580 research outputs found
Country-level factors in a failing relationship with nature: Nature connectedness as a key metric for a sustainable future
Climate change and biodiversity loss show that the human–nature relationship is failing. That relationship can be measured through the construct of nature connectedness which is a key factor in pro-environmental behaviours and mental well-being. Country-level indicators of extinction of nature experience, consumption and commerce, use and control of nature and negativistic factors were selected. An exploratory analysis of the relationship between these metrics and nature connectedness across adult samples from 14 European countries was conducted (n = 14,745 respondents). The analysis provides insight into how affluence, technology and consumption are associated with the human–nature relationship. These findings motivate a comparison of how nature connectedness and composite indicators of prosperity, progress, development, and sustainability relate to indicators of human and nature’s well-being. In comparison to composite indexes, it is proposed that nature connectedness is a critical indicator of human and nature’s well-being needed to inform the transition to a sustainable future
Connection for conservation: The impact of counting butterflies on nature connectedness and wellbeing in citizen scientists
Biodiversity conservation is fundamentally linked to human values, attitudes, and behaviours. Nature connectedness, the strength of a person's relationship with nature, is an important determinant of pro-nature actions, and therefore vital for counteracting biodiversity loss. Citizen science may improve nature connectedness, though such outcomes are underexplored in comparison to scientific and educational results. Addressing this gap, we studied the experiences of participants in the Big Butterfly Count, a UK mass-participation citizen science activity that aims to raise awareness and gather data on the abundance of widespread butterfly and moth species. Participants completed surveys before and after the three-week Big Butterfly Count period (n = 382), and at six- to seven-week follow up (n = 345). Improvements in nature connectedness, decreased anxiety, and increased tendency to notice nature and butterflies, were found immediately after the count period, with improved wellbeing and nature noticing at follow-up. Stronger emotional responses during the butterfly count were associated with greater increases in nature connectedness and nature noticing. Qualitative data revealed mixed emotions, from sadness and concern about biodiversity loss, to feelings of hope and optimism through taking actions to help butterflies. These findings suggest that citizen science participation prompts people to notice and enjoy nature in ways that enhance their wellbeing and connection with nature, supporting the mutual health of people and the rest of the natural world. The study highlights the potential for nature-based citizen science to benefit conservation beyond the focal species or habitat, by changing how people think, feel and act towards nature more broadly
On being forgotten : Memory and forgetting serve as signals of interpersonal importance
The research reported here was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, award ES/L008173/1. We wish to thank Kristina Ceslikauskaite, Katie Ramsay, Charlotte Vaassen, Kathryn Gordon, Nicolas Paul, and Jasmine Kern for their contributions to this work.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin
Superconductivity at 17 K in Yttrium Metal under Nearly Hydrostatic Pressures to 89 GPa
In an experiment in a diamond anvil cell utilizing helium pressure medium,
yttrium metal displays a superconducting transition temperature which increases
monotonically from Tc ? 3.5 K at 30 GPa to 17 K at 89.3 GPa, one of the highest
transition temperatures for any elemental superconductor. The pressure
dependence of Tc differs substantially from that observed in previous studies
under quasihydrostatic pressure to 30 GPa. Remarkably, the dependence of Tc on
relative volume V/Vo is linear over the entire pressure range above 33 GPa,
implying that higher values of Tc are likely at higher pressures. For the
trivalent metals Sc, Y, La, Lu there appears to be some correlation between Tc
and the ratio of the Wigner-Seitz radius to the ion core radius.Comment: submitted for publicatio
Delphi with feedback of rationales: how large can a Delphi group be such that participants are not overloaded, de-motivated, or disengaged?
In this paper, we investigate the effect of Delphi group size and opinion diversity on group members’ information load as well as on their overall experience of the Delphi process - in terms of task involvement (enjoyment and interest) and in terms of group sway (the influence and helpfulness of others’ rationales). For Delphi applications involving the exchange of rationales between participants, we found no evidence that group sizes of up to 19 participants cause information overload or de-motivation and disengagement of participants
Alternative route to charge density wave formation in multiband systems
Charge and spin density waves, periodic modulations of the electron and
magnetization densities, respectively, are among the most abundant and
non-trivial low-temperature ordered phases in condensed matter. The ordering
direction is widely believed to result from the Fermi surface topology.
However, several recent studies indicate that this common view needs to be
supplemented. Here, we show how an enhanced electron-lattice interaction can
contribute to or even determine the selection of the ordering vector in the
model charge density wave system ErTe3. Our joint experimental and theoretical
study allows us to establish a relation between the selection rules of the
electronic light scattering spectra and the enhanced electron-phonon coupling
in the vicinity of band degeneracy points. This alternative proposal for charge
density wave formation may be of general relevance for driving phase
transitions into other broken-symmetry ground states, particularly in multiband
systems such as the iron based superconductors
High-pressure, transport, and thermodynamic properties of CeTe3
We have performed high-pressure, electrical resistivity, and specific heat
measurements on CeTe3 single crystals. Two magnetic phases with nonparallel
magnetic easy axes were detected in electrical resistivity and specific heat at
low temperatures. We also observed the emergence of an additional phase at high
pressures and low temperatures and a possible structural phase transition
detected at room temperature and at 45 kbar, which can possibly be related with
the lowering of the charge-density wave transition temperature known for this
compound.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Contrasting Pressure Effects in Sr2VFeAsO3 and Sr2ScFePO3
We report the resistivity measurements under pressure of two Fe-based
superconductors with a thick perovskite oxide layer, Sr2VFeAsO3 and Sr2ScFePO3.
The superconducting transition temperature Tc of Sr2VFeAsO3 markedly increases
with increasing pressure. Its onset value, which was Tc{onset}=36.4 K at
ambient pressure, increases to Tc{onset}=46.0 K at ~4 GPa, ensuring the
potential of the "21113" system as a high-Tc material. However, the
superconductivity of Sr2ScFePO3 is strongly suppressed under pressure. The
Tc{onset} of ~16 K decreases to ~5 K at ~4 GPa, and the zero-resistance state
is almost lost. We discuss the factor that induces this contrasting pressure
effect.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. No.12
(2009
Systematic Study on Fluorine-doping Dependence of Superconducting and Normal State Properties in LaFePO1-xFx
We have investigated the fluorine-doping dependence of lattice constants,
transports and specific heat for polycrystalline LaFePO1-xFx. F doping slightly
and monotonically decreases the in-plane lattice parameter. In the normal
state, electrical resistivity at low temperature is proportional to the square
of temperature and the electronic specific heat coefficient has large value,
indicating the existence of moderate electron-electron correlation in this
system. Hall coefficient has large magnitude, and shows large temperature
dependence, indicating the low carrier density and multiple carriers in this
system. Temperature dependence of the upper critical field suggests that the
system is a two gap superconductor. The F-doping dependence of these properties
in this system are very weak, while in the FeAs system (LaFeAsO), the F doping
induces the large changes in electronic properties. This difference is probably
due to the different F-doping dependence of the lattice in these two systems.
It has been revealed that a pure effect of electron doping on electronic
properties is very weak in this Fe pnictide compound.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
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