Therapeutic implications of counselling psychologists’ responses to client trauma: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

The past two decades have seen a surge of interest in the impact of working with trauma survivors on therapists’ psychological well-being. Existing literature assumes that therapists’ strong subjective responses to traumatic material adversely influence the therapeutic process. However, this has not yet been directly researched. Nine counselling psychologists were interviewed regarding the clinical impact of their responses to the disclosure of traumatic material. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis showed that significant challenges are experienced in the use of self in therapy with trauma survivors, including making sense of horrific human actions, negotiating complex interpersonal dynamics, and responding to ethical dilemmas in therapy. Results emphasised the importance that therapists attached to the development of their therapeutic use of self in therapy with trauma survivors, the value of learning from others and reaching a place of acceptance and hope when working with trauma survivors. Finally, specific training and development implications are proposed

Processing Color in Astronomical Imagery

Every year, hundreds of images from telescopes on the ground and in space are released to the public, making their way into popular culture through everything from computer screens to postage stamps. These images span the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to infrared light to X-rays and gamma rays, a majority of which is undetectable to the human eye without technology. Once these data are collected, one or more specialists must process the data to create an image. Therefore, the creation of astronomical imagery involves a series of choices. How do these choices affect the comprehension of the science behind the images? What is the best way to represent data to a non-expert? Should these choices be based on aesthetics, scientific veracity, or is it possible to satisfy both? This paper reviews just one choice out of the many made by astronomical image processors: color. The choice of color is one of the most fundamental when creating an image taken with modern telescopes. We briefly explore the concept of the image as translation, particularly in the case of astronomical images from invisible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. After placing modern astronomical imagery and photography in general in the context of its historical beginnings, we review the standards (or lack thereof) in making the basic choice of color. We discuss the possible implications for selecting one color palette over another in the context of the appropriateness of using these images as science communication products with a specific focus on how the non-expert perceives these images and how that affects their trust in science. Finally, we share new data sets that begin to look at these issues in scholarly research and discuss the need for a more robust examination of this and other related topics in the future to better understand the implications for science communications.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, published in Studies in Media and Communicatio

Reducing Protected Lands in a Hotspot of Bee Biodiversity: Bees of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a federally protected area found in central southern Utah. Designated in 1996 by President William J. Clinton, it was recently reduced in size by President Donald J. Trump in a proclamation that turned the one large monument into three smaller ones. A long-term, standardized study of the bees had been conducted from 2000–2003, revealing 660 species. The bee communities of the area are characterized by being spatially heterogeneous; most of the bees occur in isolated areas, with only a few being both abundant and widespread. Here we examine what affect the recent resizing of the monument has on the number, and ecology, of the bees now excluded from monument boundaries. Using the new monument boundaries and the geographic coordinates associated with each bee, we derived new species lists for each of the three monuments, and compared them to each other, and to the excluded lands. All three monuments now protect unique faunas, with Bray–Curtis similarity values not exceeding 0.59%. Each monument now harbors species not found in the other two monuments. We found that 84 bee species are no longer protected by any of the three monuments. These 84 species were not concentrated in one area that is now excluded, but were scattered throughout the newly excluded lands. For some of the excluded bee species, there is no evidence that they are rare or imperiled, being widespread throughout the west. However, there is a concentration of bees in the southern and eastern former monument lands that represent range extensions from nearby hot deserts. In addition to numerous range extensions, the list of excluded bees also contains several undescribed species (newly discovered species that have not yet been named and described by taxonomists) and morphospecies (individuals that are morphologically distinct, but that require additional research before species designations can be made). This indicates that the bee communities housed in these excluded areas would benefit from additional scientific inquiry. The areas now excluded from monument protections house a greater proportion of the original GSENM bee community than any of the three new monument units. We conclude this paper by discussing what the smaller monuments might mean for bee conservation in this hot spot of bee biodiversity and suggest that bee communities here and elsewhere should be taken into account when conservation decisions are being made

Evaluation of CO₂ emissions from railway resurfacing maintenance activities

This paper is the world first to investigate the CO2 impact of railway resurfacing in ballasted track bed maintenance. Railway resurfacing is an important routine maintenance activity that restores track geometry to ensure safety, reliability and utility of the asset. This study consisted of an extensive field data collection from resurfacing machineries (diesel-engine tamping machines, ballast regulators and ballast stabilisers) including travel distances, working distances, fuel consumption and construction methodologies. Fuel consumption was converted to a kg CO2/m using the embodied energies of diesel. Analyses showed that tamping machines emitted the highest CO2 emissions of the resurfacing machineries, followed by ballast regulators and ballast stabilisers respectively. Tamping machines processed 4.25 m of track per litre of diesel, ballast regulators processed 6.51 m of track per litre of diesel and ballast stabilisers processed 10.61 m of track per litre of diesel. The results were then compared to previous studies and a rigorous parametric study was carried out to consider long-term resurfacing CO2 emissions on Australian railway track. The outcome of this study is unprecedented and it enables track engineers and construction managers to critically plan strategic rail maintenance and to develop environmental-friendly policies for track geometry and alignment restoration

Exploration of Squash Plant Floral Volatiles Influencing Beetle Attraction

Flowers emit volatiles to attract pollinators, but these volatiles can also attract pest insects. Our study builds on earlier findings that showed that cucumber beetle attraction to squash flowers is mediated by volatile release and cucurbitacin accumulation (Theis, 2014, DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1400171). Of the three main domesticated squash species, only a few varieties of Cucurbita maxima had large quantities of floral volatiles and cucurbitacin (Andersen and Metcalf, 1987, doi: 10.1007/BF01020152); however, these studies were limited in the number of varieties that were examined. Here, we increased the number of C. maxima varieties examined, to identify patterns in floral volatile production, with the goal of identifying correlations between specific volatiles and beetle attraction. The findings from this study support a larger project, Fighting Fire with FIRE: Exploiting Corn Rootworm Attraction to Manipulate Pest Behavior

Autism Spectrum Disorder Prevalence Rates in the United States: Methodologies, Challenges, and Implications for Individual States

Many different studies have been conducted to determine the prevalence rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the United States. The methodologies of these studies have varied, resulting in a multitude of publications with differing prevalence rates. Because there is such a wide range in the results of prevalence studies, it may be difficult for individual states to determine their rates. Accurate prevalence rates are important to obtain for many different reasons including increasing advocacy and awareness, increasing funding, and proper allocation of services for individuals with ASD and their families. Additionally, prevalence studies can be used to assess which groups are more at risk for ASD based off location and environmental factors. This paper describes different methodologies that can be utilized to determine ASD prevalence rates, the strengths and weaknesses of each method, and the challenges to determining accurate rates. This paper also includes the results from a study conducted in Nebraska to determine prevalence rates of ASD in the state. Implications for future prevalence studies are addressed and recommendations are provided