This article studies the ice flow in the Valais region during the last glaciation (Würm) in detail. The numerical modelling shows a discrepancy of the height of the ice cap compared to the geomorphological evidence based on trimlines. However, geomorphological evidence at the Simplon Pass indicating an ice flow from the Rhone valley into the valley of Toce was confirmed. Furthermore it is shown that for this confirmation a sufficient ice thickness is obligatory.

This paper addresses family migration amongst highly-skilled professionals. Many highly-skilled professionals who move abroad for career reasons are accompanied by partners and children. However, their integration processes are rarely discussed. The article is based on interviews with highly-skilled migrants and their accompanying partners in Germany and Great Britain. The results indicate that parents’ efforts for their children’s integration also have an effect on their own integration.

In this paper we explore semantic diversity observed in relation to forests. We do so on the basis of first-hand linguistic field data from a global sample of indigenous categorization systems as they are manifested in six diverse languages. We show that basic linguistic categories relating to tree cover vary considerably in their principles of semantic encoding across languages, and that forest is a challenging category from the point of view of intercultural translatability.

The concept forest transition refers to a pattern in which historical deforestation is replaced by forest regrowth. The concept normally points to economic, social, and political causes. This paper proposes a new analytical model that focuses attention on four interrelated processes: changes in tree cover; changes in forest quality; change in the ecological, socio-economic, and political processes that create particular forests; and changes in the way we think about and categorize forests.

This short paper provides the initial provocation for a themed issue that emerges from a conference on the topic of geographies of social crises/crises of social geographies. We call for social geographers to engage with the historical and current dynamics of places and milieus to understand novel class societies and the violence that underpins social inequalities.