Effect of the Total Girl Wellness Program on Wellness Behaviors in Adolescent Females

Adolescent females perceive themselves to be healthy but research suggests this population engages in unhealthy and risky behaviors. Health habits established during youth transition into adulthood and may contribute to chronic diseases later in life. Guided by Bandura\u27s Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the purpose of this study was to test the effect of a comprehensive wellness intervention on overall wellness, physical fitness, and self-efficacy for health promoting behaviors in female adolescents. A multidisciplinary concept analysis of shame suggested components of shame can impact environment, personal factors, and behavior, the key concepts of SCT. An intervention based on SCT and titled Total Girl Wellness Program was developed. The 12-week program includes interactive modules that address wellness, obesity prevention, healthy relationships, and avoiding risky behaviors. An experimental design was used to test the effect of the Total Girl Wellness Program in a sample of 153 adolescent females enrolled in physical education. Independent sample t-tests revealed significant (p \u3c .01) improvement in the scores of the essential-self wellness subscale and the health promotion self-efficacy subscale. Although physical fitness was not significantly improved, the intervention was well-received by participants and school personnel. Findings from this study suggest adolescent females can learn wellness skills that may impact future health behaviors and wellness

Valuing the Recreational Benefits From the Creation of Nature Reserves in Irish Forests

Data from a large-scale contingent valuation study are used to investigate the effects of forest attributes on willingness to pay for forest recreation in Ireland. In particular, the presence of a nature reserve in the forest is found to significantly increase the visitors' willingness to pay. A random utility model is used to estimate the welfare change associated with the creation of nature reserves in all the Irish forests currently without one. The yearly impact on visitors' economic welfare of new nature reserves approaches half a million pounds per annum, exclusive of non recreational values.Non-market valuation, Contingent valuation, Forest attributes analysis, Nature reserves.

The role of metaphor in shaping the identity and agenda of the United Nations: the imagining of an international community and international threat

This article examines the representation of the United Nations in speeches delivered by its Secretary General. It focuses on the role of metaphor in constructing a common ‘imagining’ of international diplomacy and legitimising an international organisational identity. The SG legitimises the organisation, in part, through the delegitimisation of agents/actions/events constructed as threatening to the international community and to the well-being of mankind. It is a desire to combat the forces of menace or evil which are argued to motivate and determine the organisational agenda. This is predicated upon an international ideology of humanity in which difference is silenced and ‘working towards the common good’ is emphasised. This is exploited to rouse emotions and legitimise institutional power. Polarisation and antithesis are achieved through the employment of metaphors designed to enhance positive and negative evaluations. The article further points to the constitutive, persuasive and edifying power of topic and situationally-motivated metaphors in speech-making

Combined Electroweak Analysis

Recent developments in the measurement of precision electroweak measurements are summarised, notably new results on the mass of the top quark and mass and width of the W boson. Predictions of the Standard Model are compared to the experimental results which are used to constrain the input parameters of the Standard Model, in particular the mass of the Higgs boson. The agreement between measurements and expectations from theory is discussed. Invited talk presented at the EPS HEP 2007 conference Manchester, England, July 19th to 25th, 2007Comment: 7 pages and 6 figure

Digging and Destruction: Artifact Collecting as Meaningful Social Practice

Collected sites are commonly seen as places requiring expert intervention to ‘save the past’ from destruction by artifact collectors and looters. Despite engaging directly with the physical effects of collecting and vandalism, little attention is given to the meanings of these actions and the contributions they make to the stories told about sites or the past more broadly. Professional archaeologists often position their engagement with site destruction as heritage ‘salvage’ and regard collecting as lacking any value in contemporary society. Repositioning collecting as meaningful social practice and heritage action raises the question: in failing to understand legal or illegal collecting as significant to heritage, have archaeologists contributed to the erasure of acts that aim to work out identities, memories and senses of place, and contribute to an individual’s or group’s sense of ontological security? This question is explored through a case study from the New England region of North America where archaeologists have allied with Native American and other stakeholders to advocate for heritage protection by taking an anti-looting/collecting stance. We explore alternatives to this position that engage directly with forms of collecting as meaningful social practices that are largely erased in site narratives

Önkéntesség és közösségfejlesztés = Volunteerism and community development

Dolgozatom központi témája az önkéntesség, annak mind a formális (szervezeti), mind az informális (szervezeten kívüli) változata. Magyarországon a rendszerváltás óta egy sor tanulmány született az önkéntességről, és ismert annak formális és informális csoportosítása is, e dichotómia mégis viszonylag ritkán került a kutatói figyelem középpontjába. Ugyancsak kevés tanulmány összpontosít a többváltozós statisztikai adatelemzés módszereit felhasználó ok-okozati összefüggésekre önkéntesség témakörben. Dolgozatom ezen hiányokat kívánja pótolni úgy, hogy egyrészt kiemeli a formális és informális önkéntesség elkülönítésének fontosságát, másrészt a különbségeket több tényezővel - társadalmi státus, motiváció – magyarázza is. Az önkéntesség vizsgálatának különleges aktualitását 2011-ben az adja, hogy ezt az évet az Európai Tanács az Önkéntesség Európai Évének nyilvánította

Range-wide patterns of geographic variation in songs of Golden-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia atricapilla)

Discrete geographic variation, or dialects, in songs of songbirds arise as a consequence of complex interactions between ecology and song learning. Four of the five species of Zonotrichia sparrows, including the model species White-crowned Sparrow (Z. leucophrys), have been studied with respect to the causes and consequences of geographic variation in song. Within White-crowned Sparrows, subspecies that migrate farther have larger range size of dialects. Here, we assessed geographic patterns of song variation in the fifth species of this genus, the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Z. atricapilla). We analyzed field-recorded songs from 2 sampling periods (1996–1998 and 2006–2013) covering most of its breeding range in western North America. All songs began with a descending whistle and most songs consisted of 3–4 phrases that contained combinations of whistles, buzzes, and trills. We identified 13 discrete song types based on unique sequences of phrase types and frequency changes between phrases. Over 90% of individuals sang 1 of 5 song types, and we found clear dialect structure composed of these 5 common song types. The geographic range of dialects spanned large distances (500 to 1,700 km), resembling the geographic structure of dialects in the long-distance migrant Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrow (Z. l. gambelli), though locations of dialect boundaries differ between species. Because both Golden-crowned Sparrows and Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrows migrate similarly long distances, our study provides support to the hypothesis that dialect range size correlates with migration distance. We found little evidence of change in dialect composition in 4 populations that were sampled 15 years apart, which suggests that the dialect structure is stable across multiple generations. Our study opens the door for further comparisons to investigate links between ecology and the emergence of song dialects in this well-studied genus

Range-wide patterns of geographic variation in songs of Golden-crowned Sparrows (\u3ci\u3eZonotrichia atricapilla\u3c/i\u3e)

Discrete geographic variation, or dialects, in songs of songbirds arise as a consequence of complex interactions between ecology and song learning. Four of the five species of Zonotrichia sparrows, including the model species White-crowned Sparrow (Z. leucophrys), have been studied with respect to the causes and consequences of geographic variation in song. Within White-crowned Sparrows, subspecies that migrate farther have larger range size of dialects. Here, we assessed geographic patterns of song variation in the fifth species of this genus, the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Z. atricapilla). We analyzed field-recorded songs from 2 sampling periods (1996–1998 and 2006–2013) covering most of its breeding range in western North America. All songs began with a descending whistle and most songs consisted of 3–4 phrases that contained combinations of whistles, buzzes, and trills. We identified 13 discrete song types based on unique sequences of phrase types and frequency changes between phrases. Over 90% of individuals sang 1 of 5 song types, and we found clear dialect structure composed of these 5 common song types. The geographic range of dialects spanned large distances (500 to 1,700 km), resembling the geographic structure of dialects in the long-distance migrant Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrow (Z. l. gambelli), though locations of dialect boundaries differ between species. Because both Golden-crowned Sparrows and Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrows migrate similarly long distances, our study provides support to the hypothesis that dialect range size correlates with migration distance. We found little evidence of change in dialect composition in 4 populations that were sampled 15 years apart, which suggests that the dialect structure is stable across multiple generations. Our study opens the door for further comparisons to investigate links between ecology and the emergence of song dialects in this well-studied genus

Range-wide patterns of geographic variation in songs of Golden-crowned Sparrows (\u3ci\u3eZonotrichia atricapilla\u3c/i\u3e)

Discrete geographic variation, or dialects, in songs of songbirds arise as a consequence of complex interactions between ecology and song learning. Four of the five species of Zonotrichia sparrows, including the model species White-crowned Sparrow (Z. leucophrys), have been studied with respect to the causes and consequences of geographic variation in song. Within White-crowned Sparrows, subspecies that migrate farther have larger range size of dialects. Here, we assessedgeographic patterns of song variation in the fifth species of this genus, the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Z. atricapilla). We analyzed field-recorded songs from 2 sampling periods (1996–1998 and 2006–2013) covering most of its breeding range in western North America. All songs began with a descending whistle and most songs consisted of 3–4 phrases that contained combinations of whistles, buzzes, and trills. We identified 13 discrete song types based on unique sequences of phrase types and frequency changes between phrases. Over 90% of individuals sang 1 of 5 song types, and we found clear dialect structure composed of these 5 common song types. The geographic range of dialects spanned large distances (500 to 1,700 km), resembling the geographic structure of dialects in the long-distance migrant Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrow (Z. l. gambelli), though locations of dialect boundaries differ between species. Because both Golden-crowned Sparrows and Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrows migrate similarly long distances, our study provides support to the hypothesis that dialect range size correlates with migration distance. We found little evidence of change in dialect composition in 4 populations that were sampled 15 years apart, which suggests that the dialect structure is stable across multiple generations. Our study opens the door for further comparisons to investigate links between ecology and the emergence of song dialects in this well-studied genus. La variación geográfica discreta, o los dialectos, en los cantos de las aves canoras se originan como consecuencia de interacciones complejas entre la ecología y el aprendizaje de los cantos. Cuatro de las 5 especies de Zonotrichia, incluyendo la especie modelo Z. leucophrys, han sido estudiadas con respecto a las causas y consecuencias de la variación geográfica en el canto. Al interior de la especie Z. leucophrys, las subespecies que migran más lejos tienen dialectos con rangos más amplios. En este trabajo evaluamos los patrones de variación del canto en la quinta especie de este género, Z. atricapilla. Analizamos cantos grabados en el campo de dos períodos de muestreo (1996–1998 y 2006–2013), cubriendo la mayor parte de su rango reproductivo en el oeste de América del Norte. Todos los cantos comienzan con un silbido descendente y la mayoría de los cantos consistieron en 3–4 frases con combinaciones de silbidos, zumbidos y trinos. Identificamos 13 tipos discretos de cantos basados en secuencias únicas de tipos de frases y en cambios de frecuencia entre frases. Más del 90% de los individuos cantaron uno de los 5 tipos de cantos, y encontramos una clara estructura del dialecto compuesta por estos 5 tipos de cantos comunes. El rango geogra´fico de los dialectos abarcó grandes distancias (500 a 1,700 km), asemeja´ndose a la estructura geográfica de los dialectos de la especie migratoria de larga distancia Z. l. gambelli, aunque las localidades de frontera de los dialectos difirieron entre especies. Debido a que Z. atricapilla y Z. l. gambelli migran ambas largas distancias, nuestro estudio apoya la hipótesis de que el tamaño del rango del dialecto se correlaciona con la distancia de migración. Encontramos poca evidencia de cambios en la composición del dialecto en cuatro poblaciones que fueron muestreadas con una diferencia de 15 años, lo que sugiere que la estructura del dialecto es estable a través de varias generaciones. Nuestro estudio abre la puerta a comparaciones adicionales para investigar los vínculos entre la ecología y la emergencia de dialectos del canto en este género bien estudiado