Twenty Years of Providing Free Plants in An Urban New Zealand Setting: What Affects Community Participation and Planting Success?

An urban greening programme in Wellington, New Zealand providing free plants to city residents was evaluated with the following objectives: 1. To assess the levels of plant survival after five, ten, and fifteen years and determine factors contributing to observed survival; 2. To investigate factors influencing participation in the programme; 3. To quantify the some of the socioeconomic factors relating to programme participants and environmental factors relating to sites. Data were collected from a combination of council records, site surveys and postal questionnaire surveys. The study found that plant survival was generally poor, but was mainly influenced by indigeneity of the plants. Contrary to many theories of exotic invasiveness, New Zealand native plants were 4.3 times more likely to survive than exotic plants. Site based effects were not found to influence survival significantly; nor were specific plant traits, or year of planting. A small sample of these sites was matched to questionnaire responses and it was found that length of residence by programme participants increased the performance of the best model indigeneity, indicating that increasing length of residence was a predictor of better survival of plantings. The questionnaire respondents included both those who had participated in the programme and those who had not. The sample population, however, was quite distinct from the general population of the region, being older, wealthier, having higher levels of education, and twice as likely to own their own home. As suggested by previous research looking at the effects of socioeconomic factors on urban forestry or urban greening participation was shown in this study to be mainly affected by the age of the respondent, which increased the odds of participation by 200% between the youngest and oldest age groups. This socioeconomic model was improved when two factors were included: the number of trees outside their property, and, horticultural knowledge of the participant. This indicates that participants might be more motivated by personal interest in horticulture, than in improving environmental conditions

A Qualitative Study Exploring How the Aims, Language and Actions of Yoga for Pregnancy Teachers May Impact Upon Women's Self-efficacy for Labour and Birth

As women's anxiety and the rate of medical intervention in labour and birth continue to increase, it is important to identify how antenatal education can increase women's confidence and their ability to manage the intense sensations of labour. To report a grounded theory study of how the aims, language and actions of yoga for pregnancy teachers may impact upon women's self-efficacy for labour and birth. Yoga for pregnancy classes in three locations were filmed. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with the teachers to explore what they were trying to achieve in their classes, and how. Interviews and classes were transcribed and analysed using grounded theory. There was considerable consistency in the teachers’ aims, the language they used in classes and in their thinking about class structure. Four main themes emerged: creating a sisterhood, modelling labour, building confidence and enhancing learning. Teachers see yoga for pregnancy as a multi-faceted, non-prescriptive intervention that enhances women's physical, emotional and social readiness for labour and birth, and supports women to make their own decisions across the transition to parenthood. Women's self-efficacy for labour is complex and multi-factorial. This study offers insights into the factors which may be involved in increasing it. These include not only traditional elements of yoga such as postures, breathing and meditation, but also the creation of safe, women-only groups where anxieties, experiences and stories can be shared, and pain-coping techniques for labour learned and practised

Turning evidence into recommendations: Protocol of a study guideline development groups

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health care practice based on research evidence requires that evidence is synthesised, and that recommendations based on this evidence are implemented. It also requires an intermediate step: translating synthesised evidence into practice recommendations. There is considerable literature on evidence synthesis and implementation, but little on how guideline development groups (GDGs) produce recommendations. This is a complex process, with many influences on communication and decision-making, <it>e.g</it>., the quality of evidence, methods of presentation, practical/resource constraints, individual values, professional and scientific interests, social and psychological processes. To make this process more transparent and potentially effective, we need to understand these influences. Psychological theories of decision-making and social influence provide a framework for this understanding.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>This study aims to investigate the processes by which GDGs formulate recommendations, drawing on psychological theories of decision-making and social influence. The findings will potentially inform the further evolution of GDG methods, such as choice of members and procedures for presenting evidence, conducting discussion and formulating recommendations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Longitudinal observation of the meetings of three National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) GDGs, one from each of acute, mental health and public health, will be tape recorded and transcribed. Interviews with a sample of GDG members at the beginning, middle, and end of the GDG's work will be recorded and transcribed. Site documents including relevant e-mail interchanges, GDG meeting minutes, and stakeholders' responses to the drafts of the recommendations will be collected. Data will be selected for analysis if they refer to either evidence or recommendations; the focus is on "hot spots", <it>e.g</it>., dilemmas, conflicts, and uncertainty. Data will be analysed thematically and by content analysis, drawing on psychological theories of decision-making and social influence.</p

A Peace of My Mind: Victoria Thorpe

Interviewed by Sarah Berentson May 201

Twenty Years of Providing Free Plants in An Urban New Zealand Setting: What Affects Community Participation and Planting Success?

An urban greening programme in Wellington, New Zealand providing free plants to city residents was evaluated with the following objectives: 1. To assess the levels of plant survival after five, ten, and fifteen years and determine factors contributing to observed survival; 2. To investigate factors influencing participation in the programme; 3. To quantify the some of the socioeconomic factors relating to programme participants and environmental factors relating to sites. Data were collected from a combination of council records, site surveys and postal questionnaire surveys. The study found that plant survival was generally poor, but was mainly influenced by indigeneity of the plants. Contrary to many theories of exotic invasiveness, New Zealand native plants were 4.3 times more likely to survive than exotic plants. Site based effects were not found to influence survival significantly; nor were specific plant traits, or year of planting. A small sample of these sites was matched to questionnaire responses and it was found that length of residence by programme participants increased the performance of the best model indigeneity, indicating that increasing length of residence was a predictor of better survival of plantings. The questionnaire respondents included both those who had participated in the programme and those who had not. The sample population, however, was quite distinct from the general population of the region, being older, wealthier, having higher levels of education, and twice as likely to own their own home. As suggested by previous research looking at the effects of socioeconomic factors on urban forestry or urban greening participation was shown in this study to be mainly affected by the age of the respondent, which increased the odds of participation by 200% between the youngest and oldest age groups. This socioeconomic model was improved when two factors were included: the number of trees outside their property, and, horticultural knowledge of the participant. This indicates that participants might be more motivated by personal interest in horticulture, than in improving environmental conditions

Where There is a Will: encouraging policymakers to value unpaid labour

Unpaid labour, notably caring labour, is one of the most important and productive sectors of our society. Its inherent and measurable value has been stressed by scholars and practitioners, feminists and those doing unpaid work for generations. Yet policymakers continue to sideline it. This article describes the improvements that would flow from recognising and responding to the importance of unpaid labour, the values and cultural narratives that help explain the lack of policymaking will, and the potential for counters to these narratives

Impacts of a weed biocontrol agent on recovery from water stress in a target and a non-target Hypericum species

1. Biological control agents that impact on non-target native species have limited desirability. Aculus hyperici was introduced into Australia to help control the weed St John's wort Hypericum perforatum, despite indications from pre-release trials that this eriophyid mite could survive and reproduce on a non-target native species, Hypericum gramineum. We used field experiments to explore the probability of A. hyperici colonizing either H. gramineum or H. perforatum in sympatric populations of the alternative hosts, and to determine the impact of A. hyperici on the growth of field-grown H. gramineum. 2. We used a glasshouse experiment to compare the impact of 4. hyperici on the ability of each host to recover from water stress and to investigate how such recovery affects herbivore populations on the alternative hosts. As Australia is frequently affected by drought, this issue is critical to both the efficacy and safety of biological weed control. 3. The probability of A. hyperici colonizing H. gramineum was significantly lower than the probability of it colonizing the target weed. Despite the ability of A. hyperici to infest H. gramineum, the mite had negligible impacts on all measured indices of growth and reproduction. 4. During the water limitation experiment, the non-target host supported populations of A. hyperici throughout the experimental period, but population size was consistently low. In comparison, mite populations increased considerably on the target weed and were associated with significant decreases in growth. Water limitation compounded the adverse impacts of mites on the weed, but did not affect impacts on the non-target native. 5. Despite the detrimental effects of mites on the growth of H. perforatum, we found little evidence that they impaired the ability of either H. perforatum or H. gramineum to recover from water stress. 6. Synthesis and applications. Rigorous host-specificity testing is necessary to ensure that biological weed control agents do not impact on non-target species. Potentially, however, these tests may reject beneficial agents unnecessarily, because of low level feeding or reproduction on non-target species. Although host-specificity testing might indicate that non-target native species may host biocontrol agents, our results demonstrate that such non-target species are not, necessarily, damaged

Bite and Suction Forces of the Adductor Muscle in Four Sculpin Species

To prevent constant competition across species, different species may develop different morphologies to increase their ability to attain a certain food source within a niche. By dissecting the adductor muscle and taking measurements in four sculpin species we can begin to assess how their feeding styles and niches influence their jaw morphology. Many parts of the jaw, such as the mandible, grow with the individual size of the organism, contributing to an ability to consume bigger prey. The advantages of more bite force for crushing harder prey, such as in Enophrys bison, are compared to the advantages of higher velocity and fluid flow in the buccal cavity, such as in the suction using Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus. We also found that bigger adductor muscles does not actually lead to larger gape angles, but in fact decreases the maximum gape angles