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Freeman J, Gil AF, Peralta EA, Franchetti F, López JM, Neme G. A model of long-term population growth with an application to Central West Argentina. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0307703. [PMID: 39110658 PMCID: PMC11305588 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
We propose an Ideal Specialization Model to help explain the diversity of population growth trajectories exhibited across archaeological regions over thousands of years. The model provides a general set of expectations useful for guiding empirical research, and we provide a concrete example by conducting a preliminary evaluation of three expectations in Central West Argentina. We use kernel density estimates of archaeological radiocarbon, estimates of paleoclimate, and human bone stable isotopes from archaeological remains to evaluate three expectations drawn from the model's dynamics. Based on our results, we suggest that innovations in the production of food and social organization drove demographic transitions and population expansion in the region. The consistency of population expansion in the region positively associates with changes in diet and, potentially, innovations in settlement and social integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Freeman
- Anthropology Program, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States of America
- The Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States of America
| | - Adolfo F. Gil
- Instituto de Evolución, Ecología Histórica y Ambiente, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IDEVEA, CONICET & UTN). J. J. Urquiza 314, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina
- Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Eva A. Peralta
- Instituto de Evolución, Ecología Histórica y Ambiente, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IDEVEA, CONICET & UTN). J. J. Urquiza 314, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Fernando Franchetti
- Instituto de Evolución, Ecología Histórica y Ambiente, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IDEVEA, CONICET & UTN). J. J. Urquiza 314, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina
| | - José Manuel López
- Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas (IADIZA, CCT CONICET Mendoza), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Gustavo Neme
- Instituto de Evolución, Ecología Histórica y Ambiente, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IDEVEA, CONICET & UTN). J. J. Urquiza 314, San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina
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2
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Riris P, Silva F, Crema E, Palmisano A, Robinson E, Siegel PE, French JC, Jørgensen EK, Maezumi SY, Solheim S, Bates J, Davies B, Oh Y, Ren X. Frequent disturbances enhanced the resilience of past human populations. Nature 2024; 629:837-842. [PMID: 38693262 PMCID: PMC11111401 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07354-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
The record of past human adaptations provides crucial lessons for guiding responses to crises in the future1-3. To date, there have been no systematic global comparisons of humans' ability to absorb and recover from disturbances through time4,5. Here we synthesized resilience across a broad sample of prehistoric population time-frequency data, spanning 30,000 years of human history. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of population decline show that frequent disturbances enhance a population's capacity to resist and recover from later downturns. Land-use patterns are important mediators of the strength of this positive association: farming and herding societies are more vulnerable but also more resilient overall. The results show that important trade-offs exist when adopting new or alternative land-use strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Riris
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK.
| | - Fabio Silva
- Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | - Enrico Crema
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Alessio Palmisano
- Department of Historical Studies, University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Erick Robinson
- Native Environment Solutions, Boise, ID, USA
- Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Peter E Siegel
- Department of Anthropology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA
| | - Jennifer C French
- Department of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | | | - Shira Yoshi Maezumi
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Steinar Solheim
- The Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jennifer Bates
- Department of Archaeology and Art History, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Yongje Oh
- Department of Archaeology and Art History, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Xiaolin Ren
- Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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3
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Freeman J, Robinson E, Bird D, Hard RJ, Mauldin RP, Anderies JM. The long-term expansion and recession of human populations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2312207121. [PMID: 38466852 PMCID: PMC10962983 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312207121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Over the last 12,000 y, human populations have expanded and transformed critical earth systems. Yet, a key unresolved question in the environmental and social sciences remains: Why did human populations grow and, sometimes, decline in the first place? Our research builds on 20 y of archaeological research studying the deep time dynamics of human populations to propose an explanation for the long-term growth and stability of human populations. Innovations in the productive capacity of populations fuels exponential-like growth over thousands of years; however, innovations saturate over time and, often, may leave populations vulnerable to large recessions in their well-being and population density. Empirically, we find a trade-off between changes in land use that increase the production and consumption of carbohydrates, driving repeated waves of population growth over thousands of years, and the susceptibility of populations to large recessions due to a lag in the impact of humans on resources. These results shed light on the long-term drivers of human population growth and decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Freeman
- Anthropology Program, Utah State University, Logan, UT84321
- The Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT84321
| | - Erick Robinson
- Native Environment Solutions LLC., Boise, ID83701
- Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV89512
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85281
| | - Darcy Bird
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164
- University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL32611
| | - Robert J. Hard
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX78249
| | - Raymond P. Mauldin
- Department of Anthropology, The Center for Archaeological Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX78249
| | - John M. Anderies
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85281
- School of Sustainabilty, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85281
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Lima M, Gayo EM, Estay SA, Gurruchaga A, Robinson E, Freeman J, Latorre C, Bird D. Positive feedbacks in deep-time transitions of human populations. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20220256. [PMID: 37952621 PMCID: PMC10645116 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Abrupt and rapid changes in human societies are among the most exciting population phenomena. Human populations tend to show rapid expansions from low to high population density along with increased social complexity in just a few generations. Such demographic transitions appear as a remarkable feature of Homo sapiens population dynamics, most likely fuelled by the ability to accumulate cultural/technological innovations that actively modify their environment. We are especially interested in establishing if the demographic transitions of pre-historic populations show the same dynamic signature of the Industrial Revolution transition (a positive relationship between population growth rates and size). Our results show that population growth patterns across different pre-historic societies were similar to those observed during the Industrial Revolution in developed western societies. These features, which appear to have been operating during most of our recent demographic history from hunter-gatherers to modern industrial societies, imply that the dynamics of cooperation underlay sudden population transitions in human societies. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio Lima
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, RM 8320000, Chile
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, RM 8320000, Chile
| | - Eugenia M. Gayo
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, RM 8320000, Chile
- Departamento de Geografía, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, RM 8320000, Chile
| | - Sergio A. Estay
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, RM 8320000, Chile
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia 5090000, Chile
| | - Andone Gurruchaga
- Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, RM 8320000, Chile
| | - Erick Robinson
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 852879, USA
- Native Environment Solutions LLC, Boise, ID, 83250, USA
| | - Jacob Freeman
- Anthropology Program, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA
- The Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA
| | - Claudio Latorre
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, RM 8320000, Chile
| | - Darcy Bird
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, 99164, USA
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Galeta P, Pankowská A. A new method for estimating growth and fertility rates using age-at-death ratios in small skeletal samples: The effect of mortality and stochastic variation. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0286580. [PMID: 37267306 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The common procedure for reconstructing growth and fertility rates from skeletal samples involves regressing a growth or fertility rate on the age-at-death ratio, an indicator that captures the proportion of children and juveniles in a skeletal sample. Current methods derive formulae for predicting growth and fertility rates in skeletal samples from modern reference populations with many deaths, although recent levels of mortality are not good proxies for prehistoric populations, and stochastic error may considerably affect the age distributions of deaths in small skeletal samples. This study addresses these issues and proposes a novel algorithm allowing a customized prediction formula to be produced for each target skeletal sample, which increases the accuracy of growth and fertility rate estimation. Every prediction equation is derived from a unique reference set of simulated skeletal samples that match the target skeletal sample in size and assumed mortality level of the population that the target skeletal sample represents. The mortality regimes of reference populations are based on model life tables in which life expectancy can be flexibly set between 18 and 80 years. Regression models provide a reliable prediction; the models explain 83-95% of total variance. Due to stochastic variation, the prediction error is large when the estimate is based on a small number of skeletons but decreases substantially with increasing sample size. The applicability of our approach is demonstrated by a comparison with baseline estimates, defined here as predictions based on the widely used Bocquet-Appel (2002, doi: 10.1086/342429) equation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrik Galeta
- Department of Anthropology, University of West Bohemia, Pilsen, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Pankowská
- Department of Anthropology, University of West Bohemia, Pilsen, Czech Republic
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Fitzhugh B, Brown WA, Misarti N, Takase K, Tremayne AH. Human Paleodemography and Paleoecology of the North Pacific Rim from the Mid to Late Holocene. QUATERNARY RESEARCH 2022; 108:123-149. [PMID: 39144291 PMCID: PMC11323057 DOI: 10.1017/qua.2022.35] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/16/2024]
Abstract
Using 14 proxy human population time series from around the North Pacific (Alaska, Hokkaido and the Kuril Islands), we evaluate the possibility that the North Pacific climate and marine ecosystem includes a millennial-scale regime shift cycle affecting subsistence and migration. We develop both visual and statistical methods for addressing questions about relative population growth and movement in the past. We introduce and explore the use of a Time Iterative Moran I (TIMI) spatial autocorrelation method to compare time series trends quantitatively - a method that could prove useful in other paleoecological analyses. Results reveal considerable population dynamism around the North Pacific in the last 5000 years and strengthen a previously reported inverse correlation between Northeast and Northwest Pacific proxy population indices. Visual and TIMI analyses suggest multiple, overlapping explanations for the variability, including the potential that oscillating ecological regime shifts affect the North Pacific basin. These results provide an opening for coordinated research to unpack the interrelated social, cultural and environmental dynamics around the subarctic and arctic North Pacific at different spatial and temporal scales by international teams of archaeologists, historians, paleoecologists, paleoceanographers, paleoclimatologists, modelers and data management specialists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Fitzhugh
- University of Washington, Department of Anthropology, 314 Denny Hall, Box 353100, Seattle, WA. 98195-3100
| | - William A. Brown
- University of Washington, Department of Statistics, Box 354322 Seattle, WA 98195-4322
| | - Nicole Misarti
- University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center (WERC), PO Box 755910, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5910
| | - Katsunori Takase
- Hokkaido University, Graduate School of Humanities and Human Sciences, Kita-10, Nishi-7, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, 060-0810
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Gutiérrez F, Peri JM, Baillès E, Sureda B, Gárriz M, Vall G, Cavero M, Mallorquí A, Ruiz Rodríguez J. A Double-Track Pathway to Fast Strategy in Humans and Its Personality Correlates. Front Psychol 2022; 13:889730. [PMID: 35756215 PMCID: PMC9218359 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.889730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The fast-slow paradigm of life history (LH) focuses on how individuals grow, mate, and reproduce at different paces. This paradigm can contribute substantially to the field of personality and individual differences provided that it is more strictly based on evolutionary biology than it has been so far. Our study tested the existence of a fast-slow continuum underlying indicators of reproductive effort-offspring output, age at first reproduction, number and stability of sexual partners-in 1,043 outpatients with healthy to severely disordered personalities. Two axes emerged reflecting a double-track pathway to fast strategy, based on restricted and unrestricted sociosexual strategies. When rotated, the fast-slow and sociosexuality axes turned out to be independent. Contrary to expectations, neither somatic effort-investment in status, material resources, social capital, and maintenance/survival-was aligned with reproductive effort, nor a clear tradeoff between current and future reproduction was evident. Finally, we examined the association of LH axes with seven high-order personality pathology traits: negative emotionality, impulsivity, antagonism, persistence-compulsivity, subordination, and psychoticism. Persistent and disinhibited subjects appeared as fast-restricted and fast-unrestricted strategists, respectively, whereas asocial subjects were slow strategists. Associations of LH traits with each other and with personality are far more complex than usually assumed in evolutionary psychology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Gutiérrez
- Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut d'Investigacións Biomèdiques August Pi Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep M Peri
- Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eva Baillès
- Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Bárbara Sureda
- Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miguel Gárriz
- Institut de Neuropsiquiatria i Addiccions (INAD), Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gemma Vall
- Department of Psychiatry, Mental Health, and Addiction, GSS-Hospital Santa Maria, Lleida, Spain.,Lleida Institute for Biomedical Research Dr. Pifarré Foundation, Lleida, Spain
| | - Myriam Cavero
- Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aida Mallorquí
- Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - José Ruiz Rodríguez
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment Section, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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8
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Kanaev IA. Evolutionary origin and the development of consciousness. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 133:104511. [PMID: 34942266 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 12/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
This review seeks to combine advances in anthropology and neuroscience to investigate the adaptive value of human consciousness. It uses an interdisciplinary perspective on the origin of consciousness to refute the most common fallacies in considering consciousness, particularly, disregarding the evolutionary origin of the subjective reality in looking for the neural correlates of consciousness and divorcing studies in neuroscience and behavioural sciences. Various explanations linked to consciousness in the field of neuroscience, supplemented with the theoretical explanation of an experience as an ongoing process of overlap between intrinsic neural dynamics and stimulation can be summarised as the stochastic dynamics of one's control system experienced by the individual in the form of subjective reality. This framework elaborates on the world-brain research program and lays foundation for the quantitative description of one's qualitative feelings and naturalistic science of consciousness. Furthermore, this study highlights the philosophical perspective of the inseparability between the physical correlates and the subjective reality contributing to the realistic ontology of conscious processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A Kanaev
- School of Philosophy, Zhengzhou University, 100, Science Avenue, High Tech Zone, Zhengzhou, 450001, People's Republic of China.
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Approximate Bayesian Computation of radiocarbon and paleoenvironmental record shows population resilience on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Nat Commun 2021; 12:3939. [PMID: 34168160 PMCID: PMC8225912 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24252-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Examining how past human populations responded to environmental and climatic changes is a central focus of the historical sciences. The use of summed probability distributions (SPD) of radiocarbon dates as a proxy for estimating relative population sizes provides a widely applicable method in this research area. Paleodemographic reconstructions and modeling with SPDs, however, are stymied by a lack of accepted methods for model fitting, tools for assessing the demographic impact of environmental or climatic variables, and a means for formal multi-model comparison. These deficiencies severely limit our ability to reliably resolve crucial questions of past human-environment interactions. We propose a solution using Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) to fit complex demographic models to observed SPDs. Using a case study from Rapa Nui (Easter Island), a location that has long been the focus of debate regarding the impact of environmental and climatic changes on its human population, we find that past populations were resilient to environmental and climatic challenges. Our findings support a growing body of evidence showing stable and sustainable communities on the island. The ABC framework offers a novel approach for exploring regions and time periods where questions of climate-induced demographic and cultural change remain unresolved. Summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates can be used to estimate past demography, but methods to test for associations with environmental change are lacking. Here, DiNapoli et al. propose an approach using Approximate Bayesian Computation and illustrate it in a case study of Rapa Nui.
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French JC, Riris P, Fernandéz-López de Pablo J, Lozano S, Silva F. A manifesto for palaeodemography in the twenty-first century. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 376:20190707. [PMID: 33250019 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer C French
- Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Philip Riris
- Institute for the Modelling of Socio-Environmental Transitions, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | | | | | - Fabio Silva
- Institute for the Modelling of Socio-Environmental Transitions, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
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