Perceptions of time in relation to climate change

Time is at the heart of understanding climate change, from the perspective of both natural and social scientists. This article selectively reviews research on time perception and temporal aspects of decision making in sociology and psychology. First we briefly describe the temporal dimensions that characterize the issue of climate change. Second, we review relevant theoretical approaches and empirical findings. Then we propose an integration of these insights for the problem of climate change and discuss mismatches between the human mind, surrounding social dynamics, and climate change. Finally, we discuss the implications of this article for understanding and responding to climate change, and make suggestions on how we can use the strengths of the human mind and social dynamics to communicate climate change in its temporal context.This article is categorized under: Climate, History, Society, Culture &gt; Ideas and Knowledge Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change &gt; Perceptions of Climate Change </jats:p

Genetic and environmental covariation between autistic traits and behavioral problems

Objective: To examine the overlap between autistic traits and other behavioral problems in a general population sample, and explore the extent to which this overlap is due to genetic or environmental factors. Method: Youth Self Report (YSR) data were collected in a general population sample of 424 twin pairs at 18 years of age, and their non twin siblings. In 197 of these twin families, self-report ratings on the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ) were collected. Results: Stepwise backward regression analyses revealed that of all 8 YSR syndrome scales, the Withdrawn Behavior (WB) and Social Problems (SOC) scale were the most important predictors of AQ scores, and together with sex, explained 23% of the variance in AQ scores. Genetic structural equation modeling showed that the overlap between AQ and WB and SOC was mainly due to genetic effects. About half of the genetic variance in AQ scores was specific to the AQ, with the remaining half shared with genetic variance in WB and SOC. Conclusions: Endorsement of autistic traits in a general population sample is associated with social and withdrawn behavioral problems and these problems partly share a common genetic etiology with autistic traits. However, most of the variance in AQ scores remains unexplained by YSR scores, and half of the genetic variance in AQ is unshared with WB and SOC. These results indicate that autistic traits have specific characteristics that are substantially genetically independent from other common but related behavioral domains such as social problems and withdrawn behavior

Energy saving behaviours among social housing tenants: Exploring the relationship with dwelling characteristics, monetary concerns, and psychological motivations

Increasing our understanding of the factors that influence energy saving behaviour could help in the development of more effective energy saving interventions. This paper describes the first phase of the EnerGAware project which aims to develop a serious game for social housing tenants in the UK. A survey was conducted to inform the design of the game, which investigated the relationship between psychological factors, context-specific factors (i.e. dwelling characteristics and monetary concerns), and energy saving behaviours. In total, 537 households completed a postal survey, with a response rate of 19.4%. The results showed that experiencing difficulty in keeping the home comfortably warm in winter related to behaviour. In particular, concerns about the affordability of heating seemed to be related to more frequent heating-related energy saving behaviours. Experiencing issues with overheating, damp, mould or condensation – and general concerns about energy bills, did not relate to energy saving behaviours. Overall, the psychological factors measured in the study related more strongly to energy saving behaviours; especially the ability to imagine energy use and strong social norms had a positive relationship with energy saving behaviour. The implications of the findings for the design of the serious game are discussed. Thus, the study uses a combined approach examining psychological and contextual factors to illustrate how important behavioural motivators relevant to a specific group of householders can be included in the design of an intervention

Extra-planar gas in the spiral galaxy NGC 4559

We present 21-cm line observations of the spiral galaxy NGC 4559, made with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. We have used them to study the HI distribution and kinematics, the relative amount and distribution of luminous and dark matter in this galaxy and, in particular, the presence of extra-planar gas. Our data do reveal the presence of such a component, in the form of a thick disk, with a mass of 5.9 x 10^8 Mo (one tenth of the total HI mass) and a mean rotation velocity 25-50 km/s lower than that of the thin disk. The extra-planar gas may be the result of galactic fountains but accretion from the IGM cannot be ruled out. With this study we confirm that lagging, thick HI layers are likely to be common in spiral galaxies.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Estimation of individual genetic and environmental profiles in longitudinal designs

Parameter estimates obtained in the genetic analysis of longitudinal data can be used to construct individual genetic and environmental profiles across time. Such individual profiles enable the attribution of individual phenotypic change to changes in the underlying genetic or environmental processes and may lead to practical applications in genetic counseling and epidemiology. Simulations show that individual estimates of factor scores can be reliably obtained. Decomposition of univariate, and to a lesser extent of bivariate, phenotypic time series may yield estimates of independent individual G(t) and E(t), however, that are intercorrelated. The magnitude of these correlations depends somewhat on the autocorrelation structure of the underlying series, but to obtain completely independent estimates of genetic and environmental individual profiles, at least three measured indicators are needed at each point in time. KEY WORDS: longitudinal genetic analysis; environmental profiles; genetic profiles; factor scores; Kalman filter

Lessons on visual feedback from the eViz Project: The evidence for using thermal images as a visual intervention

Feedback in energy demand reduction: Examining evidence and exploring opportunitie

Heritability of daytime cortisol levels in children

INTRODUCTION Cortisol is a steroid hormone secreted by the outer cortex of the adrenal gland. Its secretion is stimulated by ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone), produced in the pituitary in response to corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), a product from neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus.After its release, the major part of cortisol binds to the plasma proteins corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG, or transcortin) and albumin, which prevents the hormone from penetrating the membranes of their target cells. About 3--5% of the total cortisol is the unbound, biologically active fraction. This active fraction has permissive, suppressive, stimulatory, and preparative action effects in the realms of cardiovascular function, fluid volume and hemorrhage, immunity and inflammation, metabolism, neurobiology, and reproductive physiology (Sapolsky, Romero, and Munck, 2000). Although cortisol is mainly known for its pivotal role in generating an adequate response to phy

Ionized and neutral gas in the peculiar star/cluster complex in NGC 6946

The characteristics of ionized and HI gas in the peculiar star/cluster complex in NGC 6946, obtained with the 6-m telescope (BTA) SAO RAS, the Gemini North telescope, and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), are presented. The complex is unusual as hosting a super star cluster, the most massive known in an apparently non-interacting giant galaxy. It contains a number of smaller clusters and is bordered by a sharp C-shaped rim. We found that the complex is additionally unusual in having peculiar gas kinematics. The velocity field of the ionized gas reveals a deep oval minimum, ~300 pc in size, centered 7" east of the supercluster. The Vr of the ionized gas in the dip center is 100 km/s lower than in its surroundings, and emission lines within the dip appear to be shock excited. This dip is near the center of an HI hole and a semi-ring of HII regions. The HI (and less certainly, HII) velocity fields reveal expansion, with the velocity reaching ~30 km/s at a distance about 300 pc from the center of expansion, which is near the deep minimum position. The super star cluster is at the western rim of the minimum. The sharp western rim of the whole complex is plausibly a manifestation of a regular dust arc along the complex edge. Different hypotheses about the complex and the Vr depression origins are discussed, including a HVC/dark mini-halo impact, a BCD galaxy merging, and a gas outflow due to release of energy from the supercluster stars.Comment: MN RAS, accepte