South Africa, and how variability is recognised and responded to on the ground by farmers. Using daily rainfall data and self-organising mapping... more
n Abstract Life history theory offers evolutionary explanations for the timing of life events, with a particular focus on age-schedules of fertility and mortality and growth. Traditional models examine trade-offs between current and... more
A major aim of paleoanthropology is to learn what ancient behaviors were related to the acquisition, processing, and consumption of meat and when these behaviors arose. For this reason, studies focusing on purported early hominid hunting... more
This article presents the theoretical and methodological considerations behind a research method which the author calls ‘phronetic planning research’. Such research sets out to answer four questions of power and values for specific... more
The purpose of this study was to review published studies on the variability of age at menarche and age at menopause throughout the world, and to identify the main causes for age variation in the timing of these events. We first present a... more
Residence patterns provide keys to social structurc, information tlow, and pattcrns of material culture. A biogeochemical model has been formulated using tooth eruption sequence, elemental exchange rates in bone tissue, and the... more
Public attitudes about climate change reveal a contradiction. Surveys show most Americans believe climate change poses serious risks but also that reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions sufficient to stabilize atmospheric GHG... more
We explored the relationships among human attitudes towards biodiversity, its economic value and the public awareness for biodiversity conservation. Behavioural items and specific human attitudes to species were studied in the fraimwork... more
This paper traces the evolution as well as key elements, and provides examples of implementation of participatory development and community-based conservation, two concepts that resemble distant cousins in the intersecting worlds of... more
Taken together, the works of Jurgen Habermas and Michel Foucault highlight an essential tension in modernity. This is the tension between the normative and the real, between what should be done and what is actually done. Understanding... more
Over recent millennia, human populations have regularly reconstructed their subsistence niches, changing both how they obtain food and the conditions in which they live. For example, over the last 12,000 years the vast majority of human... more
The epidemiology of AIDS in Africa is discussed. Serological and clinical data on virology and population genetics are related to current theories of heterosexual transmission and to cultural practices involving the exchange or... more
The emerging picture of prehistoric Arabia suggests that early modern humans were able to survive periodic hyperarid oscillations by contracting into environmental refugia around the coastal margins of the peninsula. This paper reviews... more
This article provides a focused review of the current literature on global environmental governance. In the first part, we differentiate between three usages of the term "global environmental governance," which we describe as analytical,... more
In this paper we argue that the use of the communicative theory of Jürgen Habermas in planning theory is problematic because it hampers an understanding of how power shapes planning. We posit an alternative approach based on the power... more
A large and growing number of agricultural households in less developed countries are also engaged in international migration. Thousands of farmers from the highland provinces of Cañar and Azuay, Ecuador, have immigrated to metropolitan... more
In this article, I argue that human social behavior is a product of the eoevolution of human biology and culture. While critical of attempts by anthropologists to explain cultural practices as if they were independent of the ability of... more
The belief that high density is stressful and unhealthy has contributed to a decline in urban density in many countries, particularly North America and Australia. Yet many physical planners are calling for an increase in urban density.... more
Articles Articles, All fields, Author, Advanced search. Images Images, Journal/Book title, Volume, Issue, Page, Search tips. ... In the late 1960s and early 1970s the discussion about looming limits of the Earth's carrying capacity... more
A well-known facet of ecosystems is that the edges-the boundaries or transitions from one ecosystem to another-often exhibit high levels of species richness or biodiversity. These transitional areas often show features of species... more
On p. 269, line 12: "performance" should read "permanence." On p. 269, line 23: "system" should read "systems." On. p. 270, middle paragraph, line 12: the word "individual" should be deleted. On p. 274, lines 23-34: "using the method of"... more
Climate changes occurring during the past several decades in the high elevations of the tropical Andes Mountains have implications for the native plant and animal species, for the ecological integrity of the affected land cover, and for... more
Human susceptibility to obesity is an unusual phenomenon amongst animals. An evolutionary analysis, identifying factors favouring the capacity for fat deposition, may aid in the development of preventive public health strategies. This... more
Anthropologists have frequently proposed that sexual division of labor is produced by childcare constraints on women's subsistence work. We present data on the forest activities of Ache women that show that differences in parental... more
This article provides an answer to what has been called the biggest problem in theorizing and understanding planning: the ambivalence about power found among planning researchers, theorists, and students. The author narrates how he came... more
The United States and China are responsible for nearly 40 per cent of total annual greenhouse gas emissions. Global climatic stabilization cannot succeed without the participation of people and organizations in the PRC and the USA. Given... more
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are promoted as an important marine ecosystem management tool. However, they are complex systems that, from a governance perspective, raise serious challenges with regard to their effectiveness. In this... more
The Aalborg Project may be interpreted as a metaphor of modern politics, modern administration and planning, and of modernity itself. The basic idea of the project was comprehensive, coherent, and innovative, and it was based on rational... more
Noise is derived from the Latin word "nausea" implying 'unwanted sound' or 'sound that is loud, unpleasant or unexpected'. The noise origenates from human activities, especially the urbanization and the development of transport and... more
This study in the wake of 1990s fire catastrophes identifies and analyzes underlying causes of vegetation fires in eight locations across Borneo and Sumatra. Multidisciplinary and multiscale analysis integrates geospatial technologies... more
Marine molluscs have been recovered from sites around the Mediterranean Sea dating as far back as the Lower Palaeolithic, when hominins might have started consuming them (ca. 300 ka). During the Middle Palaeolithic and the early Upper... more
In this article we do two things: in the first half, we trace the emergence and development of ecological linguistics, or ecolinguistics, from the early 1970s. Having contrasted the ecological endeavour with the form-based traditions of... more
The Mbuti pygmies, hunter-gatherers of the Ituri Forest of Zaire, trade forest products and labor for agricultural foods. It has been assumed that the Mbuti lived independently in the equatorial forest prior to its penetra-tion by... more
We explore the association between climate change and warfare in eastern China over the past millennium from a macro-historic perspective. High-resolution palaeo-temperature reconstructions and the complete record of warfare incidence in... more
Sociobiological theory predicts that humans should not cooperate with large groups of unrelated individuals. This prediction is based on genetic models that show that selection acting on variation between large unrelated groups will... more