Children’s length estimation performance and strategies in standard and non-standard units of measurement

This study aimed to examine elementary school children’s performance and strategies when estimating linear measurements. 46 third-graders and 41 fifth-graders were asked to estimate the length of various objects in a series of tasks that looked at units of measurement and task context. The children’s performance was quite poor and was influenced by age. Both age groups gave better length estimates when non-standard units of measurement were used rather than when centimeters (standard units) were used. Significant differences were revealed in estimating objects with different orientations, whereas no differences were found when estimating objects presented in different backgrounds or objects of three dimensions. Unit iteration and use of benchmarks were the most common strategies found, with differences in children’s frequency use, however, depending on the presence of standard or non-standard units of measurement

Large-scale conservation planning in a multinational marine environment: Cost matters

Explicitly including cost in marine conservation planning is essential for achieving feasible and efficient conservation outcomes. Yet, spatial priorities for marine conservation are still often based solely on biodiversity hotspots, species richness, and/or cumulative threat maps. This study aims to provide an approach for including cost when planning large-scale Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks that span multiple countries. Here, we explore the incorporation of cost in the complex setting of the Mediterranean Sea. In order to include cost in conservation prioritization, we developed surrogates that account for revenue from multiple marine sectors: commercial fishing, noncommercial fishing, and aquaculture. Such revenue can translate into an opportunity cost for the implementation of an MPA network. Using the software Marxan, we set conservation targets to protect 10% of the distribution of 77 threatened marine species in the Mediterranean Sea. We compared nine scenarios of opportunity cost by calculating the area and cost required to meet our targets. We further compared our spatial priorities with those that are considered consensus areas by several proposed prioritization schemes in the Mediterranean Sea, none of which explicitly considers cost. We found that for less than 10% of the Sea's area, our conservation targets can be achieved while incurring opportunity costs of less than 1%. In marine systems, we reveal that area is a poor cost surrogate and that the most effective surrogates are those that account for multiple sectors or stakeholders. Furthermore, our results indicate that including cost can greatly influence the selection of spatial priorities for marine conservation of threatened species. Although there are known limitations in multinational large-scale planning, attempting to devise more systematic and rigorous planning methods is especially critical given that collaborative conservation action is on the rise and global financial crisis restricts conservation investments

Η Σεξουαλική Διαπαιδαγώγηση στα Σχολεία, ως δυνητικός αποτρεπτικός παράγοντας της σεξουαλικής βίας: ο ρόλος του Σχολικού Συμβούλου.

Η Σεξουαλική Αγωγή γενικότερα και η Σεξουαλική Διαπαιδαγώγηση στις Σχολικές μονάδες, ειδικότερα, στοχεύουν στην ενημέρωση και στην πρόληψη των πολιτών σχετικά με την διατήρηση και γνώση του σώματός μας, αλλά και της σωματικής και ψυχικής ευεξίας και ηρεμίας των μαθητών-αυριανών πολιτών. Βασική αφόρμηση για την παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία κι έρευνα, αποτέλεσαν οι διάφοροι προβληματισμοί των συνάδελφων εκπαιδευτικών των σχολείων για την πρόωρη σεξουαλική δραστηριότητα που εμφανίζεται στους μαθητές της Πρωτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης ( Ε’ και ΣΤ’ Δημοτικού), με μεγάλη έλλειψη γνώσεων για το σώμα τους, αλλά και γενικότερα την σεξουαλικότητά τους. Επίσης, ένας ακόμη βασικός παράγοντας που οδήγησε στην έρευνα ήταν και οι συχνές ερωτήσεις των μαθητών / τριών σχετικά με το σώμα, την σεξουαλικότητα, τις σχέσεις μεταξύ των ανθρώπων. Η τεράστια πηγή ανεξέλεγκτων σχετικών πληροφοριών από το διαδίκτυο και η εύκολη πρόσβαση σε αυτές οδηγούν, αρκετά συχνά σε λάθος κι επιπόλαιες συμπεριφορές που προάγουν, χωρίς έλεγχο, σεξιστικές τάσεις κι αντιλήψεις. Σκοπός της έρευνας αυτής είναι αρχικά η μελέτη της σεξουαλικής Αγωγής, στα σχολεία της Ελλάδας, αλλά και της Ευρώπης και έπειτα, η διερεύνηση του ρόλου του Σχολικού Συμβούλου στην εγκαθίδρυση και εισαγωγή του μαθήματος της Σεξουαλικής Διαπαιδαγώγησης στην Πρωτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση, ως ένας δυνητικός αποτρεπτικός παράγοντας εμφάνισης σεξουαλικής βίας.Sexual Education in general and Sexual Education in schools, in particular, aim to inform and prevent citizens about the maintenance and knowledge of our bodies, but also the physical and mental well-being and peace of mind of the students- citizens. The main motivation for this thesis and research, was the various concerns of fellow school teachers about the premature sexual activity that occurs among primary school students ( 5th and 6th grade), with a great lack of knowledge about their bodies and their sexuality in general. Also, another key factor that led to the research was the frequent questions from studentsabout the body, sexuality, relationships between people. The huge source of uncontrolled relevant information from the internet and easy access to it, leads, quite often, to wrong and frivolous behaviours that promote, without control, sexist tendencies and perceptions. The aim of this research is first to highlight the present data on Sex Education in schools in Greece, but also in Europe and then to investigate the role of the School Counselor in establishing the course of Sex Education, as a potential deterrent to occur sexual violence

Recent contributions to the distribution of the freshwater ichthyofauna in Greece

In this paper we supplement Greece’s recent annotated inventory of freshwater fishes per hydrographic basin with recent distributional data and taxa alteration information, based on field sampling and a literature review up to September 2011. We report on newly documented distributional records of 31 fish species plus one unidentified taxon, within 35 hydrographic river basin units in Greece. These new records include 14 native fish species, seven alien and 12 translocated. Translocated taxa are distinguished from aliens, in order to report species non-indigenous to a basin but native within the same ecoregion. Twelve hydrographic basin units are newly added to the roster of ichthyologically explored river basins following a previous basin-scale inventory method (the total is now 117). This review increases the number of Greece’s freshwater fish taxa to 167, since four new species are added to the list (Carassius langsdorfii, Neogobius fluviatilis, Telestes alfiensis, Millerigobius macrocephalus) and two are deleted (Salmo dentex, Barbus rebeli) due to taxonomic changes. Taxonomic changes will probably continue to alter the national list since phylogenetic research is ongoing on several taxa in many parts of the countr

Developing policy-relevant river fish monitoring in Greece: Insights from a nation-wide survey

A wide-ranging river fish survey was executed in the summer of 2009 as part of the preparatory actions for the establishment of a monitoring programme for the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). This was the first extensive electrofishing campaign for WFD standardized bioassessment in Greece and the experience and insights gained are used here to provide a review of fish-based assessment conditions and requirements in this country. The survey sampled 85 sites on 25 rivers throughout mainland Greece, collecting 70 species of freshwater fish. Quantitative site-based assemblage data is used for taxonomic and ordination analyses revealing a strong biogeographic regionalization in the distribution of the ichthyofauna. The structural and spatial organisation of the fish fauna through the use of species-level and community-level data analyses is explored in three ecoregions where data was deemed sufficient. Transitions in community taxonomic composition among ecoregions were abrupt and concordant with geographical barriers and reflect the influence of historical biogeographic processes. Community-based analysis revealed a substantial degree of variation in quantitative attributes of the fish assemblages among ecoregions. Key conclusions of this work are: (a) the fish-based bioassessment system must be regionalised to reflect biogeographic variation, (b) high faunal heterogeneity among ecoregions (taxonomic, structural), and to a lower degree among basins, constrain the transferability of bioassessment metrics and indices created for explicit regions to other regional frameworks; (c) faunal depauperation in most of the study areas reduce the utility of functional bioassessment metrics and also limits the utilization of rare species and the applicability of the classical form of the “Index of Biotic Integrity” concept. Recommendations to cope with these problems are discussed

Persistent gender bias in marine science and conservation calls for action to achieve equity

The increasing consideration of gender balance in conservation science and practice has been reflected in the setting of global commitments. Yet, women remain under-represented in science and conservation decision-making. We compiled and analyzed data on the representation of women in hiring, publishing, funding, and leadership positions in European Union marine sciences and conservation. To explore scientists' perceptions of gender imbalance in marine sciences and conservation more broadly, we conducted a global survey and analyzed 764 questionnaires from 42 countries. Participants were also asked to identify measures that promote gender equity. We found a consistent pattern of women being under-representated across institutions and nations characterized by a relatively balanced representation of men and women in early career stages and a growing gap in later stages, with women occupying only 13% to 24% of senior positions. The same pattern was found in publishing, funding, and leadership of research institutes. Survey results demonstrate that most marine scientists are aware of the general and persistent gender bias, and perceive that it may compromise our ability to effectively solve conservation problems. Measures that increase fairness in evaluations (e.g. for hiring) and that support work-life balance ranked high, whereas gender-oriented measures, such as gender-specific scholarships, received less support. Our findings suggest that mechanisms promoting a fairer share of family responsibilities and transparent processes in hiring and evaluation are the most promising path to a more balanced participation of women in scientific leadership and conservation decision-making. Such measures may benefit not only women but diversity more generally

The freshwater ichthyofauna of Greece - an update based on a hydrographic basin survey

Distribution records (historical, contemporary) for native and non-native freshwater fish species from 105 hydrographic basin areas were compiled and analysed in order to develop a nation-wide inventory (including transboundary river basins). Overall, 162 species, including diadromous and euryhaline, with documented occurrence records in freshwaters, and taxa of unclarified taxonomic status, are accommodated in the distributional compilation. An annotated checklist summarises the confirmed ichthyofauna of Greek freshwaters (161 species); a provisional supplementary list contains species recorded in brackish waters (55 species). In comparison to the last published (1991) checklist of freshwater fish of Greece, the present checklist shows an increase in species number of 53% (56 species). This increase has resulted mainly from taxonomic re-evaluations of existing taxa on the basis of new information and adoption of a new systematic concept. The current trend, as reflected in recent ichthyological publications, is towards abandonment of the biological species concept (BSC) and adoption of the phylogenetic species concept (PSC) for the delineation of species boundaries. The practical implications of the change in species concept on biodiversity conservation and watershed management are discussed. An overview of the composition and characteristics of the freshwater fish fauna of Greece is provided, especially with regard to the native and introduced status of species, and the spatial patterns of species richness and endemism. This systematic inventory may assist in efforts to develop nation-wide surface water bioassessment tools within the demands of the Water Framework Directive (WFD); it may further promote biodiversity conservation and biologically-orientated fishery management approaches

Using threat maps for cost-effective prioritization of actions to conserve coastal habitats

Marine coastal habitats provide valuable ecosystem services, including food provision, carbon sequestration, and coastal protection, but they are highly threatened by human activities. The multitude of human stressors affecting coastal habitats renders their conservation a difficult task for environmental agencies with limited budgets. This study, using seagrass meadows - one of the world's most threatened coastal habitats - proposes a transparent framework for the conservation of coastal habitats that links information from habitat and threat maps to conservation actions, and their costs. The proposed framework and the use of a predictive model of seagrass loss allowed the selection of the most cost-effective actions to abate stoppable threats (trawling and anchoring), while avoiding areas affected by threats that are more difficult to manage, such as coastal development. The relative improvement in cost achieved by using the proposed approach was examined by comparing with other common prioritization criteria that do not consider cost, including choosing sites based on threat level or habitat cover alone. The establishment of anti-trawling reefs was found to be the most cost-effective action to achieve the European Union conservation target for the protection of seagrass Posidonia oceanica meadows. The number of anti-trawling reefs and their establishment location was sensitive to fine-scale information on the distribution of fishing activities. The proposed approach always conserved the same habitat for lower cost than prioritization schemes that focus actions in areas of highest seagrass coverage or highest threat level. The study results suggest that conservation actions should not be prioritized on the basis of habitat maps and/or threat maps alone. Impact assessment and habitat vulnerability at a local scale would greatly benefit from detailed knowledge of the spatial distribution of stressors. At the same time, methods of scaling up the quantitative impact of stressors are urgently needed to understand their relationship with seascape-wide habitat coverage and to inform conservation of coastal habitats. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Fish Consumption Moderates Depressive Symptomatology in Elderly Men and Women from the IKARIA Study

Background. The aim was to examine the association of depressive symptoms with fish eating habits, in elderly individuals. Methods. From June to October of 2009, we studied 330 men and 343 women, aged 65 to 100 years, permanent inhabitants of Ikaria Island. Among several characteristics, depression was assessed with the Geriatric Depression scale (GDS range 0–15), while dietary habits through a valid semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Results. Women had significantly higher values of the GDS compared to men (4.8 ± 3.5 versus 3.3 ± 3.1, P = .001). Participants in the upper tertile of depression scale ate less frequent fish and consumed higher quantities of alcohol, compared to those in the lowest tertile (all P < .05). Regarding fish consumption, 50% of the individuals reported consuming 1-2 times weekly, 32% 3 to 5 times weekly, 11% 2-3 times monthly, while the rest reported rare (4.5%) and everyday (1.2%) consumption. Logistic regression showed that increased fish consumption (>3 times/week versus never/rare) was inversely associated with the odds of having GDS greater the median value (i.e., 4) (odds  ratio = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.61), after controlling for several cofounders. Conclusion. Frequent fish consumption in elderly seems to moderate depression mood