The Influence of Body Size on the Foraging Strategy of the Male African Savannah Elephant in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana

Differences in feeding behaviour and species selection, due to the difference in body size, between the sexes for the African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) is well documented. However, there are also substantial body size differences within male elephants due to their two significant growth periods and continues growth. Therefore, the main objective was to explore how body size influences the foraging strategy between male elephants. Differences in feeding behaviour, selection of woody plant species and feeding patch choices of male African savannah elephants, according to sex and physical condition were examined during the dry season in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park in Botswana. Behavioural observations of feeding bouts were used to investigate the duration of the feeding bout, number of mouthfuls, the part of plant species eaten, foraging intensity index, feeding height and plant height. Vegetation sampling, using both a feeding plot and a control plot, where used to determine the woody species selection and the feeding patch choice. The youngest elephants (10-20 years) exhibited more selective feeding behaviour than older elephants (21-25 and 26+ years), as indicated by the lower foraging intensity index score, selection of smaller branches, browsing for a shorter amount of time, a lower number of mouthfuls, and a higher bite rate. The oldest males (26+ years) had the least diverse diet of woody plant species, with a small number of species dominating the diet, whereas the elephants 21-25 years of age had the widest range in their diet in term of woody plant species and a positive selection for Philenoptera violacea and Dichrostachys cinerea. The oldest elephants (26+ years) selected patches that offered the highest density of edible species, whereas the younger elephants (10-20 and 21-25 years) focused on patches with the largest number of preferred species and with a high richness of woody species present. These results suggest that body size is a vital factor in understanding dietary differences within male African elephants in terms of feeding behaviour, selection of woody plant species as well as feeding patch choices. This is consistent with the foraging hypothesis, which states that a larger body size enables consumption and digestion of higher quantities of low-quality forage while still obtaining sufficient nutritional benefits to match their energy demands

Evaluation of design interventions for hospitality and privacy at inpatient wards

Objective – Inspired by the strong vision of the hospital organization on hospitality, a new hospital was built with the intention to provide an open environment which supports privacy and interaction between the occupants. This study evaluates the satisfaction of patients, visitors and nursing staff with shared and single bedrooms, regarding privacy and interaction with others. Background – The hospital organization and the architecture firm, responsible for the design of the new hospital, initiated the study in order to receive high quality feedback on design interventions. The design intended to support both social and professional interaction while safeguarding sufficient privacy for the patients. Privacy of patients was evaluated as one of the aspects which may affect the experience of hospitality. Research question – To what extent do layout aspects of single and shared bedrooms support privacy and social interaction of the patients, visitors and staff? Methods – The study was an observational study comparing evaluations of three types of users of the hospital building: patients, visitors and nursing staff. A questionnaire was developed consisting questions about personal characteristics of the respondents, satisfaction with building and care related aspects and a number of statements that had to be rated on a 5-point scale. The study was approved by the Medical Ethical Test Committee of the hospital. Results – 195 nurses, 154 patients and 150 visitors completed the questionnaire. Generally, all three groups were satisfied with the level of privacy and interaction, supported by layout aspects of the single and shared bedrooms; patients were most satisfied. Differences in the rating of importance of privacy related aspects were statistically significant between patients, visitors and staff. Conclusion – The findings contribute to improvement of design interventions in future hospitals. Layout related aspects as well as organizational aspects contribute to improve satisfaction with privacy and interaction. Generally, staff was less satisfied than patients and visitors; more involvement of nurses in future design processes is most valuable.publishedVersio

Lexical threshold revisited: Lexical text coverage, learners’ vocabulary size and reading comprehension

We explore the relationship between second language (L2) learners’ vocabulary size, lexical text coverage that their vocabulary provides and their reading comprehension. We also conceptualize “adequate reading comprehension” and look for the lexical threshold for such reading in terms of coverage and vocabulary size. Vocabulary size was measured by the Levels Test, lexical coverage by the newest version of Vocabulary Profile and reading comprehension by a standardized national test. Results show that small increments of vocabulary knowledge contribute to reading comprehension even though they hardly improve text coverage. We suggest two thresholds: an optimal one, which is the knowledge of 8,000 word families yielding the coverage of 98% (including proper nouns) and a minimal one, which is 4,000–5,000 word families resulting in the coverage of 95% (including proper nouns)

The Impact of Receivers’ Nationality and Cultural Orientation on the Effects of Fear Appeals in Health Communication

Participants from the Netherlands (n = 52), China (n = 50), and South Africa (n = 166) either read a self-targeted or a family-targeted fear appeal message about chlamydia. Seven aspects of individual cultural orientation were measured, and six effects of the different messages. Interactions between nationality and target of threat were found on perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, and danger control. Only for perceived susceptibility, a difference in cultural orientation partly explained this interaction. The outcomes add to the doubts about claims in earlier literature about the relevance of receivers’ nationality and cultural orientation for developing a fear appeal message

Designing with and for People with Dementia: Wellbeing, Empowerment and Happiness

Designing with and for People with Dementia: Wellbeing, Empowerment and Happiness is the International Conference 2019 of the MinD Consortium, the DRS Special Interest Group on Behaviour Change and the DRS Special Interest Group on Wellbeing and Happiness, hosted by the Technische Universität Dresden, in Dresden, Germany. The conference proceedings provide trans-disciplinary contributions for researchers, practitioners, end-users and policy makers from the design and health care professions in terms of new findings, approaches and methods for using design to improve dementia care and to support people with dementia and their carers. The conference has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 691001, and from the DFG German Research Foundation