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Seasonal and annual water supplies of the rivers originating in the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya (HKH) region of Pakistan are important to manage the Indus basin irrigation system for better agricultural production and its dependent agrarian economy. In this study, we simulated the current and future snowmelt runoff in a poorly gauged river basin of the Hindukush region under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) climate change scenarios. Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM) furnished with satellite snow cover maps and hydro-meteorological data were used to simulate the daily river discharge for the period 2000‒2005. The results indicated that SRM has effectually simulated the runoff in Chitral River with Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient of 0.85 (0.84) and 0.88 (0.83) in the basin-wide (zone-wise) application during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. The results obtained under future climate change scenario showed ∼14‒19% increase in mean summer discharge under three mid-21st century RCP (2.6, 4.5 and 8.5) scenarios. While an increase of ∼13‒37% is expected under late-21st century RCP scenarios. This study can help water resource managers to plan and manage peak discharges from the Chitral River Basin in the future and can thus prevent major losses due to floods in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the world, including the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalayan (HKH) region, the population depends on snow and glaciers-melt waters to grow food, generate electricity and store water for their use throughout the year. The annual and seasonal variation in the snow cover area (SCA) due to its response to the climatic variables directly influences the water supplies. The aim of current study is to evaluate the spatio-temporal trends in the annual and seasonal snow cover at basin-wide scale. Impact of topography on the SCA is analyzed by revealing the trends in SCA in different elevation bands. It also investigates the trends in hydro-climatic factors (temperature, precipitation and river flows) in the Chitral River basin (Hindukush region) and their linkage to the SCA variations. Snow cover is estimated using cloud-free 8-day MODIS snow products on 17-year time-period (2000–2016). Hydro-climatic data of the river flow (1989–2014), temperature, and precipitation (1965–2013) were obtained from Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), and Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD). Trend analysis of the SCA and hydro-climatic variables was carried out using Mann-Kendall's trend test and Sen's slope. The results reveal: (1) a significant increasing trend in the SCA at basin-wide scale and at all elevation zones i.e. A to E (1471–7708 m ASL), except zone B (2500–3500 m ASL), (2) decreasing and constant trends in the mean temperature and total precipitation, respectively, over the same time-period as SCA indicating possible reasons for increasing SCA, (3) a slight decrease in the mean annual and summer flow (1989–2014) possibly due to the summer cooling, reduced snowmelt and slightly decreasing summer precipitation over this time-period, and (4) strong dependency of the Chitral River flow on snowmelt, driven by the temperature seasonality. Modeling snowmelt runoff under future climate projections in the study area may help to manage the water resources properly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brunel University has appointed the first professor of video games in the UK, Tanya Krzywinska, who will lead the university's new MA in digital games: theory and design. Tanya Krzywinska also lectures on the university's new MA in cult film and TV.

David Crystal, leading language authority, claims that globalisation and the internet are altering English radically. The number of English speakers is fast approaching 2 billion and non-native speakers outnumber native speakers by three to one, suggesting the growth and increasing non-standardisation of 'new Englishes'.

A 'sensory revolution' is underway in academia where for centuries nothing was considered unless it could be rendered into text. There has been a 'sensual revolution' in social sciences and the revolution highlights the fact that the senses are constructed and lived differently in different periods and societies.

Sanjit 'Bunker' Roy has been preaching 'people's' solutions to help the impoverished learn and earn for over 30 years. He founded the Barefoot College in rural India and he has won several social entrepreneurship awards.

The controversy surrounding the Danish cartoon has failed to spark debate between Muslim academics and secular peers. This failure raises the question of whether the 'progressive intelligentsia' considers religion unworthy of attention.

Institutions such as universities and museums are feeling pressure from the Department for Culture, media and Sport or market forces to reflect Britain's fast-changing demographic make-up. Forces from above and below say heritage must get blacker, but there is no British Asian national museum or archive.

An analysis of the changing face of Muslim students at universities in the UK. It is argued that today's Muslim students are more likely to be comfortable with their faith then those from previous generations and that lecturers should be doing more to engage with them.

Diana Evans, author of novel 26a and recipient of a UKPd100,00 two-book deal with publishers Chatto and Windus, analyses the value of the MA in creative writing that she received from the University of East Anglia. She contends that while her MA was useful, ultimately creative writing courses cannot really teach people how to write.

An analysis of the efforts by the South Asian community in the UK to preserve their arts heritage, in particular paying attention to the efforts of the South Asian Diaspora Literature and Arts Archive (Salidaa) and its efforts to team up with an university as a partner. While the efforts of universities to address the history of ethnic minority culture are praised, the demands that universities place on independent archives, such as Salidaa, and the lack of funding for such resources are criticised.

Issues relating to the history of immigrants in the United Kingdom over the last 200 years are examined in the light of the launch of new website www.movinghere.org.uk, a free website which, when finished, will hold over 150,000 items of information from 30 archives and museums. The resources available detail the history of Irish, South Asian, Caribbean and Jewish people in the UK since 1800.

This article examines the creation of a 16 mil pound cultural center in Tower Hamlets, England, that is to focus on art, community, and multiculturalism. The Rich Mix Center will open in 2004 and offer training in the cultural industries to historically marginalized groups.

Minority film-makers are almost invisible in the British movie and television industy. One big reasons is that they lack the social networks that provide access to opportunity in these industries. Some programs to provide that access are starting to take place.

Julia Kristeva wrote 'Murder in Byzantium: A Novel' following the death of her father. Her motives for writing the book are questioned in the article and her belief in inquiry in the face of religious extremism uncovered.