Modern humans are unique in their ability to adapt to, and to thrive in, different environments. This trait facilitated their dispersal out-of-Africa to higher latitudes, i.e. to temperate and seasonal habitats, during the Pleistocene. However, there are Plio-Pleistocene hominins at higher latitudes in South Africa (SA) from ~3.7Ma onwards. Did human behavioural/physiological flexibility evolve early in our evolutionary history? Alternatively, did Pliocene hominins occupy such temperate zones due to different palaeoclimatic conditions in deep time and/or due to stochastic events? To untangle these questions this project will: (1) determine the geomorphological and palaeoecological changes in the Kalahari/proto-Limpopo basin, (2) create dynamic palaeo-precipitation/-vegetation models from various archives, (3) carry out detailed anatomical, functional and morphometric analyses of the hominin fossil record and (4) combine the datasets to appraise species diversity (functional adaptations), geneflow (hybridization) and dispersal scenarios (palaeobiogeography). 3 key working hypotheses underlie the proposal: 1. >2.6Ma East African (EA) hominin ranges expanded/contracted in accord with wet and dry phases; periodically, the southernmost populations became reproductively isolated. Early SA hominins represent descendants of Australopithecus anamensis and Australopithecus afarensis, respectively. 2. ~2.6-1.5Ma With the onset of the Northern Hemisphere Glaciation and the re-organisation of the drainage pattern within the Kalahari basin, dispersal corridors repeatedly closed (vicariance) and opened, resulting in intermittent levels of gene flow (i.e. hybridization) between EA and SA hominins. 3. <~1.5Ma Tectonic and hydrographic changes led to the Zambezi River becoming a powerful barrier during the Pleistocene. SA hominins younger than 1.5Ma are likely the result of endemism; competitive exclusion amongst these hominins resulted in exploitation of distinct ecological niches

Violence Violence is an important societal challenge and associated with poor health outcomes across the life-course. Studies find consistent associations between childhood violence exposure and risk for victimisation and perpetration in adulthood, particularly across generations. Thus far, we lack an evidence-base to understand the underlying mechanisms of intergenerational violence transmission as well as potential for prevention in regions with high rates of interpersonal violence such as sub-Saharan Africa. This marks a major evidence gap and a compelling need. This study will use a mixed methods approach to develop the first-known empirically-generated theoretical framework on intergenerational violence transmission. It will do so using three approaches never utilised in the region: 1) using data from a 1-year longitudinal study of 1800 adolescents in South Africa (interviewed in 2010/11 and 2011/2012) it will re-trace original participants, re-interview them as young adults aged 20-27, recruit their children (n~211) and previous primary caregivers (n~540) and conduct in-depth qualitative work on a sub-sample of families to identify mechanisms of violence transmission across generations and genders, 2) it will investigate the effect of the prevalent structural risk factors poverty, poor service access and delivery and the HIV epidemic on violence transmission, and 3) it will examine the effect of protective interventions and policies using quasi-experimental methods. This study will transform our understanding of the causes, effects and potential prevention mechanisms of intergenerational violence transmission through cutting-edge social science research. This is an ambitious research agenda of a complex behaviour and is characterised by methodological and theoretical innovation never used in the region before. The methodology presents high risks balanced by the potential for ground-breaking scientific and social impact for violence research and prevention.

This project will investigate how urban futures are made through different global circuits and in turn shape key transnational processes: geopolitics, development and private investment, through a close focus on the transnational actors and decision-making processes involved in large-scale developments and interventions in selected African cities. The research will produce: new theoretical perspectives on urban politics and policy-relevant understandings of state capacity and land value capture in urban development. The project brings to fruition the applicant’s agenda-setting post-colonial critique in urban studies (2006, Ordinary Cities, Routledge), practically worked through in her recent innovations in comparative urbanism (forthcoming, Comparative Urbanism, Sage). This research will bring forward original empirical findings and develop further the innovative comparative methods tested in a recent esrc funded project. It will contribute theorizations of the new territories of global urban politics, starting in African contexts. Engagements with residents, stakeholders, policy makers and practitioners will build understanding of how better urban outcomes might be secured. The project compares three transnational circuits and nine cases of urban development in three cities (Accra, Dar es Salaam, Lilongwe) where all three circuits have a strong presence, and which encompass a range of levels of urbanization and economic development. Focussing on transnationalised urban development processes and the widely spread phenomenon of large scale urban developments will provide a basis to work against the neglect and exceptionalism of African experiences within urban studies, an important motivation for this project. The research seeks to build African based research capacity in urban studies and includes African based collaborators and early career scholars in the research team.

The interest in traditional agriculture is a worldwide trend: as people reclaim their heritage, they increasingly turn to lessons learned by their ancestors about how to sustainability interact with their environment. The network "Dryland agriculture and Land use; past, present and future resilience [AGRI-DRY]" aims to develop an interdisciplinary approach to traditional crop cultivation through the recognition of the complementary value of cultural heritage and sustainable living. Human cultural development is inextricably linked with the development of agriculture. This bond resulted in the "domestication" of the biological and physical environments around us, and historically shaped and engendered present-day landscapes. Agricultural landscapes are a testimony to humanity's long interaction with the land, often-unique examples of the whole people-nature system. They demonstrate a rich cultural and landscape diversity, sustainable land-use systems and, in some cases, people's daily struggle for survival under extreme climatic and environmental conditions. It is now recognized the key role of traditional knowledge of indigenous people and local communities for ecosystem management and sustainable use of resources in the light of climate change. AGRI-DRY aims to bring about a significant reorientation of European and African doctoral training in traditional agriculture. The change will involve both substance and approach. The substance is the strong focus on rigorous techniques for interdisciplinary research. The approach is the emphasis on both research and applicative work, through the participation of both academic and advocacy and policy-making institutions. AGRI-DRY represents a unique opportunity for European young researchers to form a "critical mass" and enjoy a wide array of training opportunities that will be competitive with the best programmes offered outside Europe.