Population Status of a Cryptic Top Predator: An Island-Wide Assessment of Tigers in Sumatran Rainforests

Large carnivores living in tropical rainforests are under immense pressure from the rapid conversion of their habitat. In response, millions of dollars are spent on conserving these species. However, the cost-effectiveness of such investments is poorly understood and this is largely because the requisite population estimates are difficult to achieve at appropriate spatial scales for these secretive species. Here, we apply a robust detection/non-detection sampling technique to produce the first reliable population metric (occupancy) for a critically endangered large carnivore; the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). From 2007–2009, seven landscapes were surveyed through 13,511 km of transects in 394 grid cells (17×17 km). Tiger sign was detected in 206 cells, producing a naive estimate of 0.52. However, after controlling for an unequal detection probability (where p = 0.13±0.017; ±S.E.), the estimated tiger occupancy was 0.72±0.048. Whilst the Sumatra-wide survey results gives cause for optimism, a significant negative correlation between occupancy and recent deforestation was found. For example, the Northern Riau landscape had an average deforestation rate of 9.8%/yr and by far the lowest occupancy (0.33±0.055). Our results highlight the key tiger areas in need of protection and have led to one area (Leuser-Ulu Masen) being upgraded as a ‘global priority’ for wild tiger conservation. However, Sumatra has one of the highest global deforestation rates and the two largest tiger landscapes identified in this study will become highly fragmented if their respective proposed roads networks are approved. Thus, it is vital that the Indonesian government tackles these threats, e.g. through improved land-use planning, if it is to succeed in meeting its ambitious National Tiger Recovery Plan targets of doubling the number of Sumatran tigers by 2022

THE EFFECT OF REACTION SPEED TRAINING ON MAWASHI GERI KICK SPEED IN SENIOR KUMITE ATHLETES FORKI MALUKU

ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui ada tidaknya pengaruh latihan kecepatan reaksi terhadap kecepatan tendangan mawashi geri pada atlet Karate kumite senior FORKI Maluku. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian eksperimen, dimana penulis ingin mengetahui pengaruh latihan Kecepatan Reaksi terhadap kecepatan tendangan mawashi geri. Metode yang di gunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode eksperimen lapangan. Populasi yang di jadikan sebagai sampel dalam penelitian ini berjumlah 15 orang, variabel dalam penelitian ini terdiri atas Variabel bebas yaitu latihan Kecepatan Reaksi dengan menggunakan indikator latihannya adalah One footed hop, Icky shuffle, Hip twist, Cross step reaction, Cone drill foot touch, Traffic light kick dan variabel terikat yaitu kecepatan tendangan mawashi geri dengan indikatornya adalah tes kecepatan tendangan. Instrumen yang di gunakan dalam proses penelitian ini adalah instrumen pengukuran atau instrumen tes dan instrumen perlakuan atau instrumen latihan. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian yang di lakukan serta data tes pengukuran yang di peroleh dan di olah menggunakan rumusan statistik sehingga dapat di tarik kesimpulan bahwa kecepatan tendangan mawashi geri pada atlet Karate kumite senior FORKI Maluku dapat di tingkatkan melalui latihan kecepatan reaksi

Persepsi Masyarakat terhadap Konservasi Harimau Sumatera (Panthera Tigris Sumatrae) di Taman Nasional Kerinci Seblat (Studi Kasus Desa Pungut Mudik dan Desa Pungut Hilir)

Perceptions and community participation in Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) also influence the success of conservation efforts. For this reason, this study aims to describe the level of public perception of Sumatran tiger conservation efforts. This research uses the case study method. Data was collected using a questionnaire, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGD). Data collection was carried out by means of purposive sampling involving 30 respondents, namely farmers who live and move around the national park. The data collected was analyzed descriptively qualitatively. The results of this study indicate that public knowledge about tigers as animals protected by law has perceptions in the high category (4.03), public knowledge about tiger behavior has a high category (3.93) and public knowledge that tigers currently lack food so often seen in villages that have a very high categorization (4.4). In addition, community knowledge about the ecological benefits of the presenceof Sumatran tigers in the environment has a high category (3.90), public knowledge about the economic benefits of the existence of Sumatran tigers has a high category (3,53). Likewise with public knowledge about the social benefits of the existence of Sumatran tigers have a high category (3.67). The government and various parties are urgently needed to increase the understanding and active role of the community for Sumatran tiger conservationefforts

Carita Orang Basudara: Kisah-kisah Perdamaian dari Maluku

Pada 1999, di tengah deraan konflik yang menyengsarakan, ketika banyak orang terjebak dan “terpaksa” terlibat langsung atau tidak dalam amuk kekerasan, tak sedikit anak Maluku yang dengan caranya masing-masing meng­ambil jarak dan bersikap kritis terhadap konflik. Bersamaan dengan itu, me­reka mulai berusaha memperjuangkan perdamaian. Carita Orang Basudara berisi kisah-kisah mereka. Selain sebagai penghargaan atas kiprah mereka, pendokumentasian ini juga dimaksudkan agar setiap pengalaman dan kesaksian personal di sini tidak begitu saja menguap di udara. Kesaksian mereka juga mengandung pelajaran sangat berharga yang bisa dipetik bukan saja oleh masyarakat Maluku, tapi juga umat manusia secara keseluruhan, pada masa kini dan yang akan datang. Sudah saatnya cerita-cerita baik, berisi suara-suara perdamaian (bukan konflik kekerasan), lebih banyak didengar dari Maluku. Jika perdamaian yang betul-betul ingin kita lihat, mengapa kita tidak memulainya dengan lebih sering membaca dan menulis tentangnya atau membicarakannya? Buku ini penting dibaca bukan saja oleh masyarakat Maluku, atau masyarakat lain di Indonesia yang pernah mengalami konflik kekerasan, tapi juga oleh mereka yang ingin terhindar dari konflik kekerasan sejenis. Para pengambil kebijakan, pemimpin agama dan masyarakat sipil perlu men­dengar Carita Orang Basudara, karena dari sana banyak pelajaran bisa dipetik. Cerita pribadi dalam buku ini semuanya disampaikan dengan kejujuran yang luar biasa. Tidak gampang, memperlihatkan perasaan paling pribadi di depan publik. Lebih luar biasa lagi, seluruh penulis berasal dari komunitas yang dulu saling berhadapan dengan muka geram. Hal ini saja cukup untuk menjadikan buku ini sebuah monumen sejarah

How important is income in explaining individuals having forgone healthcare due to cost-sharing payments?: Results from a mixed methods sequential explanatory study

BACKGROUND: Patients having forgone healthcare because of the costs involved has become more prevalent in recent years. Certain patient characteristics, such as income, are known to be associated with a stronger demand-response to cost-sharing. In this study, we first assess the relative importance of patient characteristics with regard to having forgone healthcare due to cost-sharing payments, and then employ qualitative methods in order to understand these findings better. METHODS: Survey data was collected from a Dutch panel of regular users of healthcare. Logistic regression models and dominance analyses were performed to assess the relative importance of patient characteristics, i.e., personal characteristics, health, educational level, sense of mastery and financial situation. Semi-structured interviews (n = 5) were conducted with those who had forgone healthcare. The verbatim transcribed interviews were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 7,339 respondents who completed the questionnaire, 1,048 respondents (14.3%) had forgone healthcare because of the deductible requirement. The regression model indicated that having a higher income reduced the odds of having forgone recommended healthcare due to the deductible (odds ratios of higher income categories relative to the lowest income category (reference): 0.29-0.49). However, dominance analyses revealed that financial leeway was more important than income: financial leeway contributed the most (34.8%) to the model's overall McFadden's pseudo-R2 (i.e., 0.123), followed by income (25.6%). Similar results were observed in stratified models and in population weighted models. Qualitative analyses distinguished four main themes that affected the patient's decision whether to use healthcare: financial barriers, structural barriers related to the complex design of cost-sharing programs, individual considerations of the patient, and the perceived lack of control regarding treatment choices within a given treatment trajectory. Furthermore, "having forgone healthcare" seemed to have a negative connotation. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that financial leeway is more important than income with respect to having forgone recommended healthcare due to cost-sharing payments, and that other factors such as the perceived necessity of healthcare also matter. Our findings imply that solely adapting cost-sharing programs to income levels will only get one so far. Our study underlines the need for a broader perspective in the design of cost-sharing programs

The Predictive Value of Discrete Choice Experiments in Public Health : An Exploratory Application

The objective of this study was to assess the predictive value of a discrete choice experiment (DCE) in public health by comparing stated preferences to actual behavior. 780 Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients received a questionnaire, containing a DCE with five attributes related to T2DM patients' willingness to participate in a combined lifestyle intervention. Panel mixed-multinomial-logit models were used to estimate the stated preferences based on 206 completed DCE questionnaires. Actual participation status was retrieved for 54 respondents based on patients' medical records and a second questionnaire. Predicted and actual behavior data were compared at population level and at individual level. Based on the estimated utility function, 81.8 % of all answers that individual respondents provided on the choice tasks were predicted correctly. The actual participation rate at the aggregated population level was minimally underestimated (70.1 vs. 75.9 %). Of all individual choices, 74.1 % were predicted correctly with a positive predictive value of 0.80 and a negative predictive value of 0.44. Stated preferences derived from a DCE can adequately predict actual behavior in a public health setting

nanos gene control DNA mediates developmentally regulated transposition in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

Transposable elements (TEs) are proposed as a basis for developing drive systems to spread pathogen resistance genes through vector mosquito populations. The use of transcriptional and translational control DNA elements from genes expressed specifically in the insect germ line to mediate transposition offers possibilities for mitigating some of the concerns about transgene behavior in the target vector species and eliminating effects on nontarget organisms. Here, we describe the successful use of the promoter and untranslated regions from the nanos (nos) orthologous gene of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, to control sex- and tissue-specific expression of exogenously derived mariner MosI transposase-encoding DNA. Transgenic mosquitoes expressed transposase mRNA in abundance near or equal to the endogenous nos transcript and exclusively in the female germ cells. In addition, MosI mRNA was deposited in developing oocytes and localized and maintained at the posterior pole during early embryonic development. Importantly, four of five transgenic lines examined were capable of mobilizing a second MosI transgene into the mosquito genome, indicating that functional transposase was being produced. Thus, the nos control sequences show promise as part of a TE-based gene drive system

Conflict and anthropology : some notes on doing consultancy work in Malukuan battlegrounds (Eastern Indonesia)

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