When Two Worlds Collide: Mātauranga Māori, Science and Health of the Toreparu Wetland

Much of our understanding of wetland health and function comes from scientific-based monitoring and methodologies. However, there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from Māori-value based assessment methods for monitoring wetlands in New Zealand. I used the Wetland Cultural Health Index (WCHI) and a variety of scientific wetland survey methods to examine how these two approaches complement each other. For this research, I worked with the people from Mōtakotako marae at the Toreparu wetland (Waikato), developing a set of site specific cultural indicators. Comparative analysis revealed a range of similarities and differences between the WCHI indices and scientific parameters. We found that as Wetland Cultural Health Measure (WCHM) scores increased, there was also an increase in dissolved oxygen concentration, SQMCI-sb values, and total nitrogen concentrations. Cultural indices provided an overall indication of site health. It was apparent, however, that scores of contributing indicators could vary markedly at any one site. As such, high scores for some indicators (e.g., vegetation values) may obscure low values for other variables (e.g., water quality), providing an index that depicts site health as being of average condition. Capacity and resourcing issues were also highlighted as being an issue for Māori to be able to successfully carry out wetland monitoring, but also for staff in councils and other research and environmental governing bodies to build and maintain relationships with tangata whenua. Other challenges around site access provided a unique opportunity to develop and trial new WCHI assessment techniques. The use of video assessment to carry out WCHI monitoring was of varying success. Indicators that could be scored by visual assessment were useful, but indicators that relied on sound or felt sensation were difficult to assess. The use of mauri (life force) as an indicator had benefits when applied to the whole catchment, but the volunteer participants challenged its validity when used at the smaller site scale. Volunteers found assigning a numerical value to mauri very difficult, and felt that reducing mauri to a single number may diminish the significance of this holistic and metaphysical concept. Mauri has been used successfully as a measure of environmental health but it is important to communicate and understand what mauri is and why it is measured. Overall, the WCHI provided a wealth of information that could not be captured through scientific sampling, such as the presence of dye source, loss of bird/fish species and baseline information on the past condition of the Toreparu before the surrounding land was converted for agricultural use. This confirms that our understanding of wetland health is enhanced through the inclusion of cultural values. As the New Zealand government and Māori move towards a future of collaborative research and management of freshwater ecosystems, there is a need for greater understanding around cultural values and priorities. By using both scientific and Māori-value based wetland monitoring methods, Māori can articulate a range of values, goals and priorities to help inform environmental decision makers and empower iwi and hapū to have a meaningful and sustainable role in the management of wetlands. There needs to be a foundation of mutual understanding and relationships built between environmental governing bodies and Māori for the future success of collaborative research and management of New Zealand's wetlands

The Structural Basis of Ligand Recognition by Natural Killer Cell Receptors

Natural killer cells are a group of lymphocytes which function as tightly controlled surveillance operatives which identify transformed cells through a discrete balance of activating and inhibitory receptors ultimately leading to the destruction of incongruent cells. The understanding of this finely tuned balancing act has been aided by the high-resolution structure determination of activating and inhibitory receptors both alone and in complex with their ligands. This paper collates these structural studies detailing the aspects which directly relate to the natural killer cell function and serves to inform both the specialized structural biologist reader and a more general immunology audience

Explaining the Electroweak Scale and Stabilizing Moduli in M Theory

In a recent paper \cite{Acharya:2006ia} it was shown that in $M$ theory vacua without fluxes, all moduli are stabilized by the effective potential and a stable hierarchy is generated, consistent with standard gauge unification. This paper explains the results of \cite{Acharya:2006ia} in more detail and generalizes them, finding an essentially unique de Sitter (dS) vacuum under reasonable conditions. One of the main phenomenological consequences is a prediction which emerges from this entire class of vacua: namely gaugino masses are significantly suppressed relative to the gravitino mass. We also present evidence that, for those vacua in which the vacuum energy is small, the gravitino mass, which sets all the superpartner masses, is automatically in the TeV - 100 TeV range.Comment: 73 pages, 39 figures, Minor typos corrected, Figures and References adde

Proactive Entrepreneurial Behaviour, Market Orientation, and Innovation Outcomes: A Study of Small- and Medium-sized Manufacturing Firms in the UK

Purpose Drawing from resource-based theory, the authors aim to study how and under what conditions small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) capitalise on their proactive entrepreneurial behaviour (PEB) to achieve new product development (NPD) performance. Design/methodology/approach The authors’ data were drawn from a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 401 UK-based SMEs in the manufacturing sector. Findings The authors identify an upward curvilinear relationship between PEB and NPD performance. Taking a step further, the authors propose and confirm that this curvilinear association arises from, in part, SMEs’ innovation capability, which in turn translates into NPD performance. The authors also find that this upward curvilinear relationship between PEB and innovation capability flips to a downward curvilinear relationship when firms pursue a customer and competitor orientation. Originality/value This paper looks beyond the linear relationship that exists among entrepreneurial behaviour, market orientation and innovation outcomes

On the Variability of Southern Ocean Front Locations Between Southern Brazil and the Antarctic Peninsula

A 4-year expendable bathythermograph data set (1984–1987) from the area between southern Brazil and the Antarctic Peninsula provides information on the interannual variability of front locations. Two boundaries of subtropical water at different depths are identified north and south of the Brazil Current-Falkland (Malvinas) Current confluence zone. The northern Subtropical Front is displaced over a large part of the Argentine Basin from one observational period to the other. The shallow southern Subtropical Front appears fixed to the Falkland Escarpment. The Polar Front and Subantarctic Front locations do not vary much, except for one case where a cold core eddy in the Polar Frontal Zone causes a large northward displacement of the Subantarctic Front

Severity and management of psoriasis within primary care

Background: Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network and National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines stress the importance of assessing patients with psoriasis for psoriatic arthritis, comorbidities associated with severe disease and quality of life (QoL). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the primary care management of psoriasis in relation to disease severity and QoL from apatient's perspective. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of adults (≥18 years) with psoriasis managed in primary care was conducted in Scotland over 1-year (2012-2013). Patients with psoriasis were identified and invited to participate in the online/telephone survey. The questionnaires included; Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Self-Administered Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (SAPASI), Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool (PEST). The primary outcome measure was DLQI. Secondary outcomes included; demographics; comorbidities; involvement of different body sites; SAPASI and PEST scores. Relationships between measures were analysed using univariate analysis. Results: The mean age of patients (n = 905) was 54.5 years (SD = 16.1), 436 (48.2 %) were men, and median DLQI and SAPASI scores were 4.0 and 6.0, respectively. Current psoriasis treatments were topical only (587, 64.9 %), oral medications or phototherapy (122, 13.5%), biologics (26, 3 %) and none (156, 17.2 %). Despite SIGN recommendations,256 of 391 patients (65.5 %) with a DLQI >5 (at least a moderate effect on QoL) had not seen a specialist during the past year. According to PEST scores, 259 patients (28.6 %) had symptoms suggestive of psoriatic arthritis requiring rheumatology referral. Conclusion: National recommendations are not being fully implemented in primary care in patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis

Organizational capabilities and SME exports:the moderating role of external funding intentions and managerial capacity

Entry to export markets can stimulate business growth, yet remarkably few small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) pursue export strategies. Using data gathered from the UK Small Business Surveys and a theoretical framework that combines principles from the resource-based view of the firm with notions of “investment readiness” and “managerial capacity,” we examine the empirical relationships between new product development (NPD) and new market entry (NME) capabilities on UK SMEs export decisions. Among other things, we find that there are contexts in which SMEs should develop these capabilities concurrently and others in which they should develop them independently to minimize added managerial complexity. Our results also indicate that in the absence of strong managerial capacity, SMEs should prioritize NME over NPD capabilities. Our findings produce several interesting theoretical and practical implications for SME exports

Developing a psychoeducational programme for caregivers of people with intellectual disability

DATA AVAILABILITY: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, B.K.G.BACKGROUND : In the Western Cape, South Africa, a significant number of individuals with intellectual disabilities are cared for by caregivers who receive little or no compensation, education or support. Despite the unique challenges faced by these caregivers, no psychoeducational programmes have been implemented for this particular population. OBJECTIVES : The study aimed to examine the factors contributing to caregiver distress and develop a solution in the form of a psychoeducational programme for caregivers METHODS : A mixed-methods research approach was employed. The qualitative phase involved exploratory research to gather fundamental information and gain new insights into caregiver distress. The quantitative phase utilised a ‘one-group pre-test, post-test design’ with a Likert-scale questionnaire to enable meaningful interpretations and comparisons of the psychoeducational programme’s impact and value. The paired t-test was employed to determine significant differences between pre-test and post-test results. RESULTS : The statistical findings demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge, with 99%of respondents indicating a positive impact in reducing caregiver distress and 85% feeling better equipped to care for individuals with intellectual disabilities. CONCLUSION : The psychoeducational programme developed in this study had a positive effect on reducing caregiver distress. CONTRIBUTION : This knowledge provides valuable insights for healthcare professionals in designing relevant intervention programmes, offering support and providing resources not only for individuals with intellectual disabilities but also for their caregivers.http://www.ajod.orgSocial Work and Criminolog