Narcissism and the strategic pursuit of short-term mating : universal links across 11 world regions of the International Sexuality Description Project-2.

Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating

Narcisismo y búsqueda estratégica del emparejamiento a corto plazo a través de las culturas: Enlaces omnipresentes a través de 11 regiones mundiales del Proyecto de la descripción de la sexualidad internacional 2

Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating.Estudios previos, en primer lugar a través de las muestras de culturas occidentales, han documentado asociaciones sistemáticas del narcisismo subclínico con múltiples indicadores de estrategias del emparejamiento a corto plazo (p. ej. sociosexualidad ilimitada, infidelidad, caza de pareja). En este estudio se han usado respuestas de la encuesta transcultural de 30.470 personas de 53 naciones de 11 regiones mundiales (América del Norte, América del Sur/América Central, Europa del Norte, Europa del Oeste, Europa del Este, Europa del Sur, Oriente Próximo, África, Asia del Sur/Sudoeste de Asia, Asia del Este y Oceanía) para evaluar si el narcisismo (medido por el Inventario de Personalidad Narcisista; NPI) se asocia panuniversalmente con los indicadores del emparejamiento a corto plazo, tanto en la dirección, como en la intensidad. Los resultados sugieren que el narcisismo (incluidos muchos aspectos suyos medidos por el NPI) tiene las mismas asociaciones básicas con los rasgos de personalidad relacionados con el sexo (p. ej. extraversión alta) y con los resultados sexuales claves (p. ej. búsqueda más activa de las estrategias del emparejamiento a corto plazo) a través de las 11 mayores regiones mundiales del PDSI 2. La discusión se enfoca en las implicaciones y limitaciones del estudio actual

Corrective culture: developing a conceptual model to explain preventable institutional failures

This thesis develops and tests a cultural model for explaining why people fail to avoid preventable institutional failures. It proposes ‘corrective culture’ to capture the systemic ‘problems in dealing with problems’ that contribute to these events. Entirely language-based, it applies methods of qualitative and quantitative text analysis to examine corrective culture in datasets ranging from the macro-level of post hoc case studies and investigation reports, down to the micro-level of people’s attempts to identify problems both before and after failure. It presents four articles: a systematic review of case studies which operationalise cultural concepts to explain institutional failures (n = 74), a mixed methods analysis of public inquiry reports (n = 54), a dictionary analysis of witness statements to a public inquiry (n = 93), and a qualitative content analysis of corporate emails sent ‘up’ at the failing Enron Corporation (n = 11,004). The systematic review establishes the role of corrective culture in preventable failures (e.g., ignoring warnings, misinterpreting problems) as conceptually distinct from the causes of these events. The first empirical study contributes a dynamic model to explain the process by which problems in organisations can go unidentified, misinterpreted, or unresolved through contemporaneous and consecutive loops flowing through an organisation. The second empirical study shows that malfunctions in corrective culture may persist despite a detrimental outcome due to lack of insight or acceptance for their role in a failure. Finally, the third empirical study demonstrates that individuals commonly speak-up before failure to identify concerns, but are frequently misinformed and rarely responded to, leading to a behavioural conceptualisation of voice which challenges the dichotomous perspective that people either raise concerns or stay silent. Together, this thesis demonstrates that, while organisational problems and the consequences of failure inevitably differ, preventable failures involve a common processual dynamic of ‘problems in dealing with problems’ which is often the same

Eocene volcanism in offshore southern Baffin Bay

New data are presented on the offshore part of the West Greenland volcanic succession, part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province located in southern Baffin Bay. The data were obtained from the Delta-1 hydrocarbon exploration well, drilled by Cairn Energy in 2011. Wireline log data were collected over the drilled section, providing information on the physical volcanology of the volcanic succession, and 23 sidewall cores were analysed for their geochemical composition. The well encountered 65 lava flows with a well-developed core and crust signature, typical for sub-aerial eruptions. Major and trace element data showed a good correlation with parts of the succession onshore West Greenland. The XRF major and trace element data allowed careful picking of samples for 40Ar/39Ar dating, and the main part of the sequence was found to be early Eocene in age. This coincides with the second main phase of volcanism in onshore West Greenland and is likely to be linked to the change in the tectonic regime in Baffin Bay at this time. This finding substantially expands the area of West Greenland affected by volcanism during the Eocene

The antimicrobial resistome in relation to antimicrobial use and biosecurity in pig farming, a metagenome-wide association study in nine European countries

Objectives Previous studies in food-producing animals have shown associations between antimicrobial use (AMU) and resistance (AMR) in specifically isolated bacterial species. Multi-country data are scarce and only describe between-country differences. Here we investigate associations between the pig faecal mobile resistome and characteristics at the farm-level across Europe. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 176 conventional pig farms from nine European countries. Twenty-five faecal samples from fattening pigs were pooled per farm and acquired resistomes were determined using shotgun metagenomics and the Resfinder reference database, i.e. the full collection of horizontally acquired AMR genes (ARGs). Normalized fragments resistance genes per kilobase reference per million bacterial fragments (FPKM) were calculated. Specific farm-level data (AMU, biosecurity) were collected. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed by country, relating farm-level data to relative ARG abundances (FPKM). Results Total AMU during fattening was positively associated with total ARG (total FPKM). Positive associations were particularly observed between widely used macrolides and tetracyclines, and ARGs corresponding to the respective antimicrobial classes. Significant AMU-ARG associations were not found for -lactams and only few colistin ARGs were found, despite high use of these antimicrobial classes in younger pigs. Increased internal biosecurity was directly related to higher abundances of ARGs mainly encoding macrolide resistance. These effects of biosecurity were independent of AMU in mutually adjusted models. Conclusions Using resistome data in association studies is unprecedented and adds accuracy and new insights to previously observed AMU-AMR associations. Major components of the pig resistome are positively and independently associated with on-farm AMU and biosecurity conditions

Associations between antimicrobial use and the faecal resistome on broiler farms from nine European countries

Objectives: To determine associations between farm-and flock-level antimicrobial usage (AMU), farmbiosecurity status and the abundance of faecal antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) on broiler farms. Methods: In the cross-sectional pan-European EFFORT study, conventional broiler farms were visited and faeces, AMU information and biosecurity records were collected. The resistomes of pooled faecal samples were determined by metagenomic analysis for 176 farms. A meta-analysis approach was used to relate total and classspecific ARGs (expressed as fragments per kb reference per million bacterial fragments, FPKM) to AMU (treatment incidence per DDD, TIDDDvet) per country and subsequently across all countries. In a similar way, the association between biosecurity status (Biocheck. UGent) and the resistome was explored. Results: Sixty-six (38%) flocks did not report group treatments but showed a similar resistome composition and roughly similar ARG levels to antimicrobial-treated flocks. Nevertheless, we found significant positive associations between beta-lactam, tetracycline, macrolide and lincosamide, trimethoprim and aminoglycoside antimicrobial flock treatments and ARG clusters conferring resistance to the same class. Similar associations were found with purchased products. In gene-level analysis for beta-lactams and macrolides, lincosamides and streptogramins, a significant positive association was found with the most abundant gene clusters blaTEM and erm(B). Little evidence was found for associations with biosecurity. Conclusions: The faecal microbiome in European broilers contains a high diversity of ARGs, even in the absence of current antimicrobial selection pressure. Despite this, the relative abundance of genes and the composition of the resistome is positively related to AMU in European broiler farms for several antimicrobial classes

Impact of the quantity and flavonoid content of fruits and vegetables on markers of intake in adults with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease: the FLAVURS trial

Purpose Limited robust randomised controlled trials investigating fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake in people at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) exist. We aimed to design and validate a dietary strategy of increasing flavonoid-rich versus flavonoid-poor F&V consumption on nutrient biomarker profile. Methods A parallel, randomised, controlled, dose–response dietary intervention study. Participants with a CVD relative risk of 1.5 assessed by risk scores were randomly assigned to one of the 3 groups: habitual (control,CT), high-flavonoid (HF) or low-flavonoid (LF) diets.While the CT group (n = 57) consumed their habitual diet throughout, the HF (n = 58) and LF (n = 59) groups sequentially increased their daily F&V intake by an additional 2, 4 and 6 portions for 6-week periods during the 18-week study. Results Compliance to target numbers and types of F&V was broadly met and verified by dietary records, and plasma and urinary biomarkers. Mean (±SEM) number of F&V portions/day consumed by the HF and LF groups at baseline(3.8 ± 0.3 and 3.4 ± 0.3), 6 weeks (6.3 ± 0.4 and 5.8 ±0.3), 12 weeks (7.0 ± 0.3 and 6.8 ± 0.3) and 18 weeks(7.6 ± 0.4 and 8.1 ± 0.4), respectively, was similar at baseline yet higher than the CT group (3.9 ± 0.3, 4.3 ± 0.3,4.6 ± 0.4, 4.5 ± 0.3) (P = 0.015). There was a dosedependent increase in dietary and urinary flavonoids in theHF group, with no change in other groups (P = 0.0001).Significantly higher dietary intakes of folate (P = 0.035),non-starch polysaccharides (P = 0.001), vitamin C (P =0.0001) and carotenoids (P = 0.0001) were observed in both intervention groups compared with CT, which were broadly supported by nutrient biomarker analysis. Conclusions The success of improving nutrient profile by active encouragement of F&V intake in an intervention study implies the need for a more hands-on public health approach