title: A Holocene record of savanna vegetation dynamics in southern lowland Papua New Guinea

authors: Rowe, Cassandra

subjects: Papua New Guinea

abstract: The southern lowlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) are biogeographically distinct. Vast tracts of savanna vegetation occur there and yet most palaeoecological studies have focused on highlands and/or forest environments. Greater focus on long-term lowland environments provides a rare opportunity to understand and promote the significance of local and regional savannas, ultimately allowing non-forested and forested ecosystem dynamics to be compared. This paper examines palaeoecological and archaeological data from a lowland open savanna site situated on the south-central PNG coastline. The methods used incorporate pollen and micro-charcoal analyses, artefact recovery and sediment descriptions. We conclude with an environmental model of sedimentation and vegetation change for the past c. 5,800 years, revealing a mid to late Holocene savanna interchange between herbaceous and woody plant growth, with fluctuating fire occurrence increasing toward the present day. Increased silt deposition and modified regional hydrology are also recorded. Environmental changes correspond in timing with the start of permanent settlements and human use of fire. In particular, landscape burning for hunting and gardens for agriculture have helped create the open ecosystem still evident today.

text: A Holocene record of savanna vegetation dynamics in southern lowland Papua New Guinea The southern lowlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) are biogeographically distinct. Vast tracts of savanna vegetation occur there and yet most palaeoecological studies have focused on highlands and/or forest environments. Greater focus on long-term lowland environments provides a rare opportunity to understand and promote the significance of local and regional savannas, ultimately allowing non-forested and forested ecosystem dynamics to be compared. This paper examines palaeoecological and archaeological data from a lowland open savanna site situated on the south-central PNG coastline. The methods used incorporate pollen and micro-charcoal analyses, artefact recovery and sediment descriptions. We conclude with an environmental model of sedimentation and vegetation change for the past c. 5,800 years, revealing a mid to late Holocene savanna interchange between herbaceous and woody plant growth, with fluctuating fire occurrence increasing toward the present day. Increased silt deposition and modified regional hydrology are also recorded. Environmental changes correspond in timing with the start of permanent settlements and human use of fire. In particular, landscape burning for hunting and gardens for agriculture have helped create the open ecosystem still evident today.

year: 2019

title: Capturing leadership tacit knowledge in conversations with leaders

authors: Janson, Annick

subjects: knowledge capture

abstract: Purpose – The paper seeks to capture leadership tacit knowledge mechanisms built throughout leaders' careers. Learning to be a leader involves developing the tacit knowledge to give confidence in one's decisions. Most of the knowledge required cannot be acquired from explicit documents – rather, it is built through action, experience and reflection. This research focuses on leadership in the innovation context where learning potentially occurs through a variety of knowledge building processes. 
Design/methodology/approach – Narratives from 31 leaders who have achieved success in innovation leadership were collected piloting a tacit knowledge articulation methodology. From the narratives, a model is proposed which is embedded in the leadership career pathways of these innovation leaders. 
Findings – The findings suggest that leadership tacit knowledge mechanisms evolve with organisations' life cycle. A bi-focal (developmental and “locus of knowledge“ factors) model was assembled to explain how successful leadership involves balancing “locus of learning” from internal and external sources and facilitating mind-shifts (e.g. collaboration and communication paradigms underlying relationship and networking processes). 
Research limitations/implications – The study sample size was relatively small – further replications with a larger number of subjects and in different contexts are planned or under way. 
Practical implications – This research has implications relevant to both leaders interested in bringing their organizations to their next developmental level and to practitioners because leverage points are identified at which interventions designed to share the lessons learned from successful leaders will be most effective. 
Originality/value – Tacit leadership knowledge is not easily transferred into explicit “how-to” instructions for consumption by a prospective innovation leader, yet it is a major source of competitive advantage. It is more appropriate to view innovation leadership development as a tacit knowledge building process in individuals and groups, rather than a knowledge transfer from knowledgeable leaders to wannabe leaders. A developmental model is proposed that integrates the changes occurring in learning patterns while firms expand their loci of knowledge.

text: Capturing leadership tacit knowledge in conversations with leaders Purpose – The paper seeks to capture leadership tacit knowledge mechanisms built throughout leaders' careers. Learning to be a leader involves developing the tacit knowledge to give confidence in one's decisions. Most of the knowledge required cannot be acquired from explicit documents – rather, it is built through action, experience and reflection. This research focuses on leadership in the innovation context where learning potentially occurs through a variety of knowledge building processes. 
Design/methodology/approach – Narratives from 31 leaders who have achieved success in innovation leadership were collected piloting a tacit knowledge articulation methodology. From the narratives, a model is proposed which is embedded in the leadership career pathways of these innovation leaders. 
Findings – The findings suggest that leadership tacit knowledge mechanisms evolve with organisations' life cycle. A bi-focal (developmental and “locus of knowledge“ factors) model was assembled to explain how successful leadership involves balancing “locus of learning” from internal and external sources and facilitating mind-shifts (e.g. collaboration and communication paradigms underlying relationship and networking processes). 
Research limitations/implications – The study sample size was relatively small – further replications with a larger number of subjects and in different contexts are planned or under way. 
Practical implications – This research has implications relevant to both leaders interested in bringing their organizations to their next developmental level and to practitioners because leverage points are identified at which interventions designed to share the lessons learned from successful leaders will be most effective. 
Originality/value – Tacit leadership knowledge is not easily transferred into explicit “how-to” instructions for consumption by a prospective innovation leader, yet it is a major source of competitive advantage. It is more appropriate to view innovation leadership development as a tacit knowledge building process in individuals and groups, rather than a knowledge transfer from knowledgeable leaders to wannabe leaders. A developmental model is proposed that integrates the changes occurring in learning patterns while firms expand their loci of knowledge.

year: 2007

title: Changing genes: Science and being Maori

authors: Hudson, Maui

subjects: ethics

abstract: This commentary follows tangential lines of reason stimulated by Hook‟s thought- provoking paper, “Warrior genes” and the disease of being Māori (2009), to question the ethical responsibilities of scientists to the public in modern society.

text: Changing genes: Science and being Maori This commentary follows tangential lines of reason stimulated by Hook‟s thought- provoking paper, “Warrior genes” and the disease of being Māori (2009), to question the ethical responsibilities of scientists to the public in modern society.

year: 2009